Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Infected Blood Inquiry response expert group meets weekly and have met in full seven times as of 20th March. As the work of the expert group relates to the formulation and development of Government policy, their advice, evidence and methodologies as well as the terms of reference, minutes and agendas of their meetings have not been published at this time.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I am committed to engaging with the Infected Blood community and updating Parliament on progress of the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry as appropriate. Plans are currently being developed at my request to meet those infected and affected by Infected Blood across the United Kingdom to talk about their priorities ahead of the publication of the Inquiry’s final report. Further information on this will be shared soon.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I am committed to engaging with the Infected Blood community and updating Parliament on progress of the Government response to the Infected Blood Inquiry as appropriate. Plans are currently being developed at my request to meet those infected and affected by Infected Blood across the United Kingdom to talk about their priorities ahead of the publication of the Inquiry’s final report. Further information on this will be shared soon.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

As set out in my response to Question 16659, members of the expert group will receive remuneration for their work. However, the Government will not be releasing the details of how much individual members of the expert group are being paid.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I can confirm that members of the expert group will receive remuneration for their work. On 7 February 2024, the Government published details of the legal experts contract award on Contracts Finder.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery has been appointed as the chair of the expert group to advise on the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. The names of the other members of the expert group will not be disclosed to safeguard the privacy and ability of experts to continue their frontline clinical roles whilst advising on Government policy.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991 and subsequent survival rates. However, this information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. There is also considerable uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible under Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. Therefore I am not able to provide a substantive response to the right Honourable Lady’s question on her constituency. On 22 January, an expert group formally began work to provide technical advice to the Cabinet Office. This work will inform the Government’s response to the Inquiry’s final report.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Inquiry’s second interim report covers a set of extremely challenging issues, and it is right that we fully consider the needs of the community and the far-reaching impact that this scandal has had on their lives. The Inquiry’s final report is due on 20 May 2024 and I will make a further statement to the House regarding the Government’s next steps within 25 sitting days of the final report being published.

In October 2022, the Government made interim payments to infected people and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes.We will continue to engage with the infected and affected community as appropriate, including ensuring that the APPG and the wider community is represented. At this time we are not engaging with groups on an individual basis regarding the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I thank the Honourable Lady for her point and note that I wrote to her on the 2nd February 2024, following the point of order she raised on 1st February. During Cabinet Office Oral Questions on 18 January 2024, Jessica Morden MP raised a question about the urgency of compensation for the victims of the infected blood scandal. In response, I sought to assure her that I was doing everything I could to deliver as quickly as possible, and that psychological support for victims was now in place. As I requested, my statement regarding psychological support has been corrected in Hansard and makes clear that a bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed, and is planned to go live in early Summer 2024. Regarding experts, when I spoke on 18 January, the Government was onboarding experts to advise on the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. On 22 January, the chair of the expert group and clinical experts formally took up their appointments and the advising legal firm contract was awarded. The Government will update on the appointment of social care experts in due course.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Since 13 November 2023 I have received 58 letters and emails about the Infected Blood scandal including from people infected and affected. I have been deeply affected by the suffering and trauma of each individual as a result of infected blood and would like to reassure the community that the Government is committed to acting swiftly following the publication of the final report. I plan to engage with the infected blood community as soon as I have a substantive update to share on the Government response. I am mindful of the anxiety that those infected and affected must be experiencing at this time and would not wish to exacerbate this.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Government is in the process of appointing clinical, legal and social care experts to advise the Cabinet Office on detailed technical considerations of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry and will update Parliament in due course. The advice of experts will ensure the Government has the relevant expertise to make informed choices and to respond to the Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation following the publication of the final report on 20 May 2024.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Government has committed to responding to the recommendations in the second interim report, including the recommendation to establish an arms-length body, following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Work is currently underway across Government to give thorough consideration to each of the recommendations that Sir Brian made in his second interim report. The Government is committed to acting swiftly in response to the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, and is awaiting its publication by the Inquiry.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

It is a measure of the scale of the infected blood scandal that the statutory Inquiry has over 2,000 infected and affected core participants. My predecessors as Ministers responsible for the Infected Blood Inquiry held formal roundtable meetings with groups of infected and affected people and representatives of campaign groups in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023, at which my predecessors were able to hear directly from infected and affected people. Further meetings took place with individuals and their Members of Parliament once each in 2021 and 2022.

In addition to this, my predecessors have had informal meetings with groups of individuals while attending hearings of the Inquiry and in the margins of a Westminster Hall debate. My officials often correspond with and speak to individuals and campaigners in the course of their work.

Answering body: Treasury

As the Minister for the Cabinet Office set out in his statement of 19 April, the Government welcome the publication of the infected blood inquiry’s second interim report, and is considering its recommendations carefully.

HM Treasury officials are working closely with colleagues in the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health and Social Care, among others, who are leading on the consideration and analysis of the recommendations.

