Health Secretary Wes Stretting says the ban on asking children under 18 about their gender identity is to be made permanent.
Streeting told the House of Commons that he is now making the UK-wide temporary ban indefinite, following advice and counsel from the Commission on Human Medicines, which described its use as a “scandal”. has gone
The expert group said prescribing drugs for gender dysphoria to children was an “unacceptable safety risk”.
The health secretary said the review found cases where children were prescribed treatment after just one online consultation with a health care provider after filling out an online form.
Puberty inhibitors are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty from occurring.
A temporary ban was imposed by the previous Conservative government – and Streeting renewed it twice.
Streeting said that when it came to health care, it was important that government be evidence-based.
After publication of the order A historical review earlier this year In Gender Care Services for Children by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Kass.
It found a lack of evidence about treating under-18s with anti-puberty drugs.
In March, NHS England decided there would be no routine treatment for gender dysphoria for children who have stopped puberty.
Then in May, the Conservative government tightened rules on the drugs, imposing emergency bans on them prescribed by private and European doctors.
Labor retained it when they came to power and it was later challenged in the High Court. Government He won the case.
Announcing the indefinite ban, Streeting said: “It is a scandal that vulnerable children have been given a drug without evidence that it is safe or effective.”
But Streeting said a clinical trial planned by NHS England into the use of puberty blockers was going ahead.
He said the ban would then be reviewed in 2027 in the light of any new evidence that comes to light.
People under the age of 18 who were taking drugs before the ban was introduced are allowed to continue using them.