The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has today announced the appointment of new Authority members by the Appointments Commission. Most of the new appointments will take effect from 1 September 2008 for a period of three years.

Six new members have been appointed to the Authority. They are: Dr Mair Crouch, Ms Jane Dibblin, Ms Gemma Hobcraft, Ms Lillian Neville, Mrs Debbie Barber and Professor Lesley Regan. Biographies of the new appointees are available below.

In addition, three current Authority members have been re-appointed for a further term. Ms Clare Brown, Professor Neva Haites and Professor Emily Jackson have been appointed for a further three years.

Three members will step down from the Authority this year when their appointments come to an end. Ms Sharmila Nebhrajani will step down on 31 October 2008.  Walter Merricks and Dr Maybeth Jamieson will step down on 30 November 2008.
Professor Lisa Jardine, Chair of the HFEA, said:
"I welcome these new members to the Authority at an important and exciting time for the HFEA. I am delighted we have been able to attract people of such great talent and diverse experience to join us. Their broad range of skills and expertise will make a valuable contribution to the Authority, complementing those of our current and reappointed members. "With new legislation in its final stages in Parliament and continuing developments in fertility treatment and embryo research, the Authority faces many challenges. I look forward enormously to working with these new members to make sure that the HFEA takes full advantage of the opportunities these challenges present.

"Of course it is always sad to lose members who have served the HFEA as well as Sharmila, Maybeth and Walter have. They leave us knowing that they have made a contribution of the highest calibre and with our warm good wishes for the future."

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if any declared) to be made public. None of the new members has taken part in political activity over the last five years. The appointments have been made in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice.

The HFEA is the independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research. Our role is to protect patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in the treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the public and
policymakers about treatment and research.

The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.  The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination (AI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.

