Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether enhanced payments for people infected with Stage 1 Hepatitis C as a result of receiving contaminated blood will be backdated to April 2016 if their appeal through the special appeals mechanism after 2017-18 is successful.

In 2017/18, we will introduce a special appeals mechanism for people currently at stage 1 of their hepatitis C infection, to apply for a higher level of payment, equivalent to the stage 2 annual payments of £15,500. Details of the appeals mechanism are still being developed. Any individual successful in their appeal when operational, will not have these backdated to April 2016, but will be backdated from the point they submitted their application.