Confirmation comes after public consultation and decision to close Gender Identity Development Service in London.
The government said it welcomed the “landmark decision”, adding it would help ensure care was based on evidence and was in the “best interests of the child”.
Puberty blockers, which pause the physical changes of puberty such as breast development or facial hair, will now only be available to children as part of clinical research trials.
It follows a public consultation on the issue and an interim policy, and comes after NHS England commissioned an independent review in 2020 of gender identity services for children under 18.
That review, led by Dr Hilary Cass, followed a sharp rise in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids), run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, which is closing at the end of March.
In 2021/22, there were over 5,000 referrals to Gids, compared with just under 250 a decade earlier.
In February 2022, Cass published an interim report saying there was a need to move away from one unit and recommended the creation of regional services to better support youngsters.
She pointed to a lack of long-term evidence and data collection on what happens to children and young people who are prescribed medication.
She added that Gids had not collected routine and consistent data “which means it is not possible to accurately track the outcomes and pathways that children and young people take through the service”.
After Gids closes, two new NHS services will open in early April, situated in London’s Great Ormond Street hospital and Alder Hey Children’s hospital in Liverpool.
The NHS has said children attending these clinics will be supported by clinical experts in neurodiversity, paediatrics and mental health, “resulting in a holistic approach to care”.
Health minister Maria Caulfield said: “We have always been clear that children’s safety and wellbeing is paramount, so we welcome this landmark decision by the NHS.
“Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child.”
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