Hannah Barnes article on Kemi B/select committee

[maltravers]

Hannah has written an interesting article in the New Statesman about this. Link below and you can subscribe for 3 free articles per month.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2024/02/kemi-badenoch-facts-select-committee

Free archive version here as well - https://archive.ph/AUyfP

That's a good article thanks

The total lack of knowledge, or even of professional curiosity and research is astonishing when it comes to this issue. Key players and leaders really have no knowledge or understanding of issues at all. Everything is seen through the lens of " trans rights" or " being kind". No further thinking required.

"Having described referrals as an “explosion” during the December evidence session, Badneoch was admonished by Nokes: “You have not provided the data to back that up.” She should not have had to. In her influential role, Nokes absolutely should have known it. So too, that young people with autism are over-represented in referrals to gender clinics, something that Badenoch also provided data on, excluding GIDS’s own observation that “Around 35 per cent of referred young people present with moderate to severe autistic traits”.

Someone should ask Caroline Blokes if she has read the Cass report and if not, why not, since she is chairing the WEC.

you could if you'd like (and so should we)
https://members.parliament.uk/member/4048/contact

Thanks for the link OP.

From the article. -

Badenoch’s <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/AUyfP/committees.parliament.uk/publications/43255/documents/215243/default/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">letter contains the relevant numbers on referrals: in 2021/22 there were over 5,000 referrals to GIDS; a decade earlier in 2011/12 there were just under 250 referrals in 2011/12.

We need to be asking why. That's an astonishing increase.

Well done to Badenoch for raising this. It's so important.

Sorry for the strange formatting I have no idea how that happened.

Here is the letter I sent her via email, please use it as the basis for your own contact with her

Dear Caroline Nokes MP,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. I am writing to you as a British voter, deeply interested in the recent developments and discussions surrounding gender identity services for children and young people, notably the Interim Cass Review of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) provided by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Given your recent public and parliamentary engagements, including your spirited exchanges with Kemi Badenoch, which have highlighted your commitment to scrutinising and discussing significant matters related to equality and health services, I am particularly interested in your stance and engagement with the Interim Cass Review.

The discussions and disagreements you've had with colleagues underscore the complexity and depth of these subjects. These interactions, while at times contentious, underline the importance of informed and nuanced debate in our political discourse. It is in this context that I find myself curious about your engagement with the findings and recommendations of the Cass Review.

Given the pivotal role you play in the Commons women and equalities committee, and considering the depth of your involvement in debates on related issues, I wonder:

1. Have you had the opportunity to read and reflect on the Interim Cass Review into the Tavistock and Portman GIDS? If so, how do you believe its findings and recommendations should influence our approach to gender identity services for children and young people?
2. If you have not yet engaged with the review, may I kindly ask why, given the significance of the issue and the authority with which you speak on related matters? Are there specific aspects of the review or the broader debate on gender identity services that you find particularly challenging or compelling?

The matters at hand are undeniably complex and carry significant implications for the health and well-being of young individuals across our nation. Your insights and perspectives, especially in light of your recent discussions and disagreements on related topics, would be invaluable to me and, I believe, to many others who look to you for leadership and guidance.

Thank you for considering my queries. I look forward to your response and to understanding more about your perspectives on these critical issues.
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name] [Your Address] [Your Contact Information]

Excellent letter, @AlphariusOmegron

And an interview with Kemi by Janice Turner in the Times today:

AlphariusOmegron · Yesterday 15:51

Bloody good effort with your letter!

Please update us with whatever pish and waffle she says, if she deigns to respond!

Oooh @AlphariusOmegron that's a smashing letter. I do love a good letter!

Nothing else much to add 😆

Thank you for that share token. Thought-provoking article.

Great article but then her book was great. What kind of reach does the New Statesman have? Not that familiar with it

I could be wrong but I think it's on a similar level to The Economist and The Spectator, but left-leaning. Quite a good reach in the Labour Party, I would have thought.

I enjoyed reading both articles and the letter. Kemi Badenoch is an interesting politician. I disagree with her about lot of topics but admire the way she argues her viewpoint.

I also disagree with Kemi Badenoch on many issues, but I do find it refreshing to find a politician refusing to reduce a complex issue to soundbites, putting in time to get on top of the detail, and taking others to task for failing to do the same. We could do with a lot more politicians on all sides who have intellectual ability, common sense and a gift for plain speaking.

New Statesman is a left leaning paper. Hannah’s article will not be preaching to the converted but hopefully will be letting in a bit (or a lot!) of sunlight and doubt about the wisdom/kindness/consequences of affirming transness in what are probably just gay kids in the main.

I'm increasingly concerned about whether there is going to be any of the updated data we expected as one of the commissioned studies within the Cass Review.

iirc, there was supposed to be access to the records of children and young people who'd attend GIDS between the period of 2009 to 2021 to extract some long-term outcome data via some pseudonymised data linkage.

The Cass Review has commissioned several research reviews.48 The University of York has been commissioned to analyse healthcare data on 9,000 individuals who have attended GIDS, including medical records from endocrine services.111 It is expected that this work will provide informative evidence on the pathways that individuals referred to GIDS have taken, what support and interventions were received, and the outcomes. This research can contribute to addressing the range of knowledge gaps on the impacts of hormone treatments. It will also inform the development of a research infrastructure around these services to further build the evidence base, particularly for high quality longitudinal research on long-term health impacts. pg 19:
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/POST-PB-0055/POST-PB-0055.pdf

There's very little findable about a piece of work that should be approaching maturity and publication. Are we ready to speculate that in the same way there's been some lack of cooperation with setting up the distributed regional network of GIDS there may well have been some (principled) resistance / apathy/ unreadiness to participate by some NHS organisations?

Will the contract with University of York to do the research just lapse? Or will it be renewed with the research deferred until a date tbc and under a different aegis? Does anyone have an update or informed speculation?

I've seen some scant reference to a study about hormone blockers to be done at KCL but I don't know if it's retrospective or prospective. I can't see anything on the usual trial sites. This is the board, I don't know if they'll announce research updates here.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/gender-dysphoria-clinical-programme/implementing-advice-from-the-cass-review/cyp-gender-dysphoria-research-oversight-board/