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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority fees for research licences. [190793] Miss Melanie Johnson: Research that involves the use of human embryos requires a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The HFEA charges a fee of £200 for a research licence application. It costs the HFEA an average of £6,000 to consider and process a research licence application and, if awarded, regulate it. Earlier this year, the HFEA undertook a public consultation exercise on proposals to increase the fee to make it more representative of the cost to the Authority of considering and processing research licence applications and regulating the licence once awarded. Following the consultation, the HFEA proposes to increase the fee to £500 for small research projects, rising to £750 for more substantial projects. Although a significant increase, it would not cover the full cost to the HFEA of handling the licence applications, as to do so might jeopardise research in the United Kingdom, including important stem cell research. The proposed fee increase would therefore continue to require subsidisation from the funding that the HFEA receives from the Department. In accordance with section 16 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, the proposed fee increase was submitted to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and Her Majesty's Treasury for approval. Approval for the increase has been given.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

425 c1043-4W; 190793

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Applications Costs Fees and charges Licensing Human embryo experiments Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Research

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk