Northern Ireland’s devolved government look set to reject the chance to implement a private puberty blocker ban inline with the one in England.

A statement from Stormont’s Department of Health said, “This is a complex issue and the decision as to whether these provisions will apply in NI is a significant and cross-cutting one for the Executive to consider.

“The Health Minister and his department are giving full consideration to the legal and policy implications of any extension to Northern Ireland so that the Executive can make a fully informed decision on this matter.

“If a permanent ban is to be put in place, this will be subject to consultation.”

However, I’ve been informed by a reliable source that Northern Ireland’s Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, is “unlikely” to call for a ban to be implemented.

This comes as something of a surprise given Nesbitt’s political leanings. The former broadcaster was the leader of the conservative UUP for five years and now sits as an MLA for the party, representing Strangford since 2011.

Earlier this week, as part of Northern Ireland’s Pride week, a number of politicians took part in a special Pride edition of Talks Back, hosted by the BBC’s William Crawley.

The UUP, Alliance, Sinn Fein and SDLP all sent representatives who spent most of the 90 minutes discussing questions about trans people and puberty blockers.

While Alliance and Sinn Fein are both opposed to any ban, the UUP’s representative seemed keen. While disappointing, it was not an unexpected stance from Jeffrey Dudgeon, an icon in the fight for gay rights in Northern Ireland. At the start of 2024, he shared a platform with Stella O’Malley of Genspect at a Toby Young Free Speech Union event in Belfast and has turned into one of those gay men who is happy to piss all over trans kids the way he was pissed over as a young gay man in the province.

The DUP, who are also opposed to puberty blockers, did not turn up to the event. The Greens were not invited but did have a number of members present in the audience.

The upshot of Northern Ireland refusing to implement the ban on private puberty blocker prescriptions means that it can be used as a backdoor to help trans kids across the rest of the UK.

Until Wes Streeting realises and closes the loophole, of course.

In other news, a verdict from the court case challenging the UK’s ban on private puberty blocker prescriptions will be delivered at 11am on Monday 29th July.