The Northern Ireland Executive has said that releasing the evidence that they considered when extending the ban on puberty blockers for those experiencing gender dysphoria would not be in the public interest.
Following the decision to extend the ban indefinitely, Belfast Live submitted a Freedom of Information request seeking a copy of the evidence that they considered when making their decision.
Last summer the First and deputy First Ministers approved a request from the Health Minister to introduce a temporary ban via an emergency procedure which meant that the decision did not require Executive approval. In a statement after the decision, the First Minister said that it was made following advice from the Chief Medical Officer.
Following the initial temporary ban, the Executive Office refused a request from Belfast Live for a copy of the evidence considered by the First and deputy First Minister in making their decision stating that releasing the information would "inhibit Ministers' ability to consider difficult policy issues with candour" and "has the potential to damage the concept of collective responsibility".
However, in response to this fresh request, the Executive Office concluded that despite the "strong public interest in openness, transparency, and accountability", releasing the information would not be in the public interest.
"On balance the department does not believe it is in the public interest to release the information you have requested," they said.
"It is essential that the Department protects the concept of collective responsibility under which the Executive Committee operates and that it protects the safe space within the Executive Committee to facilitate frank and honest consideration of options, for Ministers to express themselves openly, honestly and completely, and to have the freedom to explore options as part of the process of deliberation, before arriving at an agreed position."
In their response, the Executive Office directed us to a Ministerial Statement from the Health Minister on 11 December where he informed MLAs that young people from Northern Ireland would be included in clinical trials for the drugs.
They also directed Belfast Live to the UK Government's response to a targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of the drugs where 59 per cent of respondents opposed the ban. In their response to the consultation, the Government had addressed concerns on how the drugs would remain available for those experiencing precocious puberty.
"While the medicine may be the same, they have not been licensed (which includes a process of robust assessment of safety and efficacy data) for gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria, which means the safety and risk implications in that context have not been assessed formally by MHRA," they said.
"In addition, the two indications are dissimilar, with different age profiles, duration of treatment, co-morbidities, and balance of risks and benefits, all of which do not yet have clinically supported evidence for the indication of gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria."
Responding to the refusal to release the information under FOI, Alexa Moore, Policy, Campaigns, and Communications Manager at The Rainbow Project, said: "The Executive's refusal to be open and transparent about the advice in relation to the puberty blockers decision, while not surprising, is nonetheless extremely disappointing.
"In this situation, where the evidence relied upon by the Executive has overruled the consultation on the ban, responses to which mostly opposed this course of action, it is vital that the sector is given the opportunity to assess and feed back on the Executive's decision-making process.
"This lack of transparency would be unacceptable in any other area of healthcare, but the Executive has deemed that it is necessary to conceal their decision-making process when it comes to issues affecting LGBTQIA+ communities."
Green Party Cllr Anthony Flynn added: "I am not surprised that the Executive parties have refused to release any evidence relating to their decision to ban puberty blockers in Northern Ireland.
"The lack of transparency from this executive is nothing new and will only call into question the legitimacy of their decisions. Executive parties such as Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party have given much lip service to the LGBTQ+ community for many years, but when the time comes to stand up and defend Trans folks, they trade their solidarity for silence."
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