We think that the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland must urgently work together to make sure that no child or young person is unable to access the care they need, when they need it. And we intend to keep making that case, as often as we can and wherever we can.

What's been happening?

Over the last few years, there have been a number of really significant changes to how trans children and young people can – or more often, cannot – access gender identity healthcare. You can see a timeline of these events, and our responses to them, below.

 

Timeline of events

– April 2024 – the Cass Review is published. Read our response.

– April 2024 – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian pause all new prescriptions for puberty blockers, and gender affirming hormones (testosterone and oestrogen) for under 18s. Read our response.

– June 2024 – UK Government introduces a temporary ban on new private prescriptions of puberty blockers to under 18s for gender dysphoria (making it a criminal offence).  Read our response here.

– July 2024 – the Scottish Chief Medical Officer published a “Cass Review – implications for Scotland: findings report”. Read our letter to the Chief Medical Officer about the report.

– September 2024 – Scottish Government asks the Chief Operating Officer’s Directorate to redesign children and young people’s gender identity services. Read the Minister’s statement.

– December 2024 – UK Government makes the ban on new private prescriptions of puberty blockers to under 18s for gender dysphoria permanent (making it a criminal offence). Read our joint response with other LGBTQ+ organisations. You can read more about the change in the law here.

– August 2025 – National Services Scotland consult on a new “Target Operating Model” for children and young people’s services in Scotland. You can read more about this below.

– November 2025 – details of a new research trial into puberty blockers for trans children and young people are published. Read our response.

– February 2026 – the research trial into puberty blockers for trans children and young people is paused, following an intervention from the Medical Health Regulation Authority.

New Children and Young People's Service

As part of the ‘NHS gender identity services: strategic action framework 2022-2024’, the Scottish Government committed to nationally commissioning a new Young Person’s Gender Identity Service. Currently, the service for young people is run out of Sandyford in Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board.

 

This means that one health board is providing care for all young trans and non-binary people in Scotland, which is causing the service to be overwhelmed. The idea was that a national service would mean that the service would be better resourced and responsibility for the patients could be better shared between health boards.

 

The commitment to nationally commission a new service for young people came before the Cass Review and the subsequent restrictions on healthcare for young people. This means it’s hard to say what the service might end up looking like and what types of care the service might provide.

 

In August 2025, National Services Scotland consulted on the new “Target Operating Model” (essentially a very ‘high-level’ plan for what the service might look like) for children and young people’s services and there has not been any further information about progress. We know that there will be a second round of consultation, with trans children and young people, their families, and organisations who support and advocate for them, before any new services are established.

 

We strongly believe that a service that does not provide medical treatments will completely fail to meet the needs of those young people who would benefit from them. Not all young people who need support around their gender identity will want or need access to medical treatments, but some do. It is critical that they get the care they need.

Our briefings for MSPs on:

• • The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health’s update on gender identity services for children and young people – September 2024
  • A debate on implementing the findings of the Cass Review in Scotland – May 2024
  • The decision to pause referrals for endocrine treatments for under 18s – April 2024