§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to remove the inconsistency between the provisions of the Access to Health Records Act 1990, the Data Protection Act 1984 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 with regard to information about certain infertility treatments.
§ Mr. SackvilleOn 17 March, we laid before the House the Access to Health Records (Control of Access) Regulations 1993 which preclude access under the Access to Health Rcords Act 1990 to any part of a health record which would identify a person born as a result of "treatment services" under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. Section 33(8) of that Act contains provision, subject to certain safeguards, in particular counselling, for obtaining access via the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to information relating to such treatment.
Access to health records generally is governed by the Data Protection Act 1984, for computerised health records, and the Access to Health Records Act 1990, for written records. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 modified the Data Protection Act 1984 to provide that access to information held on computer relating to treatment services is to be afforded under the 1990 Act rather than the 1984 Act. These new regulations will similarly preclude access under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 to written records relating to treatment services. Access to such records will then be available only 349W on application to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority under section 33 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.