Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people with Hepatitis B had received an interim payment of compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority by 30 June 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The delivery of the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payments is the responsibility of the four existing Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS). Interim Payments have been made to people infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C as a result of infected blood and their bereaved partners. People infected with Hepatitis B are not eligible to apply to IBSS and are therefore not eligible for interim payments.
However, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, which is being delivered by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), has broader eligibility criteria than the current Infected Blood Support Schemes. People who are or were infected with a chronic case of Hepatitis B are eligible for compensation under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, including compensation for past financial loss and care costs.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people with Hepatitis B were waiting for an interim payment of compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority on 30 June 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The delivery of the Infected Blood Interim Compensation Payments is the responsibility of the four existing Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS). Interim Payments have been made to people infected with HIV and/or Hepatitis C as a result of infected blood and their bereaved partners. People infected with Hepatitis B are not eligible to apply to IBSS and are therefore not eligible for interim payments.
However, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, which is being delivered by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), has broader eligibility criteria than the current Infected Blood Support Schemes. People who are or were infected with a chronic case of Hepatitis B are eligible for compensation under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, including compensation for past financial loss and care costs.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on compensation for people impacted by infected blood and also by variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In his 2022 Compensation Framework Study, Sir Robert Francis recommended that variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) was not included in the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme. He noted that “this is a rare disease for which there is a separate compensation scheme. It is unlikely, therefore, that a separate category is justified in this scheme. However, many of the infected have been warned there is a risk of their having vCJD. Assuming that risk, insofar as it exists, is shared by all who have received blood or blood products in the relevant period, there is no special case for taking it into account in this scheme."
Chapter 5 of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s May 2024 Report examines the Government response to vCJD.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with Hepatitis B who are entitled to compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
While there is no way of knowing exactly how many people were infected as a result of this scandal, the findings of 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. In their September 2022 Report, they noted that, due to the limitations in the data available, it is not possible to answer the question of how many people were infected with Hepatitis B due to infected blood “with any reasonable accuracy when compared to other infections.”
Therefore, the final number of eligible people infected with Hepatitis B will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, who are responsible for the delivery of the Compensation Scheme. There is no limit or target on the amount announced for the scheme and each eligible person will get the compensation they are due.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the length of visa free travel for (a) UK citizens in the (i) EU and (ii) Schengen area and (b) EU citizens in the UK.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. This means, under the UK global immigration system, that EU citizens can travel visa-free to the UK for up to six months. UK nationals can travel visa-free in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the 90-day visa-waiver stay limitation for EU countries will be subject to negotiation with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require a visa and/or permit.The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the Procurement Act includes adequate measures to limit the procurement of Chinese-made cellular IoT modules in UK critical national infrastructure.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February this year, introduces new powers to exclude, terminate or debar suppliers from public sector supply chains on a variety of grounds. In line with the Act, the Government will operate the new powers on a country-agnostic basis, with each supplier and type of technology examined individually. We remain committed to protecting our critical national infrastructure and will continue to keep under review the risks associated with internet-facing technologies and components on an ongoing basis, both where they fall in scope of the Procurement Act and through other levers.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the National Security Unit for Procurement plans to publish guidance for contracting authorities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP) will support the implementation of new powers to protect public procurement from suppliers that pose a threat to national security. It will become operational on commencement of the Procurement Act on February 24th 2025 and we plan to publish guidance for contracting authorities on the application of the national security exclusion grounds ahead of that date. This is being complemented by more general training and engagement on the act run by the Cabinet Office’s Transforming Public Procurement Programme, and the wider suite of guidance which is already available.