Ministers have rejected Oxford MP Evan Harris's demands for parents to be allowed to choose their baby's gender.

The Liberal Democrat has also criticised the Government for not tackling the laws on fertility treatment, which often lead to discrimination against gay, disabled or single parent families.

But he has taken heart from the Government's announcement that it will canvass public opinion before making any final decisions.

The MP attracted a storm of criticism in March when he led calls from a group of five MPs for sex selection to be allowed to balance a family's make-up.

The group were members of the Science and Technology Committee, which recommended sex selection for family balancing should be allowed.

But, in its official response yesterday, the Government dismissed the notion of sex selection except on specific medical grounds.

It stated: "The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Code of Practice makes clear that licensed clinics may not use any information derived from tests on an embryo to select embryos of a particular sex for social reasons.

"The Government has no plans to alter this position to allow sex selection other than for compelling medical reasons."

However, the Government will be seeking "wider public views" on the issue.

Yesterday, Dr Harris said: "The committee said they need to come up with good answers about why you can't have sex selection for family balancing."

Dr Harris also complained that current issues about child welfare were not included in the Government's new proposals.

At the moment, fertility treatment cannot proceed without consideration for any potential child's wellbeing, but the Science and Technology Committee recommended this was changed to prevent clinics discriminating against couples that were not deemed "model families".

But Ministers have ignored the issue, pending the consultation.

Dr Harris said: "I think it's offensive to say people who are infertile -- like cancer survivors -- should be asked if they are good parents in a way that people that don't have fertility problems are never asked."