Author of Cass Review on NHS gender services takes seat in House of Lords
Dr Hilary Cass, now known as Baroness Cass, has been formally introduced to the upper chamber, along with former Commons deputy speaker Eleanor Laing.
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The author of the controversial Cass Review on NHS gender identity services has taken her seat in the House of Lords.
Dr Hilary Cass, now known as Baroness Cass, is a paediatrician who chaired the Independent Review Of Gender Identity Services For Children And Young People.
The review concluded earlier this year that children had been let down by a lack of research and evidence on medical interventions in gender care and came up with a number of recommendations, which some welcomed and others criticised.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he is “wholeheartedly committed” to implementing the measures put forward by the Cass Review.
Lady Cass, who will sit as an independent crossbench peer, was supported in her introduction ceremony by fellow crossbenchers Baroness Hollins, an emeritus professor of the psychiatry of disability, and Baroness Neuberger, the second woman in the UK to be ordained as a rabbi.
Also taking her seat in the upper chamber on Monday was former Commons deputy speaker Dame Eleanor Laing, now known as Baroness Laing of Elderslie.
Lady Laing was a Conservative MP from 1997 to 2024, holding a number of shadow ministerial roles from 2003 to 2010, before taking a role as a deputy Commons speaker in 2013.
She was supported in her introduction by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, a former Tory Cabinet minister, and Lord Gardiner of Kimble, a former Conservative frontbencher who is now Senior Deputy Lords Speaker.
Visiting the Lords to watch the introduction were fellow former deputy speaker Nigel Evans and former Tory Cabinet minister Liam Fox.
Both new peers wore the traditional scarlet robes for their short introduction ceremonies, where they swore allegiance to the King.
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