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Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Government response to the Joint Human Genetics AdvisoryCommission and Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority report, "Cloning Issues in Reproduction, Science and Medicine", to bepublished. [88432]Ms Jowell: The Government's response to the joint Human Genetics Advisory Commission (HGAC) and Human Fertilisation and EmbryologyAuthority (HFEA) report, "Cloning Issues in Reproduction, Science and Medicine" has today been placed in the Library.Following public consultation, the joint HFEA/HGAC report's recommendations included the proposal that consideration be given toregulations under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 to allow research for therapeutic purposes which involved cloningtechniques.The Government reaffirm their policy that human reproductive cloning is ethically unacceptable and cannot take place in thiscountry. Also, more evidence is needed of the potential benefits to human health before the use of cloning for therapeutic purposesis allowed in research. We recognise that regulations to allow therapeutic research should be very carefully considered. We believe,however, that more evidence is required of the need for such research, its potential benefits and risks and that account should betaken of alternative approaches that might achieve the same ends.That is why we have asked the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, to set up and chair an independent expert advisorygroup to seek the views of a range of experts, both here and abroad, so that we have a clearer idea of the potential benefits ofsuch research for human health.We expect it will begin work during the summer and report its findings to Ministers early next year.We welcome the HGAC/HFEA report's recognition that the safeguards currently in place are wholly adequate to prevent humanreproductive cloning in the United Kingdom, and that the Government's policy of forbidding this practice received support during thepublic consultation.The Government accept the report's recommendations that the adequacy of the safeguards and related issues should be kept underreview in order to address public concerns about the rapidity of development in these areas at the cutting edge of science andmedicine. |