Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 6 May (WA 117), in what circumstances a licence application might be viewed more favourably when under consideration by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority than when submitted to a research council for funding.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised me that it cannot comment on a research council's criteria for awarding funding to research projects. The HFEA may issue a research licence only for the purposes outlined in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Research Purposes) Regulations 2001. A licence committee of the HFEA would refuse a research licence application if it was not satisfied that the proposed research was necessary or desirable for one of the prescribed purposes and that the use of an embryo was necessary.