is reportedly not yet involved, recombinant DNA research is being con- 
ducted in Switzerland. Forms to register such research have been 
distributed, and Professor Arber has reported that this voluntary system 
is working well . 
UNITED KINGDOM 
In January 1975 a working party, established by the Advisory Board 
of the Research Councils and chaired by Lord Ashby, then Master of Clare 
College, Cambridge, released a report recommending that recombinant DNA 
research in the United Kingdom be permitted to continue under appropriate 
controls. A followup working group under Sir Robert Williams was then 
appointed to consider the implementation of the recommendations of the 
Ashby Committee and the practical aspects of this research, including 
the drafting of a code of practice establishing a central advisory 
service for recombinant DNA laboratories, providing training facilities, 
and establishing controls. 
The Report of the Working Party on the Practice of Genetic Manipula - 
tion , also known as the Williams Report or the U.K. Guidelines, was 
released in August 1976 (Appendix IV). It divides experiments into 
four categories according to the potential hazard represented. Each 
category contains a list of safety procedures designed to provide 
physical containment. In addition, the report calls for the establish- 
ment of a U.K. Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group (U.K. GMAG) for 
the purpose of advising and training researchers, and the appointment 
of biological safety officers in all laboratories. 
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