Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 23 April 2024
23 Apr 2024 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Gender-identity Healthcare for Young People
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement.
I spent last week trying to secure a statement from the Government on the Cass review and puberty-suppressing hormones. Every single attempt was voted down or refused. Finally, after confirmation from the health board of a pause in puberty-suppressing hormones for new patients, we have a statement today, but I do not know why the minister bothered, because it will offer no comfort whatsoever to families who have been failed by gender care services in Scotland.
The Scottish Government’s direction of travel on this vitally important issue is as clear as mud. The statement does not confirm whether the Government will implement any of the review’s 32 recommendations, nor does it address the cut to gender care services. The Government claims that it supports young people who are experiencing gender distress, yet members of it have publicly dismissed the findings of an evidence-based expert report.
Today’s exercise in kicking the can down the road and stalling for more time shows that the Government is more concerned about holding together its fragile pact with the dogmatic Greens than about healthcare for vulnerable young people.
When will parents and young people receive a meaningful update? Can the minister assure Parliament that all Government ministers will follow the science rather than ideology?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
The next item of business is a statement by Jenni Minto on gender-identity healthcare for young people. The minister will take questions at the end of her st...
The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health (Jenni Minto)
SNP
I start by speaking directly to our young people—in particular, our trans and non-binary young people across Scotland. I know that the past few weeks and mon...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
The minister will now take questions on the issues that are raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes, after which we will need to move on...
Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland) (Con)
Con
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. I spent last week trying to secure a statement from the Government on the Cass review and puberty-s...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I thank Meghan Gallacher for her question. I note that the review was commissioned by the NHS in England; we have worked with the review, but Scottish pathwa...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement, although I have to register my disappointment at its lack of substance. The Cass report is a four-ye...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I repeat: there are 32 recommendations in an almost 400-page report, and we are working through it at the right speed to ensure that we make the right decisi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Members will not be surprised to hear that there is a lot of interest in asking questions. I hope to be able to allow everybody who has pressed their button ...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
We know how difficult the news must have been for the young people who have been affected. What is vital now is that we focus on improving the healthcare of ...
Jenni Minto
SNP
As I highlighted in my statement, I have agreed with the chief medical officer that the deputy chief medical officer and other senior medical officers will s...
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
Some members of the Scottish National Party and Green Government have questioned the integrity of the evidence in the Cass report. Given that gender-identity...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I am here to speak directly to the young people and children and their families who have been impacted by the decision. I want to find the best way through f...
Fulton MacGregor (Coatbridge and Chryston) (SNP)
SNP
The review is clearly important and very detailed, and it requires further detailed consideration. However, we must remind ourselves, as the minister has sai...
Jenni Minto
SNP
As I have said, it is a 400-page report, and a knee-jerk reaction to a report that concerns a health system that is different to Scotland’s would not, in my ...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for her statement and agree that it is right that we proceed carefully and compassionately. Given that Dr Cass’s report is founded on st...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Minister.
Carol Mochan
Lab
Further to that—
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Minister.
Jenni Minto
SNP
I thank Carol Mochan for her support in recognising that we need to take time to review the contents of the report. As I have pointed out on a couple of occa...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen) (SNP)
SNP
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I hold a current NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde staff nurse bank contract. The people who s...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I thank Clare Haughey for her question and for bringing it back to those young people who have been affected by the change. In addition to the work that I ha...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
We need to remember the young people who are at the heart of this, many of whom will be in a state of profound distress. We need to get to a space where ever...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I agree that it is a challenging report. As I highlighted in my statement, we have granted the University of Glasgow funds to do some research in the field, ...
Jackie Dunbar (Aberdeen Donside) (SNP)
SNP
Dr Hilary Cass highlighted that the “increasingly toxic, ideological and polarised public debate” does nothing to serve the young folk accessing this care,...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I absolutely agree. As the First Minister highlighted last week, the toxicity of the debate is perpetuated by adults, and that is unfair to the children who ...
Gillian Mackay (Central Scotland) (Green)
Green
Many young people will be concerned about the effect of last week’s decision to pause the prescriptions of hormones on their healthcare journey. Our solidari...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I thank Ms Mackay for her engagement on the issue and her shared concern for the young people who are most impacted by the change. As I highlighted in my st...
Roz McCall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
The Cass review highlights the clear acknowledgement of detransition as a growing phenomenon that cannot be ignored; in fact, it was mentioned in the report ...
Jenni Minto
SNP
As I noted, the chief medical officer has agreed to update Parliament by writing on the clinical side before the summer recess. Given that we are talking abo...
John Mason (Glasgow Shettleston) (SNP)
SNP
One of Dr Cass’s main criticisms of the system in England was a failure to reliably collect even the most basic data. She also said that NHS adult gender ser...