Chair responds to open letter calling for sanctions for non-compliance with clinical trials reporting requirements

• Inquiry: Research integrity
• Science and Technology Committee

In their letter they called on the Chair to write a public letter to the Health Research Authority (HRA) to remind it of Parliament's expectations with regard to sanctions for non-compliance with reporting requirements for clinical trials and to encourage the HRA to set out a clear timetable for the phasing in of sanctions.

Chair's comments

In response to the open letter, Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, said:

“The Health Research Authority (HRA) must follow my Committee's recommendation from last Autumn to introduce a system of sanctions for those who do not comply with reporting results requirements for clinical trials. For too long there has been little consequence to non-compliance with current requirements and it's time action was taken.

“I will be writing to the HRA to encourage them to propose a system of sanctions in their response to their consultation on the HRA's draft transparency strategy, which closes next month.

“My Committee is committed to ensuring improvements in clinical trials transparency and we will continue to push for change in this area. This year we have already written to NHS Trusts in England and universities across the UK reminding them of their responsibilities and put them on notice that if they didn't get their houses in order, we would be asking them to come before us to explain themselves. We will be holding this follow-up session in the Autumn and will announce details in due course.”

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