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In July 2002, the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology issued a report that criticised several aspects of the current regulatory regime governing developments in human genetics and embryology. In its reply to the Committee’s assertion that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority does not function efficiently, the Government says that it has approved the HFEA’s request to make a large increase in the licence fee charged to clinics carrying out assisted reproduction procedures, and that it is also substantially increasing funding for the HFEA’s other work, including the regulation of embryo research and public consultation. It expects these increases in resources to enable the HFEA to function more efficiently. In contrast, the Government does not see a need for a large increase in funding for the Human Genetics Commission, but says that it views sympathetically requests for ad hoc funding for specific large projects. Countering a suggestion by the Committee that the current overall regulatory regime is unnecessarily complex and fragmented, the Government says it is satisfied that the existing committees have distinct and complementary functions, and work well together.

In the area of legislation and regulation, the Government says that it is maintaining an active role in the international arena, participating, for example, in discussions in the United Nations on a ban on reproductive cloning, and with the Council of Europe on an additional protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine. On the home front, it promises that if a pending appeal to the House of Lords by the Pro-Life Alliance succeeds, it will enact primary legislation to bring the technique of therapeutic cloning (somatic cell nuclear replacement) within the regulatory remit of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.