Foetal Sentience Committee Bill [HL]

Foetal Sentience Committee

1 Foetal Sentience Committee

(1)

The Secretary of State must, within twelve months of the passing of this Act,
establish and thereafter maintain a committee called the Foetal Sentience
Committee (“the Committee”).

(2)

The members of the Committee are to be appointed by the Secretary of State.

(3)

The appointment of a person to the Committee is to be on such terms as the
Secretary of State may determine when making the appointment.

(4)

The purpose of the Committee is to be a source of evidence-based, scientific
expertise on the sentience of the human foetus in the light of developments
in scientific and medical knowledge, and to advise the government on the
formulation of relevant policy and legislation.

2 Reports of the Committee

(1)

The Committee may publish reports in accordance with the purpose outlined
in section 1(4) in such manner as it thinks appropriate.

(2)

The Committee must publish a report including details of its activities and
expenditures at least once a year.

(3)

References in this Act to government policy are to policy of the government
of the United Kingdom, but do not include any policy if, or to the extent that,
the policy relates to legislative provision falling within devolved competence.

(4)

For the purposes of subsection (3) legislative provision falls within devolved
competence if and to the extent that—

(a)

the provision would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish
Parliament if contained in an Act of that Parliament,

(b)

the provision would be within the legislative competence of Senedd
Cymru if contained in Act of the Senedd (including any provision that
could only be made with the consent of a Minister of the Crown), and

(c)

the provision would be within the legislative competence of the
Northern Ireland Assembly if it were contained in an Act of that
Assembly, and would not, if it were contained in a Bill in the Northern
Ireland Assembly, result in the Bill requiring the consent of the
Secretary of State under section 8 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

3 Response to reports

(1)

When the Committee publishes a report under section 2(1), the Secretary of
State must within the period specified in subsection (2) lay before Parliament
a response to any advice the report may contain that pertains to the
formulation of relevant policy or legislation.

(2)

The period is three months beginning with the day on which the Committee’s
report is published.

(3)

The following do not count towards the three months referred to in subsection
(2)—

(a)

any day in a period during which Parliament is dissolved or
prorogued, and

(b)

any day in a period of four or more days during which both Houses
of Parliament are adjourned.

Supplementary and general

4 Information

(1)

In Schedule 1 of the Public Records Act 1958 (definition of public records),
in Part 1 of the table, in the second column, after the entry relating to health
service hospitals, within the meaning of the National Health Service Act 1977
insert—

“The Foetal Sentience Committee.”

(2)

In Part 6 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (public
authorities to which that Act applies) at the appropriate place insert—

“The Foetal Sentience Committee.”

5 Extent, commencement and short title

(1)

This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(2)

This Act comes into force on the day on which it is passed.

(3)

This Act may be cited as the Foetal Sentience Committee Act 2024.