IVF Treatment

Baroness Nargund Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Nargund]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of The Lancet article Is IVF treatment heading in the right direction?, published on 23 June, indicating that many IVF add-ons do not work; and what consideration they have given to giving regulators the power to ban them.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I declare my interests as the lead author of the Lancet insight paper on IVF add-ons and as a board member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, we are aware of the issues raised in the Lancet article regarding the effectiveness of IVF treatment add-ons. The regulator, the HFEA, provides information to patients on the effectiveness of fertility treatment add-ons through its website. In most cases, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that they improve treatment outcomes. The Government are considering a range of proposed reforms to fertility regulation, including the scope of regulator powers to regulate add-ons effectively.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend the Minister for her reply. The concern about IVF add-ons is not only that many are unproven and ineffective but also that some can pose serious health risks to patients and unnecessary emotional and financial harm. The HFEA’s current traffic light system is guidance only and the regulator has no enforcement powers, which means that some add-ons with a red rating continue to be offered in clinical practice. Will she consider granting the HFEA interim enforcement powers for the use of red-rated IVF add-ons to protect patients from harm while the wider reforms to the fertility regulatory framework are being developed and implemented?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I recognise the situation that my noble friend describes and note that, while the relevant Act has provided a strong framework for over three decades, the fact is that treatment, science and societal expectations have all evolved very significantly since the last major reform in 2008. It is the case that the Act does not currently provide powers to ban add-ons. We are constantly looking at what we can do while we await and consider legislative change, but that really is the best way forward to tackle this.