Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May 2009 (WA-318), whether it is still an integral requirement that a licence committee of the HumanFertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) should refuse a research licence application if the proposed research is not necessary or desirable for one of the prescribed purposes and that the use of an embryo is not necessary; how the HFEA have monitored developments with induced pluripotent stem cells; when the HFEA last considered an application to renew research licence R0152; and whether the HFEA considered that the use of an embryo was no longer necessary or desirable in achieving the original aims of research licence R0152; and, if not, why not.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that its Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee (SCAAC) most recently considered research involving the derivation of embryonic or "embryonic like" stem cells on 8 September 2009. The SCAAC papers are available on the HFEA's website at www.hfea.gov.uk/1127.html. With regard to the protocols followed by the HFEA's Research Licence Committee, the authority has also advised that it has nothing to add to the information in my Written Answer of 9 November 2009 (Official Report, col. WA 110-111). The information sought regarding Research Licence Committee decisions is available on the HFEA's website at www.hfea.gov.uk/180.html.