***NEW MEMBERS***
Mrs Debbie Barber
Appointment    Professional Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Mrs Debbie Barber aged 46, lives in Oxford. Mrs Barber is a Nurse Consultant and
Lecturer in Women's Reproductive Health at Oxford Fertility Unit, John Radcliffe
Hospital. She has worked within healthcare for 25 years, 20 of which have been
in reproductive health. She currently acts as a clinical expert resource for
colleagues and patients, regularly reviewing existing practices.  She is also
responsible for the training and professional development for the nursing and
clinical teams.  Mrs Barber has recently passed her Diploma of Higher Education
in Women's Reproductive Health. Mrs Barber has not declared any political
activity.
________________________________________
Dr Mair Crouch
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Dr Mair Crouch aged 60, lives in Glasgow.  Dr Crouch is currently a Lecturer in
Bioethics and is teaching a new course on Stem Cells at The Institute of
Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, at the University, she
previously taught in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, and
lectured on the social, legal and ethical implications of the developments in
genetics. Dr Crouch's interest in the implications of the technological
developments in genetics and society led her to study for a Law degree,
graduating LLB in 2004. Dr Crouch has not declared any political activity.
________________________________________
Ms Jane Dibblin
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Ms Jane Dibblin aged 50, lives in London.  Ms Dibblin is a freelance Executive
Producer of Angeleye Media, mainly producing educational films and audio
materials for the Open University. The role requires excellent communication and
enables her to research and learn new fields. Her extensive personal experience
in infertility and her family includes her own unsuccessful treatment; however
she has since adopted two children. Ms Dibblin was previously a
psychotherapeutic counsellor within a large private practice. Ms Dibblin has not
declared any political activity.
________________________________________
Ms Gemma Hobcraft
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Ms Gemma Hobcraft aged 26, lives in East Twickenham. Ms Hobcraft is a Pupil
Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London and is currently undertaking an
Asylum Support Appeals Project. Her LL.M in Human Rights Law addressed issues
such as cloning, artificial reproduction and bio banks and her dissertation was
written on Artificial Reproductive Technologies (ART). She has a strong
background in sexual and reproductive health and rights, although not through
formal training but her own reading, research and interactions during the last 9
years has attributed to this interest. Ms Hobcraft is the founding member of the
Youth Coalition, which is an organisation of young advocates working
internationally for Sexual and Reproductive Rights. Ms Hobcraft has not declared
any political activity.
________________________________________
Ms Lillian Neville
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Ms Lillian Neville aged 53, lives in Chorley. She is a Senior Lecturer and the
Strategic Lead for Lifelong Learning at the School of Nursing, University of
Salford. In her early career, Ms Neville was a Nurse which led to teaching in
Nursing and Midwifery. With over 15 year's experience of teaching in health care
ethics, she enjoys discussions of current issues on reproductive and fertility
developments and keeps abreast of developments with the HFEA. For 3 years she
was Chair of the Special Ethics Committee for Reproductive Issues at Salford's
Royal Hospitals NHS Trust. Ms Neville has not declared any political activity.
________________________________________
Professor Lesley Regan
Appointment    Professional Member (1 Sept 08 to 31 Aug 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Professor Lesley Regan aged 52 lives in London. Professor Regan is a Professor
and Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Imperial College
London at St Mary's Campus, she is also currently Deputy Head of Division,
Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics at the Imperial
College. Professor Regan is President of the Association of Early Pregnancy
Units in the UK, a council member for the Royal College of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology and non-executive director at West Midlands University Hospitals .
Professor Regan has not declared any political activity.
________________________________________
***REAPPOINTED MEMBERS***
Ms Clare Brown
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Dec 08 to 30 Nov 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Ms Clare Brown aged 55, lives in Bexhill on Sea. Ms Brown has been a member of
the HFEA since 2002. She is Chief Executive of the Infertility Network UK (I N
UK) and More to Life. She has been involved in patient organisation for over 25
years and oversaw the merger of CHILD and ISSUE in 2003 to form I N UK. Ms Brown
is also involved in various fertility and infertility groups and is the Founder
and Chair of the Association of Fertility Patient Organisations. She also is the
Founder and Chair of the Organising Committee of National Infertility Day with
four successful conferences to date. Ms Brown has not declared any political
activity.
________________________________________
Professor Neva Haites
Appointment    Professional Member (1 Dec 08 to 30 Nov 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Professor Neva Haites aged 61, lives in Aberdeen. Professor Haites has been a
member of the HFEA since 2002 and is a member of the Expert Scientific Group on
phase 1 clinical trials and a member of the Expert Advisory Group on Biological
and Vaccines of the Commission on Human Medicines. Professor Haites is the Vice
Principal and Head of College of Life, Science and Medicine at the University of
Aberdeen. She is also a professor in Medical Science and Head of Service at the
Department of Medical Genetics at Grampian University Hospital NHS Trust.
Professor Haites has not declared any political activity.
________________________________________
Professor Emily Jackson
Appointment    Lay Member (1 Dec 08 to 30 Nov 2011)
Remuneration   £182.85 per day
Declared political activity in the last five years     None
Other ministerial appointments held     None
Professor Emily Jackson aged 41, lives in London. Professor Jackson has been a
member of the HFEA since 2003. She is a Professor of Law at the London School of
Economics and previous to this specialised in Medical Law. She currently teaches
a very large undergraduate option in Medical Law on the LLB degree and also a
course in Regulating New Medical Technologies which requires her to keep abreast
of developments in this area. Professor Jackson is also Chair of the Research
Licence Committee and the Regulation Committee and she is Deputy Chair of the
Ethics and Law Committee. These also enable her to keep up to date with the
developments of clinical issues within human fertilisation and embryology.
Professor Jackson has not declared any political activity.
Ends
Notes to editors
· Further information about HFEA members (including short biographies) can be
found on the HFEA website: http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/384.html
· The HFEA is the independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research.
Our role is to protect patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in
the treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the public and
policymakers about treatment and research.
· The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and
Embryology Act 1990.  The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor
clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), artificial insemination
(AI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes
(eggs and sperm) and embryos.
· The HFEA publishes a free Guide to Infertility for people considering or
starting fertility treatment. It can be downloaded from www.hfea.gov.uk. Contact
[email protected] or call 020 7291 8200 for a printed copy.

Contact the HFEA press office for further information
· Paula Woodward, Press Officer
Tel: 020 7291 8226
· Brenda Irons-Roberts, Media Relations Manager
Tel:  020 7291 8224
· John Paul Maytum, Head of Communications
Tel: 020 7291 8225
· Out of hours urgent press contact
Tel: 07771 981 920
· Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
· Web: www.hfea.gov.uk