NHS trusts across the North have been named as authorised bodies in a new statutory instrument enabling a tightly defined exchange of protected information for research. The Gender Recognition (Disclosure of Information) (England) Order 2026 was laid in Parliament on 26 February 2026 and takes effect on 20 March 2026, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed in a written statement. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

The order creates a narrow legal route under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, allowing an authorised person to disclose protected information to another authorised person, provided both are in England and the purpose is the approved data linkage study. The study looks at outcomes for people who were referred to the former NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) while under 18, linking historic GIDS records with adult gender clinic and other national healthcare data. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

Several Northern providers are listed in the schedule, including Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust; Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust; Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Manchester’s Indigo Gender Service-run in partnership by GTD Healthcare and LGBT Foundation-is also named among the authorised bodies. (indigogenderservice.uk)

Authorised persons are employees or people formally authorised in writing to act for the named bodies. ‘Protected information’-as defined by the Gender Recognition Act-includes details about a person’s application for a Gender Recognition Certificate and information about their gender prior to being granted a full certificate. The exemption is strictly for the study; ordinary disclosure rules and confidentiality duties remain in place. (gov.uk)

The Department of Health and Social Care’s instrument revokes the 2022 order and updates who can share data and on what basis, reflecting that NHS England is now delivering the study. Streeting told MPs he expects full cooperation from participating organisations so the work can finally proceed. “It is my clear expectation that all relevant organisations will now provide the data required to complete this study,” he said. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

For readers in Yorkshire, the North East and the North West, this matters practically. It means information governance teams at the named trusts and services-stretching from Cumbria and Tyne and Wear down to Merseyside and West Yorkshire-can share defined data for this research when both sender and recipient are in England, with outputs expected to be anonymised. The schedule also reflects changes on the ground, including Sheffield Health and Social Care’s 25 September 2025 rename to Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

The order runs on a fixed timetable: it begins on Friday 20 March 2026 and is time‑limited, ceasing to have effect on 20 March 2029, according to the instrument text published on legislation.gov.uk. That sunset clause is intended to confine the legal gateway to completion of the retrospective study rather than permit any ongoing routine data sharing.

What the study is-and isn’t-also matters. This is retrospective research using records already held, with no active patient participation, and aims to understand care pathways and outcomes for those referred to GIDS as children. It does not change clinic appointments or referral routes for today’s patients. The department says the protocol will be published once research and ethics approvals are complete. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)

GIDS itself closed in 2024 as services were reconfigured; the Cass Review has shaped that process nationally. The new order is part of delivering the review’s recommendations by filling gaps in long‑term evidence. For Northern families and clinicians, the prospect is clearer data to inform future service design, outside London as well as within it. (en.wikipedia.org)

Indigo in Greater Manchester, delivered by GTD Healthcare with LGBT Foundation, remains a key adult service in our region and an example of how gender care has developed locally in recent years. Its inclusion alongside major Northern trusts underlines that this is not a London‑only exercise but one that will draw on services rooted in Northern communities. (indigogenderservice.uk)