Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's consultation response entitled Infected Blood Support: Special Category Mechanism, published on 28 September 2017, whether the additional funding for increases in non-discretionary payments in 2018-19 will come from (a) within or (b) outside the ex-gratia scheme.

The funding for non-discretionary payments for 2018-19 comes from within the departmental budget.