Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 22 January (WA 204) and 26 June (WA 129-30), whether the remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority extends to the responsibility for licensing human embryo research which is prohibited by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and whether the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill would be required in order for the research project R0153 to be licensed by the regulatory authority.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an independent statutory body with the responsibility for making decisions relating to licensing of research projects under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. Human embryo research can only be licensed by the HFEA if it is shown to be necessary or desirable for one of the research purposes in the 1990 Act as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001. Research purposes are: to promote advances in the treatment of infertility; to increase knowledge about the causes of congenital diseases; to increase knowledge about the causes of miscarriage; to enhance knowledge in the development of more effective contraception; detection of genetic or chromosomal abnormalities before implantation; to increase knowledge about the development of embryos; to increase knowledge about serious disease; or to enable any such knowledge to be applied in developing treatment for serious disease. The HFEA granted licence R0153 to the Centre at Life, Newcastle, following appeal. A summary of how it reached this decision is available on the HFEA website at www.hfea.gov.uk.