Scotland to follow UK under-18 puberty blocker ban

The UK's indefinite ban on giving puberty blockers to under-18s questioning their gender identity will be followed in Scotland, the government at Holyrood has said.

UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting told MPs he was extending the temporary ban introduced in May following a consultation and advice from the Commission on Human Medicines.

Streeting called the way the drugs had been used a "scandal".

The Scottish government confirmed that since medicines policy was reserved to Westminster, the ban would apply across England, Scotland and Wales.

Campaigners on both sides have reacted to the news, with those in support of the ban commending its "integrity" and those against calling it "discrimination".

Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening.

Ministers at Holyrood were advised by an independent panel in July to suspend the use of the drugs until further research had been carried out.

The advice was one of several recommendations from a team looking into how the landmark review by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass on gender services for children and young people could be applied in Scotland.

In April, Scotland's NHS confirmed it had paused prescribing puberty blockers to children referred by its specialist gender clinic, The Sandyford in Glasgow.

Following the UK health secretary's announcement, the Scottish government confirmed the indefinite ban would also apply north of the border.

A spokesperson said: "The UK government has laid legislation to put in place an indefinite ban on new children and young people aged under 18 years from beginning to take puberty blockers for the purposes of gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria, under the care of private or non-UK prescribers.

"As medicines policy is reserved to the UK government, this measure will apply to England, Scotland and Wales."

The UK government had consulted the Commission on Human Medicines on the issue, with the expert group concluding that prescribing the drugs to children for gender dysphoria was an "unacceptable safety risk".

A temporary ban was put in place by the last Conservative government, and had been renewed twice since Labour came to power.

Wes Streeting said on Monday that the UK review identified cases where children had been prescribed the treatment after filling out an online form and only having one online consultation with a healthcare provider.

The Cass review had found a lack of evidence around treatment for under-18s with puberty-blocking drugs.

At the time of publication it was criticised by the Scottish Greens, who at that stage were part of the Scottish government.

Glasgow's Sandyford Clinic took the decision to stop new patients aged 16 or 17 receiving other hormone treatments until they were 18, a decision that was criticised by the charity Scottish Trans.

Like other parts of the UK, Scotland has seen a surge in the number of young people questioning their identity or experiencing gender dysphoria.

The Sandyford is the only specialist service for under-18s in Scotland.

A freedom of information request from BBC Scotland News revealed that 1,100 patients were on the waiting list for the centre at the end of 2023.

In Scotland, 43 patients have continued to receive either puberty blockers or "gender affirming hormones" such as testosterone or oestrogen, as they were prescribed the treatments before the April decision was made.