Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to inform families of his plans for (a) interim and (b) main payment compensation before the second anniversary of the publication of the Hughes Report.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh.

This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. Since taking up my post, I have met with the patient safety commissioner to discuss her recommendations and discussed how we may respond in the near term to recommendations regarding improving the outcomes and lives of people harmed by Valproate and Pelvic mesh. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.