title: Editorial.
abstract: Ethical issues in research have, quite rightly, come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. In the UK, all research involving human subjects, patients, human samples, patient data, or NHS staff or facilities must take into account the requirements of the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care ( DoH 2001 ). The Central Office for Research Ethics Committees (COREC), working on behalf of the Department of Health in England, co-ordinates the development of operational systems for Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in the NHS, and manages Multicentre Research Ethics Committees (MRECs) in England. Additionally, COREC now provides a strategic overview of Local Research Ethics Committees (LRECs). As part of their ethical review processes, LRECs will now require evidence of independent peer review, commensurate with the scale of the research. This will inevitably impact on the timescales for approval of projects, which should be taken into account when writing proposals and planning research. Recent guidance has included a definition of a research 'site': 'the geographical area covered by one Health Authority, whether the research is based in institution(s) or in the community', while multi-centre research is defined as: 'research taking place within the boundaries of two or more research "sites".' Other developments include changes affecting procedures to NHS Research Ethics Committees. Policy and guidance is continually developing and further information can be found on the Central Office for Research Ethics Committees' website: http://www.corec.org.uk/.