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Ms Rosie Winterton: There seems to be some nodding from officials about the possible ungrammatical nature of the amendments, but I shall consider the issue further. Inadvertently, I forgot to cover Government amendment No. 28, which relates to a technical point about the use of the word "child" in the Bill. It was mentioned earlier in the debate and it has been drawn to our attention.
The word "child" is variously used to mean a person under 18 years or someone's potentially adult offspring, depending on the context in which it is used. The current definition of "child" in clause 55 is a person under the age of 18, except in the list of "qualifying relationships" at subsection (10) of the clause. It is in the context of "qualifying relationships" that a person could be the adult child of a deceased person, and so able to consent to post-mortem donation. However, the term "child" is also used in the context of qualifying relationships at other points in the Bill, for example at clause 24, so the amendment clarifies that any reference to a child in that context is a reference to a person who is the offspring of another person, whatever their age. Elsewhere in the Bill—for example in the context of consent from a living person to use of their own tissue—a child is a person under 18 years of age. The amendment is simply to clarify the position in either case.
The hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison) raised a particular point about the deceased person in amendment No. 25. The amendment extends the requirement for consent from material to the body of the deceased person, to make the provision comprehensive and so that the code will cover all situations in which consent may be required.
Amendment agreed to.
28 Jun 2004 : Column 114
Clause 23
Amendments made: No. 59, in page 14, line 19, leave out 'conduct' and insert 'carrying-out'.
No. 60, in page 14, line 25, leave out 'conduct' and insert 'making'.
No. 25, in page 14, line 33, after 'of', insert—
'(i) the body of a deceased person, or'.
No. 26, in page 14, line 44, at end insert—
'(2A) In dealing under subsection (1) with the matters mentioned in subsection (2)(h) and (i), the Authority shall, in particular, deal with consent.'.
No. 76, in page 15, line 9, after 'practice', insert 'issued'.
No. 77, in page 15, line 10, at end insert—
'( ) A code of practice issued under this section shall come into effect on such day as may be appointed by directions.'.—[Ms Rosie Winterton.]
Clause 24
Amendment made: No. 27, in page 15, line 14, leave out subsection (1) and insert—
'(1) The duty under section 23(2A) shall have effect, in particular, to require the Authority to lay down the standards expected in relation to the obtaining of consent where consent falls by virtue of section 2(6)(b)(ii) or 3(5)(c) to be obtained from a person in a qualifying relationship.'.—[Ms Rosie Winterton.]
Clause 26
Amendments made: No. 78, in page 16, line 15, leave out 'Where a proposed' and insert
'The Authority may not issue a'.
No. 79, in page 16, line 15, after '23', insert 'that'.
No. 80, in page 16, line 17, leave out from 'section' to end of line 18 and insert 'unless—
'(a) a draft of it has been sent to and approved by the Secretary of State and laid by him before both Houses of Parliament, and
(b) the 40-day period has elapsed without either House resolving not to approve the draft.'.
No. 81, in page 16, leave out line 27.
No. 82, in page 16, line 29, at end insert 'and'.
No. 83, in page 16, line 31, leave out from 'department,' to end of line 33.
No. 84, in page 16, line 37, at end insert—
'( ) In subsection (1)(b), "40-day period", in relation to the draft of a code of practice, means—
(a) if the draft is laid before one House on a day later than the day on which it is laid before the other House, the period of 40 days beginning with the later of the two days, and
(b) in any other case, the period of 40 days beginning with the day on which the draft is laid before each House, no account being taken of any period during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than 4 days.'.—[Ms Rosie Winterton.]
28 Jun 2004 : Column 115
Clause 29
Ms Rosie Winterton: I beg to move amendment No. 31, in clause 29, page 19, line 2, leave out from beginning to 'material' and insert 'any controlled'.
Mr. Deputy Speaker: With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:Government amendment No. 114.
Government amendments Nos. 32 to 46.
Ms Winterton: In Committee, hon. Members tabled several amendments that reflected the concerns of the pharmaceutical industry. The amendments and the correspondence cast doubt on whether clinical research activities, such as indemnity payments to participants in clinical trials and payments to companies that source tissue for research projects that are at present legitimately carried on for profit, would remain lawful following the passage of the Bill as drafted. In Committee, I undertook to review clause 29.
Having examined the issue, we took the view that those concerns are justified. We understand that payments are not made in respect of human tissue itself, but that payments of the kind that I have mentioned would be within the scope of the offence as drafted. However, it was clearly never our intention to interfere with commercial activities that had been lawfully and ethically carried on for many years. We therefore propose to amend the Bill to confine the offences connected with advertising and supply of human tissue for reward to transplantable tissue only. That solution would, as we intended, extend the existing offences of commercial dealings in organs, which are transferred from the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989, to cover supply of any tissue for transplantation.
Other amendments to clause 29 will allow for the possibility of commercial tissue banks by permitting more than just expenses to be recovered in respect of the storage of tissue and for people involved in the chain of supply of transplantable tissue to pass on costs that they have incurred. Grouped with those amendments is Government amendment No. 65, which relates to the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Bill. The amendment is minor and consequential and is required because that measure is ahead of the Human Tissue Bill in its passage through Parliament.
It being Nine o'clock, Mr. Deputy Speaker put the Question already proposed from the Chair, pursuant to Order [15 January].
Amendment agreed to.
Mr. Deputy Speaker then proceeded to put forthwith the Questions necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded at that hour.
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