Tories’s emergency puberty blockers ban was lawful, High Court rules

The challenge has been dismissed in the High Court.

A High Court ruling has found that a ban on puberty blockers introduced by the Tory government using emergency legislation was lawful.

Former health secretary Victoria Atkins made a decision to impose a so-called ‘banning order’ on puberty blockers, which suppress the natural production of sex hormones to delay puberty.

But this was challenged by campaign group TransActual, and a young person who cannot be named.

This challenge was dismissed by Mrs Justice Lang at the High Court today.

She said: ‘This decision required a complex and multi-factored predictive assessment, involving the application of clinical judgment and the weighing of competing risks and dangers, with which the court should be slow to interfere.’

In her evidence, she referred to the Cass Review by Dr Hilary Cass, which was published in April and found gender care is an area of ‘remarkably weak evidence’ and young people have been caught up in a ‘stormy social discourse’.

But Jason Coppel KC, acting for the group and young person, said Ms Atkins ‘acted on the basis of her personal views about the conclusions of the Cass Review’.

He said there was no ministerial submission setting out her reasoning about why puberty blockers were considered a ‘serious danger to health’ – the standard needed for the emergency legislation to be used.

But she added in her ruling: ‘In my judgment, the Cass Review’s findings about the very substantial risks and very narrow benefits associated with the use of puberty blockers, and the recommendation that in future the NHS prescribing of puberty blockers to children and young people should only take place in a clinical trial, and not routinely, amounted to powerful scientific evidence in support of restrictions on the supply of puberty blockers on the grounds that they were potentially harmful.

‘Although the Cass Review did not state in terms that puberty blockers cause ‘a serious danger to health’, that was not the question that the Cass Review was asked to consider.

‘That was a matter for the defendants to determine on all the evidence before them. It would have been premature to do so before the final report had been published.’

The legislation prevents the prescription of such medication and restricts NHS provision to within clinical trials.

During the trial, both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department of Health in Northern Ireland defended the claim.

The legislation was brought in as an emergency by the Tories but the new health secretary Wes Streeting could make it permanent.

Mr Streeting said he was ‘treading cautiously’ in his decision amid ‘lots of fear and anxiety’.

But he has faced criticism from within his own party, including members of Labour’s LGBT wing, who have concerns about an indefinite ban.

Mr Streeting, who is the MP for Ilford North, only won the seat by 528 votes over the party’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.

Following the ruling, he said: ‘I welcome the court’s decision today.

‘Children’s healthcare must be evidence-led.

‘Dr Cass’s review found there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence.

‘We must therefore act cautiously and with care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people.

‘I am working with NHS England to improve children’s gender identity services, and to setting up a clinical trial to establish the evidence on puberty blockers.

‘I want trans people in our country to feel safe, accepted, and able to live with freedom and dignity.’

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson added: ‘The Government welcomes the court’s decision. Children’s health care must be evidence-led.

‘We’ve always been clear that the Cass Review was clear that there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. Therefore, we must act cautiously and with care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people.

‘So we were obviously pleased that the court has upheld the ban.’

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