Clause 1 - Authorisation of activities for scheduled purposes

Part of Human Tissue Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:30 pm on 27 January 2004.

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Photo of Evan Harris Evan Harris Liberal Democrat, Oxford West and Abingdon 3:30, 27 January 2004

I shall speak to two amendments in the group. Amendment No. 80 is designed to clarify whether in clause 55(1) the phrase

''consists of or includes human cells''

covers something that consists of only one human cell, which may be all that is required for a purpose that requires consent. As I understand it, such a provision works the other way round, but the fact that the amendment was selected suggests that it is a question worth asking.

Amendment No. 81 gives the Under-Secretary the opportunity to clarify the distinction between ''relevant material'' in clause 55 and ''bodily material'' relating to DNA in clause 46. As cellular material is associated with the hair follicle, clause 46 uses the phrase ''bodily material'', so am I right in thinking that it is satisfactory to use the term ''relevant material'' to exclude hair and nail from the provisions? Things can be done with hair, but it is impractical to include it as one of the samples. Now seems to be a good time to ask at what point certain cellular materials coming from the body, such as mucus secretions and phlegm, count as relevant material for the purposes of this part of the Bill.