Minutes of the Council meeting held on 27 June 2001
Mon, 13 August 2001
Council (01) 3rd Meeting
NUFFIELD COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS
Minutes of the Meeting held at 28 Bedford Square London WC1B 3JS
on 27 June 2001 at 10.30 am
PRESENT
Professor Martin Bobrow (Deputy-Chairman in the Chair)
Professor Tom Baldwin, Professor Catherine Peckham, Professor Duncan Forrester, Professor Martin Raff, Professor Bob Hepple, Mr Nick Ross, Lady Hornby, Professor Herbert Sewell, Professor John Ledingham, Dr Alan Williamson, Mr Derek Osborn, Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern
APOLOGIES
Professor Ian Kennedy, Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Mrs Rebecca Howard, Professor Sir Brian Heap, Professor Albert Weale
SECRETARIAT
Dr Sandy Thomas, Susan Bull, Tor Lezemore, and Julia Fox
In the absence of the Chairman, Professor Ian Kennedy, Professor Martin Bobrow, Deputy-Chairman took the Chair and welcomed Professor Bob Hepple to his first meeting in his capacity as Chairman of the Working Party on the Genetics of Human Behaviour.
The Deputy Chairman extended the congratulations of the Council to Professor Marilyn Strathern on her DBE, to Professor Brian Heap on his Knighthood and to Professor Tom Baldwin on his recent appointment to the HFEA.
The Deputy Chairman also reminded Council members that this would be the last occasion when the Council would be joined by the retiring member the Rev. Professor Duncan Forrester.
MINUTES OF (01) 2nd MEETING
1 It was agreed that the Minutes were an accurate record of the previous meeting.
MATTERS ARISING
2 There were no matters arising, other than those, which would appear as specific agenda items.
CHAIRMAN'S ITEMS
MEMBERSHIP
Council (01) 12
3 Four members of Council would be retiring at the end of the year which represented a significant turnover in membership (Lady Hornby, Professor Sir Brian Heap, Derek Osborn and Rev Professor Duncan Forrester). The membership Sub-group had identified three areas which would need to be covered by new members. These were moral philosophy, law and government/civil service. Members were asked to consider four possible names.
4 Discussion followed about the need for representation from a range of faiths as well as equal representation of women on both Council and Working Parties. It was agreed that additional suggestions would be followed up.
REPORT ON THE MEETING WITH THE BUSINESS
COMMITTEE OF THE HUMAN GENETICS COMMISSION
Council (01) 12
5 At the meeting with Yvette Cooper MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health it had been agreed that meetings should be held twice a year between the Secretariat and relevant officials from the Department of Health. The first of these meetings took place on 10 May at which it was agreed that the Council and the HGC should meet informally twice a year to exchange information and discuss specific topics. The first meeting with the HGC was held on the 10th May at the invitation of the Council. There was general agreement that the meeting had been useful. It was suggested that the HGC should be invited to host the next meeting.
REPORT ON FORWARD LOOK SEMINAR 2001
Council (01) 13
6 Three elements of the meeting were reviewed: the talk by Professor Ian Hargreaves, the sessions on future work-programme and education. It was agreed that the principle of inviting an outside speaker was worthwhile. Professor Hargeaves talk had yielded a useful and open discussion of how the Council was perceived from the 'outside'.
7 Attention then turned to consideration of the topics selected for the A List. The Chairman invited members to distinguish between those topics which were more suited to a Working Party and those which would be better considered within the format of a Workshop or Round Table. There was broad support for the topic of scientific integrity. There were several aspects that the Council might consider, including the issues raised by the academic/commercial interface, how integrity might be preserved, the question of scientific fraud and the reluctance of journals to publish inconclusive data. It was agreed that as this topic was both timely and important, it should be placed on the A list. Nevertheless it needed further refinement before being considered within a Round Table/Workshop format.
8 On the topic of Human Tissue, it was pointed out that this needed to be done soon or it will not be worth doing. It was agreed that a Round Table should be organised.
9 There was discussion about whether the ethical questions raised by end of life issues and start of life issues should be considered separately or together. There were different views on the merits of the two approaches. It was noted that the HFEA and HGC were undertaking a study on start of life issues but that end of life issues were not being addressed by any leading organisation in the UK. It was agreed that a Workshop first then possibly Working Party should be arranged. The Chairman summed up the agreed topics and drew the discussion to a close. The item would appear on the Agenda at the next meeting.
10 The question of holding Council meetings outside London was briefly considered. It was agreed that the Forward Look date for 2002 would be Thursday 16 May. An out of London meeting would be arranged in the form of a seminar, public debate or launch of a report. Other final Council meeting dates for 2002 appear at the end of these minutes.
PROPOSAL FOR FUNDING: PROGRESS REPORT
11 The Wellcome Trust had considered the Council's application but a formal response had not yet been received. The MRC and Nuffield Foundation had not yet considered the application. Council would be kept informed of any decisions.
ANNUAL REPORT 2000
12 The first draft of the Annual Report for 2000 was being prepared and would be circulated in due course.
MAIN BUSINESS
WORKING PARTY ON THE ETHICS OF HEALTHCARE
RELATED RESEARCH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Council (01) 14
13 In the absence of Sir Ken Calman, the Assistant Director, Susan Bull, Secretary to the Working Party reported on the progress to date. The Secretariat was currently working on the next draft of the Report before it was sent out to peer review next week. All but one of the peer reviewers had accepted the invitation to review the Report. The draft recommendations were included in the paper. The full and final report would be discussed at the October meeting. The Council appreciated the very substantial amount of work being done by the Working Party.
WORKING PARTY ON GENETICS AND
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR: THE ETHICAL CONTEXT
Council (01) 15
14 Professor Kennedy had asked that thanks be recorded to Professor Hepple, the Working Party and the Secretariat for what seemed to be excellent work. Professor Bob Hepple summarised the main points of the paper and added that fact finding meetings were now being arranged in Cambridge and at the Hastings Center in the US. Relatively few responses to the public consultation had yet been received although others were yet to come from research organisations and people directly working in the field. A number of specific papers were being commissioned in areas that the Working Party did not have expertise. The first draft of the Report would be available for the October Council meeting. The timing of the peer review had been delayed until December. The Report was expected to be completed by Easter 2002.
ROUND TABLE ON THE ETHICS OF PATENTING DNA AND PROTEINS
Council (01) 16
15 The Director reported that a meeting had been held on 1 June. The aim was for the draft to be revised and signed off by late September. The Chairman invited members to consider whether the proposed mode of publication was appropriate. It was agreed that a meeting should be organised with interested parties before the paper was put on the web. A range of organisations should be invited, including representatives from industry, NGOs and patent lawyers.
TO REPORT
COUNCIL AND SECRETARIAT ATTENDANCE AT THE BRITISH COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SOCIETY AND GENETIC INFORMATION
16 Professor Tom Baldwin, Dr Alan Williamson and Susan Bull had represented the Council at the above Symposium. Professor Baldwin reported that the meeting had been very enlightening and had featured a high level of hospitality from the British Council. He emphasised that such meetings presented an important potential role for Council members in the future.
THE COUNCIL'S 10th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
17 No further suitable names had been submitted for the lecture. Further suggestions were then made and it was agreed that one of these would be followed up. The individuals agreed by Council to write the prefaces for the reports on the CD-rom would now be invited. Consideration also needed to be given to the questions to be put in the Prospect poll.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
18 The Director raised the question as to whether the Council should have its own website and email address rather than that of the Foundation. Council members supported the view that the possibility of the Council having its own website and email designation should be explored.
Last Updated Mon, 7 June 2004