by Michael Searles, Telegraph
More than 200 participants under 16 will be given vouchers for completing tests as part of experiment commissioned by Health Secretary
Children are being paid to take part in an NHS puberty blocker trial, The Telegraph can reveal.
Some 226 children who believe they are transgender will be given puberty blockers as part of an investigation commissioned by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, into their effects on the young.
The drugs, which stop the body’s natural development, were indefinitely banned by the Health Secretary after the Commission on Human Medicines said they posed “an unacceptable safety risk” to children.
A trial into their side effects, which is set to start in April, was recommended by the Cass review.
However, it has faced criticism, including concerns about the ethics of giving children a drug that could cause irreversible harm, including to their brains and fertility.
It can now be revealed that the children taking part in the trial will be incentivised with the promise of up to £500 in vouchers for completing psychometric tests.