As the Minister for the Cabinet Office set out in his answer to your question of 20 April, Ministers and officials at all levels meet regularly to discuss this issue. My officials and I are involved in those discussions, and will continue to be so.

Answering body: Treasury

As the Minister for the Cabinet Office set out in his statement of 19 April, the Government welcome the publication of the infected blood inquiry’s second interim report, and is considering its recommendations carefully.

HM Treasury officials are working closely with colleagues in the Cabinet Office and the Department of Health and Social Care, among others, who are leading on the consideration and analysis of the recommendations.

As the Minister for the Cabinet Office set out in his answer to your question of 20 April, Ministers and officials at all levels meet regularly to discuss this issue. My officials and I are involved in those discussions, and will continue to be so.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

I thank the Rt Hon Lady for her questions. I appreciate the Rt Hon Lady has also raised related issues in business questions and in a point of order.

I initially made a statement on the infected blood scandal to the House on 15 December in which on behalf of the Government I accepted that there is a moral case for compensation to be paid.

I followed this up by meeting victims of the scandal on 7 March. I am most grateful to the APPG, with the Rt Hon Lady and the Father of the House in the Chair, for facilitating this meeting.

At a very early date after the publication of Sir Brian Langstaff’s Second Interim Report, I came to the House to make a further statement on 19 April to give Rt Hon and Hon Members the opportunity to react to the report and ask questions of the Government.

I wrote to the Rt Hon Lady following publication of the report setting out that I looked forward to further engagement.

I made clear in my statement that I was open to further meetings with the victims of this scandal while we progress the work required to respond to Sir Brian.

I would like to assure the Rt Hon Lady, as I made clear in the statement, of my determination to progress this issue and respond as swiftly as possible. Work continues on the formulation of policy to achieve this objective, including ministerial level meetings chaired by me as sponsor minister for the Inquiry. As is usual, I do not intend to publish details of internal government meetings conducted to inform policy decisions.

On the specific issue of the Devolved Administrations and as I set out in my answer to PQ181290, PQ181291, PQ181293 and PQ181294, we worked closely with the Devolved Administrations to achieve the successful payment of interim compensation to infected victims. Liaison has continued since then at official level.

I anticipated meeting Ministers in the Devolved Administrations following the publication of the Second Interim Report, and I look forward to doing so and hearing their input towards our consideration of the Report. However, I would draw the Rt Hon Lady’s attention to the fact that both Sir Robert Francis and Sir Brian Langstaff recommend a compensation scheme established and funded by the Government of the United Kingdom.

It is also the case, as I said in my statement of 19 April, that Sir Brian differs significantly from Sir Robert in recommending a single UK scheme whereas Sir Robert recommended the utilisation of the existing payment structures operated, inter alia, by the Devolved Administrations. The Rt Hon Lady will appreciate that on this as in many areas of Sir Brian’s Second Interim Report there are significant policy issues that need to be considered by the UK Government as we formulate our response, on which we are working at pace.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office chairs a range of cross governmental meetings at official and ministerial level from departments across Whitehall to coordinate the Government’s response on the Infected Blood Inquiry. The issue of compensation is complex, and we are working at pace across Government to ensure that we are able to respond quickly to Sir Brian Langstaff’s final report.

I refer the honourable Member to the statement made on Wednesday April 19 2023, in response to the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Second Interim Report.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office chairs a range of cross governmental meetings at official and ministerial level from departments across Whitehall to coordinate the Government’s response on the Infected Blood Inquiry. The issue of compensation is complex, and we are working at pace across Government to ensure that we are able to respond quickly to Sir Brian Langstaff’s final report.

I refer the honourable Member to the statement made on Wednesday April 19 2023, in response to the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Second Interim Report.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The UK Government liaised closely with the Devolved Administrations on the interim compensation paid in October 2022. Sir Brian Langstaff has recommended that there should be a single UK-wide scheme to issue compensation whilst maintaining the existing support schemes. As I said in my December statement, the Government is committed to liaising with the Devolved Administrations on this issue, and we will continue to do so.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Meetings continue to be held at Ministerial and Official level to progress the Government’s response to Sir Brian Langsatff’s work. As set out in the statement of Wednesday 19th April, this is a priority for the Government.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Infected Blood Inquiry is a statutory Inquiry sponsored by Cabinet Office. The Inquiry is independent of the Government, therefore we are unable to comment on the Inquiry's work.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Government remains committed to considering a potential framework for compensation, as well as actions to address disparities in financial and non-financial support for people infected and affected across the United Kingdom.

Officials at the Cabinet Office are working with colleagues in HM Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care and health departments in the devolved administrations on this review.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

We will consider any recommendations when the Infected Blood Inquiry reports, including any around financial support. There is no intention to reduce the amount of financial support given to beneficieries.