Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 9:15 pm on 3 December 2007.

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Photo of Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Government Whip 9:15, 3 December 2007

The HFEA's role is to license and monitor all clinics and centres carrying out fertility treatment, such as IVF and donor insemination, and centres undertaking human embryo research and also to regulate the storage of sperm, eggs and embryos. I am indebted to both the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, and the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, for their clear explanation of the growing need for assisted reproduction and of the fundamental roles of the HFEA, which must include adherence to the law. The HFEA has a duty under Section 7 of the 1990 Act to produce annual reports. These are an overview of what the authority has done over the past year, as well as a forward look at the coming year.

I turn to Amendment No. 21, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Williams, and the noble Lord, Lord Alton. I entirely refute the noble Lord's statement about false jingoism and false hopes, but I believe that the idea outlined in the amendment is good in principle. However, the HFEA does not have a role in regulating or licensing adult stem cell research. It would therefore not have the remit, nor would it be appropriate, for the HFEA to produce annual reports on the resources spent on adult stem cell research in the UK. As my noble friend Lord Darzi outlined in his closing speech at Second Reading, from 2004-05 to 2005-06, the Medical Research Council provided funding of £14.7 million. Over the same period, the MRC provided £16.5 million for embryonic stem cell research.

Further, although the HFEA licenses human embryonic stem cell research, it does not provide funding for it and therefore does not have a role in recording the information on resources put into this research. I feel that it would be the role of the UK Stem Cell Bank, research councils or the scientific community as a whole to monitor and make available information regarding the volume of activity in stem cell research in the UK. I very much hope that they will do so.

I turn to Amendments Nos. 22 and 23, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Alton. The skills and expertise needed among HFEA members are considered by the chair of the HFEA in consultation with the Department of Health. Subsequently, appointments are made by the Appointments Commission on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, following advertisements in the UK press. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, for, among other things, her clear explanation of the appointments process. It involves advertisements in the national press, as I said, and they are in line with the Nolan principles; it is a transparent process. These processes have improved over the past 10 years, as noble Lords have said.

This process ensures that the HFEA has members drawn from across the UK's population with the appropriate skills and expertise to enable the authority to fulfil its statutory role effectively. Membership consists of both lay members and people with a specific interest in what the authority regulates, including doctors involved in infertility treatment and scientists involved in human embryo research.