Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will set a date for the introduction of (a) the 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 additional support packages for people who were infected with contaminated blood.

The Department continues to work closely with the current scheme administrators to fulfil this Government’s commitment to make all such payments before the end of March 2017. We have committed to payment, back dated to April 2016 of:

a) the new annual payments of £3,500 for those infected with hepatitis C stage 1 (rising to £4,500 in 2018/19); and

b) the continuation of annual payments for those infected with severe hepatitis C (stage 2) or HIV of £15,500 from this year (an increase from the current £14,749), and rising to £18,500 in 2018/19.

In addition, payment of a one-off lump sum payment of £10,000 to all those who were the partner or spouse of a primary beneficiary when they died and where infection with HIV and/or hepatitis C contributed to the death of their partner/spouse will apply to those already bereaved (and newly bereaved from April 2016 and beyond).

As well as these payments, the schemes continue to provide their existing support payments to registrants of the schemes, and will do so until the new, single scheme administrator is operational during 2017/18.

Taken together, the Government’s action in this area is the most comprehensive ever to those infected with contaminated blood.