WIREDGOV

DH: Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo has set out the way ahead for the Human Tissue and Embryology (HTE) bill by publishing the Government's response to the Scrutiny Committee report on the bill.  The bill represents a major overhaul of the law on assisted human reproduction and embryo research.

 

Measures contained in the bill include a total ban on sex selection for non-medical reasons, explicit rules for embryo screening and more scope for embryo research.  However a proposed new Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos (RATE) to replace the existing regulators the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), has now been dropped after consultation with stakeholders.

 

The revised bill also rejects the Scrutiny Committee's suggestion of putting "by donor" on birth certificates of children.

Press release ~ Human Tissue and Embryos (draft) Bill ~ Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act ~ Scrutiny Committee’s report and Government Response ~ Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ~ Human Tissue Authority (HTA)

 

MoJ: New legislation which will hopefully strengthen the protection to the public from sex offenders & hate crime has been set out by Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw in the House of Commons when he ‘signalled’ the Government's intention to introduce amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.

 

The new legislation will allow police, probation and prison services to notify members of the public if a sex offender poses a risk to children. A further proposal will create a new offence which would extend protection already provided for religious and racial groups to gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

 

The amendment on sex offenders will put a legal duty on the MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements) agencies, which include police, probation and prison services, to consider disclosing information about convicted child sex offenders to members of the public in all cases.  The presumption will be that the authorities will disclose information if they consider that an offender presents a risk of serious harm to a child.

Press release ~ Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill ~ Review of the protection of children from sex offenders ~ Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)