From: Department of Health and
Social Care
Published 11 December 2024
Last updated 9 October 2025 — See all updates
This consultation has concluded
Read the full outcome
Government's response to the
targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of
puberty blockers
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Detail of outcome
On behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
and the Minister of Health for Northern Ireland, the department
consulted with representative groups likely to be affected by the
proposed order, as well as the independent Commission on Human
Medicines for their expert view, in line with legislative
requirements.
The consultation received responses from 51 of the 120
organisations to which the consultation was sent, resulting in a
response rate of 42.5%.
This document summarises the responses (in order of the questions
posed in the consultation) and the recommendations from the
Commission on Human Medicines. It also provides the response from
the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the
Minister of Health for Northern Ireland.
Ministers have decided to introduce an indefinite order.
The Medicines
(Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues) (Restrictions on
Private Sales and Supplies) Order 2024 will come into
force on 1 January 2025 as the current emergency order expires.
A full impact assessment has been published with this order.
Original consultation
Summary
Proposal to make a permanent order to prevent new patients aged
under 18 from beginning to take puberty blockers for the purposes
of gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria, under the care of
private prescribers.
This consultation ran from
6pm on 20 August 2024 to 11:59pm on 8 October
2024
Consultation description
This consultation ran for 7 weeks and was sent to representative
groups of those likely to be affected by a potential order. This
includes the royal colleges, professional bodies, regulators,
academics and voluntary, community and social enterprises
representing patients, prescribers, pharmacists and others.
On behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
and the Minister of Health for Northern Ireland, the department
consulted with representative groups and the independent
Commission on Human Medicines for their expert view, in line with
legislative requirements. This consultation also builds on the
extensive consultation undertaken for the Cass Review and
previous NHS England consultations. As such the questions focus
on the impact of the proposed permanent order, and the benefits
and risks of making such an order permanent.
The limited impact assessment published with the Medicines
(Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues) (Emergency
Prohibition) (Extension) (No.2) Order 2024 was shared as
part of the targeted consultation. This emergency order came into
force on 27 November 2024 and will expire on 31 December 2024.
A Welsh language version of the consultation document is
available on request from prescribingpolicy@dhsc.gov.uk.
Documents
Proposed changes to the
availability of puberty blockers
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Equality impact assessment -
proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers
consultation
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