Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has considered redress for men adversely impacted by mesh implants.

As the Hon. Member will know, the July 2020 Cumberledge Review recommended the establishment of specific redress schemes for women harmed by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate. While the previous government did not accept that recommendation, it asked the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, to explore the options further in December 2022. Neither the Cumberledge nor Hughes Reviews considered the wider case for redress for all patients harmed by medicines and medical devices, including other types of mesh implants, and – while we sympathise greatly with all individuals who have been harmed in that way – there are no plans for any further such review at this stage.