Ms Tracey Conroy:

The international clinical expert panel review is being carried out by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, RCOG, with expertise also sourced through the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. There is ongoing daily engagement between the Department and RCOG on the details and complexities of this review. It was never intended that the RCOG review would be completed in advance of the Scally review. It was made clear from the outset, in terms of engagement with RCOG, that given the complexities of the review it could take four to six months to complete. We always knew that it would not be possible to complete it sooner and we were clear in this regard, including to Government.