Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 June 2010 (WA 182-3) and 28 November 2011 (HL13465), why the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not know how the use of human eggs under research licence R0122 related to information provided to patients participating in that research if such usage was nonetheless related to HFEA licensed research; how such usage of eggs was related to the stated aim of research licence R0122 at the time; and whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the progress reports for research licence R0122 in which these numbers of human eggs were described.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the purpose of information provided to patients participating in research is to inform consent and is not related to the number of eggs used. The HFEA has also advised that when research licence R0122 was issued in April 2003, none of the stated objectives referred to the use of eggs. A new objective, referring to the use of eggs, was added in the progress report for research licence R0122, received by the authority in April 2004. A copy has been placed in the Library.