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Dr. Gibson: We are having one heck of a time debating human embryology and the changes that we would like to see. I have just escaped from the Select Committee and the debate is continuing. The Committee is now in its seventh hour on the report, so no one must hold their breath.
Miss Johnson: We could be in the interesting situation of Ministers pressing the Select Committee to come to a considered view about something, which might be a reversal of how things normally happen. I look forward to seeing the results of the Committee's seven hours of deliberation.
Mr. Dalyell: May I place it on the record that as one who has written an unconscionable number of letters, often on arcane scientific subjects, to my hon. Friend and to the Health Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), as well as to Lord Warner, I am impressed by the quality of the replies that come these days from the Department of Health? It is entirely to the credit of Ministers' officials and their technical advisers that they answer seriously and in depth. I am glad that they are supporting the Department.
Miss Johnson: I shall ensure that those kind remarks are drawn to the attention of the powers that be. I thank my hon. Friend .
The Government have invested £45 million in stem cell research between 2004 and 2006. I have already outlined the investment that is to come. We know through life-threatening diseases such as Parkinson's, chronic heart conditions and diabetes that stem cell technology has the potential to revolutionise medicine in the 21st century, in the same way that antibiotics transformed medical treatment in the previous century. We are funding the UK stem cell bank. It is the first of its kind in the world. It is a leading venture that we wholeheartedly support.
The UK regulatory system is well regarded and the envy of the world. We have the first regulation and first approval of research for therapeutic purposes. We now have the longest running regulatory body of its sort in the world. We have ensured that reproductive cloning has been banned. We are, of course, a world leader in stem cell research. I have outlined the research that has been permitted and the companies in which we are investing.
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I hope that I have made it clear that we are giving this matter high priority and a great deal of support. We know that funding is not the only solution. We have only to look across the Atlantic to the situation in California and other US states to be aware that money alone will not be sufficient to nurture development and to lead to the medical breakthroughs for which we are desperately hoping. We will continue to engender a regulatory environment that is as supportive and enabling as possible for UK stem cell research. We
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know, however, that even that will not be enough. As we have seen at the UN, it is our responsibility to commend our position on stem cell research at all opportunities in the international arena. It is only with all these approaches that the Government will continue to champion the UK as a world leader in stem cell research, both now and in the future.
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