Speeches by Murray.

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments, and although he and I come to a different conclusion on this, I do not doubt for a second the sincerity of his motivation in wanting to protect children and young people. I actually agree with him, as I said in my earlier comments, that most young children who are ques…”

“My hon. Friend rightly points out that the clinical trial—the Pathways study, which is the subject of this statement—is just one part of the wider work being done to make sure that the support is there for children and young people who are questioning their gender and who might, or might not, need support in order to f…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her remarks, and for her tone and approach to this sensitive matter. Sadly, we have waiting lists across many different parts of the NHS. This Government are determined to deal with that so that everyone can receive the appropriate treatment. There are wider questions, which we could debate at…”

“Dr Cass has raised that point a number of times, particularly when she has spoken in public and been interviewed on her concerns about young people accessing equivalent drugs through an unregulated source—through online sources that are not carefully controlled and where there is no monitoring of the effects on young p…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her question, which highlights the importance we all place on making sure that vulnerable children are protected in the way that the trial proceeds. Perhaps I can offer her some detail which might reassure her by explaining who is on the national multidisciplinary team. As I mentioned earlier,…”

“I share my hon. Friend’s disappointment that the cross-party consensus that was in place about the way to approach the issue does not currently seem to be holding. I urge Opposition Members who are not aligned with that cross-party consensus to reconsider their position, because that is the best way forward for our cou…”

“I reassure the hon. Lady, as I set out in my responses to earlier questions, that while my starting point is that clinical evidence should be the basis for our way forward, I have taken the responsibility to interrogate that with the highest level of scrutiny in order to ensure that the conclusions are as robust as pos…”

“Despite our different conclusions on this matter, I respect my hon. Friend. Part of taking decisions as Health Secretary involves sometimes approaching issues where one might feel uncomfortable on a personal level, but none the less being guided by the right principles in order to take decisions for other groups of peo…”

“Although the hon. Gentleman comes to a different conclusion from the one that I and the Government have come to, he poses the right question when he asks what harm do we need to protect against while getting clinical evidence. If we are to be led by clinical evidence, it is important to have that evidence in a way that…”

“The number of expected participants in the trial is 226. That is not a firm target—it does not have to be exactly that number—but that is the number at which statistically significant conclusions can be drawn. The 226 will fall into two camps: one will access the medical treatment immediately and the other will access …”

“We are following clinical advice. We are ensuring that there is a triple lock on the consent for children and young people to be involved in this trial, involving the consent or assent of the young person themselves, parents or guardians, and the NHS care team—the national multidisciplinary team that I mentioned earlie…”

“There is a fundamental difference of approach between me and the hon. Lady. The reason for the trial is not to ensure that young people on the waiting list can get access to treatment; the trial is to find an evidence base on which to take future decisions about whether young people should be offered treatment and, if …”

“This trial has been paused since earlier this year while the MHRA worked to strengthen the safeguards. Those stronger safeguards are now in place, which gives greater protection to young people who are involved in this trial. As I mentioned in my remarks earlier, one of my responsibilities as Health Secretary is to int…”

“The reason for having this trial is to establish whether there are in fact benefits to this treatment for some children and young people as well as what the risks of harm are. I believe it is right, on balance, to proceed with this clinical trial to get clinical evidence on the basis of having the highest possible prot…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for raising the situation in her constituency. For all of us as MPs, our first job is to raise matters that pertain to our constituents, and healthcare is among the most important services that they receive. I will ask my team to look further into the points that she raises and get back to her.”

“It is an essential part of our NHS and its founding principles that the NHS is available to all on the basis of need, not their ability to pay. That is a fundamental principle that we in the Labour party support. I know that some Opposition parties have been moving away from that recently and seeking to privatise the p…”

“I am surprised by the hon. Lady’s remarks, because where a child goes to school should have no bearing on their ability to access NHS services. If she would like to write to me with further details, I would be happy to look into that matter.”

“The renewed women’s health strategy was a really important achievement under the previous Secretary of State, which updated the approach of this Government and reflected the differences in healthcare that women too often receive. If I might offer a personal reflection, since I have become Secretary of State, one issue …”

“This Government’s focus on shifting from hospital to community will benefit millions of people and increase access to care. This shift is underpinned by new community diagnostic centres that now deliver faster, more accessible care at 109 sites, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. By 2030, we will have opened 120 new ne…”

“This may not be the first project initiated under the last Government that has not exactly run ahead at the fastest pace possible. We need to ensure that neighbourhood health provision is delivered as quickly as possible across the country. Our plans to increase the number of neighbourhood health centres will focus on …”