The Cass Review is a British report released in 2024. Its purpose was to strengthen existing gatekeeping of trans health services by severely limiting these options for minors. Lead author Hilary Cass produced a political document similar to the “science” produced by anti-trans extremist Paul McHugh to justify shutting down the Johns Hopkins gender clinic in 1979. The Cass Review was also the model for the 2025 US HHS report, also created as a pretext to ban healthcare for trans and gender diverse minors.
Members
The Cass Review included a group of unnamed participants that comprised the Gender Dysphoria Clinical Advisory Group, also likely known as Cass Review Assurance Group. As their names become known, they will be added below.
- Chair; Past President of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Advosory Board member
- Professor in Primary Care Research, University of Plymouth; Peninsula Medical School (Faculty of Health: Medicine, Dentistry and Human Sciences)
Leeds Endocrine team
- Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Gender Dysphoria, Leeds Children’s Hospital; and Nomination of British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes
Jeremy Glyde [unconfirmed]
- Senior Public Health Adviser to Specialised Commissioning, NHS England
- [listed elsewhere as Head of Specialised Commissioning / Deputy Director CYP Gender Dysphoria Programme, NHS England]
Gary Butler [unconfirmed]
- Consultant in Paediatric and Adolescent Endocrinology – Gender Identity Development Service; University College London Hospital & UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Polly Carmichael [unconfirmed]
- Clinical Psychologist, and Clinical Director of Gender Identity Development Service; Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
Richard Stephens [unconfirmed]
- Patient and public voice representative
[unconfirmed]
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
Jess Turnbull [unconfirmed]
- Consultant Community Paediatrician; Guys and St Thomas’ Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust / Nomination of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Bobbie Farsides (Also Cass Review Assurance Group)
- Professor of Clinical and Biomedical Ethics, University of Sussex
Peter Fonagy
- Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at University College of London; Chief Executive of the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Kenny Gibson
- National Head of Safeguarding, NHS England
Carl Henegan
- General Practitioner; and Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine and Director, Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine; Oxford University
[unconfirmed]
- Patient and public voice representative
Leeds Endocrine team
- Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology – Gender Identity Development Service; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Dr Hilary Strachan [unconfirmed]
- Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Central Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust / Nomination of Royal College of Psychiatrists
[unconfirmed]
- Patient and public voice representative
[unconfirmed]
- Clinical Policy Fellow, NHS England (secretariat)
[unconfirmed]
- Senior Professional Adviser. NHS Wales
References
Moore, J. K., Rayner, C., Skinner, S. R., Wynne, K., Cavve, B. S., Fraser, B., Ganti, U., McAllister, C., MeyerowitzâKatz, G., Nguyen, T., Ravine, A., Ross, B., Russell, D. B., Saunders, L. A., Siafarikas, A., & Pang, K. C. (2025). Cass Review does not guide care for trans young people. Medical Journal of Australia, 223(7), 331â337. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.70035
Moser, C. (2025). A Critique of the Cass Review and the Implications of âGender Restrictive Care.â Archives of Sexual Behavior, 54(10), 3765â3780. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03345-6
Kulatunga Moruzi, C., Sim, P., Mitchell, I., Palmer, D., & Joffe, A. R. (2025). The Cass Review and Gender-Related Care for Young People in Canada: A Commentary on the Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement on Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 54(10), 3743â3761. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03335-8
Pearce, Ruth (April 10, 2024, updated often). Whatâs wrong with the Cass Review? A round-up of commentary and evidence. https://ruthpearce.net/2024/04/16/whats-wrong-with-the-cass-review-a-round-up-of-commentary-and-evidence/
Noone, C., Southgate, A., Ashman, A., Quinn, Ă., Comer, D., Shrewsbury, D., Ashley, F., Hartland, J., Paschedag, J., Gilmore, J., Kennedy, N., Woolley, T. E., Heath, R., Biskupovic Goulding, R., Simpson, V., Kiely, E., Coll, S., White, M., Grijseels, D. M., ⊠McLamore, Q. (2025). Critically appraising the cass report: methodological flaws and unsupported claims. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-025-02581-7
Moore, J. K., Rayner, C., Skinner, S. R., Wynne, K., Cavve, B. S., Fraser, B., Ganti, U., McAllister, C., MeyerowitzâKatz, G., Nguyen, T., Ravine, A., Ross, B., Russell, D. B., Saunders, L. A., Siafarikas, A., & Pang, K. C. (2025). Cass Review does not guide care for trans young people. Medical Journal of Australia, 223(7), 331â337. https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.70035
Reed, Erin (March 9, 2025). New German, Swiss, And Austrian Guidelines Recommend Trans Youth Care, Slam Cass Review. Erin In The Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/new-german-swiss-and-austria-guidelines
Horton, Cal; Pearce, Ruth (August 7, 2024). The U.K.âs Cass Review Badly Fails Trans Children. Scientific American https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-u-k-s-cass-review-badly-fails-trans-children/
Grijseels, D. M. (2024). Biological and psychosocial evidence in the Cass Review: a critical commentary. International Journal of Transgender Health, 1â11. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2362304
McNamara, Meredithe et al. (July 2024). An Evidence-Based Critique of âThe Cass Reviewâ on Gender-affirming Care for Adolescent Gender Dysphoria. Yale Integrity Project https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/integrity-project_cass-response.pdf
Reed, Erin (June 14, 2024). Another International Medical Org Rejects Cass Recommendations On Trans Youth. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/another-international-medical-org
Reed, Erin (May 13, 2024). Endocrine Society And American Academy Of Pediatrics Respond To Cass, Reject Bans. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/endocrine-society-and-american-academy
Scheimer, Dorey; Chakrabarti, Meghna; Skoog, Tim (May 8, 2024). ‘Cass Review’ author: More ‘caution’ advised for gender-affirming care for youth. On Point https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2024/05/08/hilary-cass-review-caution-nhs-gender-affirming-care-youth
Reed, Erin (May 9, 2024). Cass Says Transition Should Be Measured By âEmployment,” Not Satisfaction. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/cass-says-transition-should-be-measured
Reed, Erin (April 18, 2024). Opinion: England’s Anti-Trans Cass Review Is Politics Disguised As Science. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/opinion-englands-anti-trans-cass
Reed, Erin (April 19, 2024). Dr. Cass Backpedals From Review: HRT, Blockers Should Be Made Available. Erin in the Morning https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/dr-cass-backpedals-from-review-hrt
Staff report (April 15, 2024). The Cass Review Needs to be Thrown Out Entirely. This is Why. What the Trans https://whatthetrans.com/cass-review/
Feminist Gender Equality Network (April 13, 2024). Letter from academics concerned about The Cass Review. https://feministgenderequality.network/letter-from-academics-concerned-about-the-cass-review/
Davie, Max; Hobbs, Laura (August 10, 2024). The Cass Report: The Good, The Bad, The Critical. https://www.crossdreamersidebars.com/2024/08/the-cass-report-good-bad-critical.html
Horton, C. (2024). The Cass Review: Cis-supremacy in the UKâs approach to healthcare for trans children. International Journal of Transgender Health, 1â25. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2328249
Staff report (2024). The Cass Report â A Briefing. TransActual https://transactual.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/TransActual-Briefing-on-Cass-Review.pdf
Resources
Cass Review (cass.independent-review.uk)
- Final Report (2024)
- cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report
- Interim Report (2022)
- cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/interim-report
Twitter/X (https://x.com)
Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)