§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs on 9 June, Official Report, column 129, by what methods Her Majesty's Government are keeping a close watch on developments in human genetics.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Government are monitoring these developments by a number of means. Scientific and medical staff keep up to date through professional literature and close links with medical scientists. Government Departments maintain long-standing contacts with representative patient, professional and international organisations. These include the Medical Research Council and its scientific boards, the Nuffield Foundation which last year set up the Nuffield Council of Bioethics, the Council of Europe and the European Community.
I would also refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) on 17 January at column 675, in which she announced a wide consultation on the report of the Committee on the Ethics of Gene Therapy. The consultation period ended on 18 May 1992 and all the comments will be carefully considered before the Government formulate their response to the report.