Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the relevance of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to individuals harmed by sodium valproate.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had specific discussions with international counterparts regarding the relevance of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to individuals harmed by sodium valproate. Our focus remains on improving the safety of sodium valproate, so it is not used for women or girls of childbearing potential unless a pregnancy prevention plan is in place and other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated. The Government is also carefully considering the recommendations made by the Patient Safety Commissioner in The Hughes Report, which sets out options for redress for those harmed by valproate.