Announcing the indefinite ban, Streeting said: “It is a scandal that medicine was given to vulnerable children without the proof that it was safe or effective.”
But he added that the planned clinical trial by NHS England into the use of puberty blockers would go ahead.
The ban would then be reviewed in 2027, he said, in the light of any new evidence that emerged.
Under-18s who were on the drugs before the ban was introduced have been allowed to continue using them.
Helen Joyce, of the Sex Matters campaign group, said: “Wes Streeting has shown integrity and bravery in replacing a temporary ban with an indefinite order.
“It marks another step towards puberty blockers being relegated to a shameful chapter of history, in which parents and health professionals were emotionally blackmailed into harming children in the name of ‘progress’.”
Meanwhile, TransActual’s Keyne Walker said the ban smacked of “discrimination plain and simple”.
“Evidence of the harm of the temporary ban continues to emerge, and will grow now that it has been made permanent.”
