PARLIAMENTARY SCRUTINY OF THE DRAFT HUMAN FERTILISATION AND EMBRYOLOGY (MITOCHONDRIAL DONATION) REGULATIONS 2015

That this House expresses its support for families with inherited conditions such as mitochondrial disease; welcomes the ongoing work across the four administrations on the UK Rare Diseases Strategy; further expresses concern that the Government appears to want Parliament to endorse the draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 before all preclinical safety checks recommended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have been properly concluded and peer-reviewed; notes that there has been a lack of consultative engagement with people in Northern Ireland regarding the regulations compared with the rest of the UK; calls on the Government to address the safety concerns raised by a range of eminent scientists; further calls on the Government to confirm with the European Commission and the European Court of Justice that the regulations are fully compliant with the Clinical Trials Directive and further to confirm their compliance with UK law; and further notes that a motion expressing concern about the regulations is being considered for full debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly.