Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on adopting a model similar to the Scottish scheme for the reformed English support scheme for those affected by contaminated blood.

The Department has received a number of representations about Scotland’s proposals for scheme reform.

However, given health functions are devolved, responsibility for the infected blood payment schemes is a matter for each devolved administration. In England, we have committed up to £125 million to provide additional funding to the reformed scheme. The budget allocation will more than double the Department’s annual spend on the scheme to April 2021. This is significantly more than any previous government has been able to provide for those affected by the tragedy.