Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Fertility treatment 2018: trends and figures, published on 30 June, which reported that "since 2013, the number of egg and embryo storage cycles increased fivefold to just under 9,000 cycles in 2018", what plans they have to expedite legislation to remove the 10-year time limit for which frozen eggs and embryos can be stored.

The Government ran a public consultation between 11 February and 5 May 2020, seeking views about changing the statutory storage limits for embryos and gametes. The Department is currently analysing responses. We intend to publish a Government response to the consultation later this year, which will our outline our plans.

In the meantime, the Government has given a two-year extension to all those with embryos and gametes in storage, who have been affected by delays to treatment caused by the response to COVID-19. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos and Gametes) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 were laid on 3 June 2020 and cover anyone who has not been able to access treatment as a result of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority temporarily suspending fertility treatment services on 23 March 2020.