§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any of the appointees to the proposed new Independent Expert Advisory Group on Cloning will be expert in non-embryonic cell duplication techniques which may be used as alternatives in therapeutic cloning; and, if not, why not. [HL3701]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Hayman)We hope to be able to announce the terms of reference and membership of the Chief Medical Officer's expert advisory group on cloning shortly.
The Government's response to the Human Genetics Advisory Commission and Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority report on cloning, published on 24 June, included a statement that the Chief Medical Officer's expert group would, among other considerations, provide an opportunity to obtain views on alternatives to cloning embryonic cells.
Copies of the documents mentioned are available in the Library.