Clause 10
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [Lords]
5:30 pm
Dawn Primarolo (Minister of State (Public Health), Department of Health; Bristol South, Labour)
At present, the 1990 Act requires HFEA members to be involved in all licensing decisions. As hon. Members have said, there has been comment about whether that is overly restrictive on the speed with which decisions are taken, particularly with regard to what might be considered routine licence applications. Clause 10 provides that the authority can set up committees to which it can delegate any of its functions. It will give the HFEA the flexibility to determine how best to manage its licensing process. That may involve divisions between more routine decisions and decisions that are slightly more challenging or contentious.
The new provisions mean that there will no longer be a specific requirement for a licence committee to be set up, nor will any such committee be required to comprise only HFEA members. Under the new provisions, for instance, the delegation to any committee could include members as well as a member of staff.
Under the 1990 Act, the authority could not delegate any function relating to licensing in that way. The Bill ensures that the HFEA can delegate licensing decisions to staff, ensuring that such decisions can be made quickly and within a framework set by the authority. There will need to be an escalation procedure to ensure that difficult or more contentious decisions are taken with the appropriate authority under these delegated powers. Therefore, we are asking the HFEA to consider how to deal speedily with licence applications.
The provisions are sensible and provide flexibility so that the authority can speed up its decision making and meet requirements of better regulatory practice. That will help the authority respond proportionately to its functions, delegating when appropriate, which should speed up decision making and cut costs. We thought that this provision was sensible to modernise regulation and would be in keeping with the Bill. It was particularly necessary following the removal of the proposal to establish the regulatory authority for tissue and embryos. As we took that part of the regulation out, we needed to have something in this clause instead. The provision should help to speed up the matter, but it does not remove the responsibility of the entire authority for the decisions that are taken. It is a question whether—I am struggling for the words to describe this—there are less complicated decisions that could then be endorsed by the full Committee, but that could be considered more quickly. The question of the appeal process and everything that needs to be in place is there. That is the main requirement. Arrangements are continuing to be reviewed and put in place to ensure that the provision is robust.
I hope that members of the Committee will be reassured that this is a proportionate response to criticism of lack of speed in agreeing licences, particularly when they are straightforward. The provision recognises the full range of expertise in the authority, but none the less makes it clear that decision making has to be speeded up.