Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people that would be eligible for compensation under the terms of the recommendations of the second interim report of Infected Blood Inquiry, published on 5 April 2023, in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the 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.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have died since being (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions in Hull North.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in Hull North, nor has it made an estimate of the numbers of these people who have since died.
Psychological support is available for people across England who are beneficiaries of the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), and their families. EIBSS provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members for counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved talking therapies. This offer was expanded in August 2022 to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing or longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-support.
A bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims and their families, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed and is planned to go live in early summer 2024. This will be available in all regions of England.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who were (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions by the NHS in Hull North.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in Hull North, nor has it made an estimate of the numbers of these people who have since died.
Psychological support is available for people across England who are beneficiaries of the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), and their families. EIBSS provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members for counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved talking therapies. This offer was expanded in August 2022 to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing or longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-support.
A bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims and their families, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed and is planned to go live in early summer 2024. This will be available in all regions of England.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what psychological support is available for people infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products in Hull North.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in Hull North, nor has it made an estimate of the numbers of these people who have since died.
Psychological support is available for people across England who are beneficiaries of the England Infected Blood Support Scheme (EIBSS), and their families. EIBSS provides a grant of up to £900 a year for beneficiaries and family members for counselling and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved talking therapies. This offer was expanded in August 2022 to enable beneficiaries to access funding for ongoing or longer-term treatment. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/talking-therapy-support.
A bespoke psychological support service for infected blood victims and their families, commissioned by NHS England, is currently being developed and is planned to go live in early summer 2024. This will be available in all regions of England.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to (a) identify and (b) contact people in Hull North who were (i) infected and (ii) affected by the contaminated blood scandal as part of Government preparations for responding to Infected Blood Inquiry recommendations on compensation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the 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.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in Hull North have received interim compensation payments as a result of (a) their infection and (b) their family member’s infection resulting from contaminated blood or blood products.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. Since October 2022, the Government has paid over £400 million in interim compensation payments to those infected or bereaved partners registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes, totalling over 4000 individuals.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11285 on Blood: Contamination and with reference to the oral contribution of the Rt hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North during Points of Order on 1 February 2024, Official Report, column 1019, for what reason the Paymaster General stated that the (a) psychological support and (b) clinical, legal and care experts were in place; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure the accuracy of information provided by Ministers about (i) support and (ii) compensation for people affected by infected blood.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the 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.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what dates he plans to publish the inspections completed by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on (a) Country of Origin Information – Thematic review of statelessness, (b) Afghan resettlement schemes, (c) ePassport gates, (d) the use of powers to deprive British nationals of citizenship, (e) contingency asylum accommodation for families with children in Northern Ireland, (f) Border Force operations at Portsmouth International Port, (g) Border Force’s fast parcel operations, (h) Border Force practices and procedures in relation to firearms, (i) the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, (j) illegal working enforcement activity, (k) country of origin information, Albania and Pakistan, (l) asylum casework and (m) the immigration system as it relates to the social care sector.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The department takes every inspection report seriously and considers the findings and recommendations carefully. This can sometimes mean the publication process is longer than expected. We will publish the reports in due course.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential training needs of prospective pharmacists in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is actively engaging with local universities and other local stakeholders to explore the feasibility of new schools of pharmacy within the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
Any education provider who wishes to establish a school of pharmacy can seek further information and advice from the General Pharmaceutical Council, which is responsible for the accreditation of pharmacy education and training in the United Kingdom.
The number of training places for pharmacists in England is uncapped and determined each year by health education providers. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the ambition to increase training places for pharmacists across England by nearly 50% to around 5,000 by 2031/32, and to grow the number of pharmacy technicians. Increasing training places will increase the number of pharmacy students, including those choosing to study in schools of pharmacy in proximity to the Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an NHS school of pharmacy in Hull.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is actively engaging with local universities and other local stakeholders to explore the feasibility of new schools of pharmacy within the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.
Any education provider who wishes to establish a school of pharmacy can seek further information and advice from the General Pharmaceutical Council, which is responsible for the accreditation of pharmacy education and training in the United Kingdom.
The number of training places for pharmacists in England is uncapped and determined each year by health education providers. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the ambition to increase training places for pharmacists across England by nearly 50% to around 5,000 by 2031/32, and to grow the number of pharmacy technicians. Increasing training places will increase the number of pharmacy students, including those choosing to study in schools of pharmacy in proximity to the Kingston upon Hull North constituency.