§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans Her Majesty's Government have to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine; and if he will make a statement. [131643]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 24 July 2000]: The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine contains a wide range of complex ethical and legal provisions. The rights of patients, whether undergoing medical treatment or research, are central to the Convention. The provisions cover a mixture of devolved matters (such as consent to treatment) and reserved matters (such as embryo research). We are considering the most appropriate way forward in the light of devolution.