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Government responds to HGAC report on genetic testing and employment

26 June 2000   |   By Dr Alison Stewart   |   News story
In a letter from Lord Sainsbury and Yvette Cooper to Baroness Helena Kennedy, Chair of the Human Genetics Commission, the Government has responded to the report on genetic testing and employment published by the (now-defunct) Human Genetics Advisory Commission in July 1999. The Government broadly agrees with the HGAC's conclusions and recommendations, stating that it "wishes to ensure that, once genetic testing has advanced to the stage where the use of test results by employers becomes a realistic proposition, it has in place proper safeguards to prevent such information being used unfairly". The letter points out that there are several government bodies that have roles in this area. One of these, the Health and Safety Commission, has already established a working group within the Occupational Health Advisory Committee, to monitor developments in the use of genetic testing in employment. In addition, the Data Protection Commissioner has begun to develop a Code of Practice on the use of personal data (including genetic information) in employer/employee relationships. The Code of Practice will be available in draft form later this year. The HGAC recommended that there should be a further review on genetic testing and employment in five years' time. The Government nominates the Department for Education and Employment to take the lead in coordinating this review, and asks the Human Genetics Commission to work with the DfEE in the processes of monitoring, consultation and development of guiding principles that will inform and shape this review. One area earmarked for further consideration is the question of whether people who discover, through genetic testing, that they carry a mutation that confers a high risk of future disease, should be considered as disabled under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995. The Disability Rights Task Force has decided that at present they should not be, but recommends that the isse be kept under review.  

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