Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health in the House of Lords is taking to ensure coordination between the contaminated blood schemes in England and Scotland.

Ministers have discussed this matter with their Scottish counterparts and officials are working together to facilitate the increased payments this year. We want these payments to be made as quickly as possible to people infected in England and Scotland.

The Department is working with its colleagues in the Devolved Administrations and the current scheme administrators to ensure that any country specific arrangements for this financial year and beyond can be effected smoothly.