Yesterday (26th of February) UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting in a statement to parliament laid out The Gender Recognition (Disclosure of Information) (England) Order 2026.

The New Order sets to remove the previous protection that trans people had with regard to withholding their private data from NHS GIDS (Gender Identity Development Service) for the purpose of a study.

Streeting said:

“This Order will revoke the 2022 order and will ensure that information that may otherwise be protected under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 can be lawfully disclosed for the specific purpose of the data linkage study.

The study was planned to take place during the lifespan of the Cass Review, and a statutory instrument was brought forward in 2022 to protect those disclosing protected information for the study. However, it is well documented that some clinics did not share data to allow the study to commence and the study was therefore not completed as planned. Further to this, it is the government's view that the 2022 order now needs to be updated to sufficiently protect those who will now be sharing information for the purposes of the study.

What Is The Data Linkage Study ?

Streeting explains:

“The data linkage study is a retrospective study based on an analysis of routine data collected for a cohort of adults who, as children, were referred into a former model of NHS gender care, the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS). The study requires no active patient participation and instead relies on an analysis of information already held within health records and other nationally held databases. The study aims to learn more about the needs of individuals referred to GIDS, their healthcare experience, and associations identifiable in the data which may tell us more about the intermediate outcomes for this cohort.

This Order makes technical changes to reflect that NHS England is now delivering the study, that the study is being completed as a recommendation (rather than during the lifetime) of the “Cass Review”, and to update the list of organisations contributing to the study.”

Worrying News For Trans People.

Many in the community are worried that this data will be used to unfairly identify the trans people in the survey for discriminatory purposes.

They fear it is yet another erosion of trans rights in rights in the UK.

One trans person summed up these feelings with “I just wish I could go a week without feeling sick with worry about the next impending bullshit. My stomach is in an almost perpetual knot. Not suggesting that experience is unique to me.”

More information to follow soon….