Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 September (WA 353–54) and 16 October (WA 67), which department or authority should examine the papers referred to in Lord Alton of Liverpool's letter to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) on 6 November 2008; and why the HFEA's statutory remit does not include studying and commenting on evidence that may contradict their conclusions.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had advised me that it considers the broad range of evidence available as part of its statutory duty to keep under review information about embryos and any subsequent development of embryos. However, the HFEA does not consider that this duty obliges it to produce, routinely, commentaries on such information.