Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 10 January 2012 (WA 21–2), for what purpose the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) expect research licence applicants to provide a numerical estimate of the number of eggs or embryos to be used in a licensed research project; what is the margin of error normally accepted for such estimates; and what, if any, further clarification should be provided to the HFEA when the ultimate usage differs significantly from previous estimates.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it expects research licence applicants to indicate their expected use of eggs or embryos as part of a general description of the scope of the proposed research. In granting a licence, the licence committee does not use the centre's estimate to restrict its use of eggs or embryos in the approved research. If actual usage is different to the estimate then this may be considered by a licence committee if a centre submits an application to renew the research licence.