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Speaking at Newcastle's Centre for Life, UK Health Minister Alan Milburn has promised a large injection of resources into developing the National Health Service's genetic services and the country's research effort in genetics and health care (see text of speech). He announced a package of £30 million to increase the number of consultant geneticists from the current 77 to over 140 by 2006, to double the number of scientific and technical staff associated with the regional genetics centres, and to double the number of genetic counsellors working not only within the genetics centres but also in primary care and in association with Macmillian Cancer Relief. Two new national reference laboratories will be set up to specialise in tests for rare genetic disorders, and a Genetics Commissioning Advisory Group will ensure equity of genetics service provision across the country. Mr Milburn also announced a £10 million investment in genetics research and its implications, by establishing up to four multidisciplinary "genetic knowledge parks" that will bring together clinicians, scientists, academics and industrial researchers to develop new genetic technologies for application in health care. The knowledge parks will also include social scientists working on the ethical and social questions raised by these developments.

Mr Milburn recognised the importance of tackling and solving potential social and ethical problems if the public is to have confidence that genetics will have a positive impact on health care. He promised close scrutiny of the use of genetic tests by insurance companies and implied that the Government will act on any recommendations made by the Human Genetics Commission on this issue. He also pledged an explicit ban on human reproductive cloning. On the question of patents, he announced that the Department of Health is pursuing negotiations with Myriad Genetics for the use of tests for mutations in the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA1, and has already reached agreement with the Cancer Research Campaign to use the BRCA2 mutation test for which it holds the patent.

In order to inform future planning for genetics, the Government will publish a Green Paper - the first on this subject - in 2002. A panel chaired by Lord Turnberg will advise on the issues the Green Paper should cover.