Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the equity of the level of financial support provided to people affected by the contaminated blood scandal in Wales and England.

Since 1988, successive Governments have voluntarily provided ex-gratia financial and non-financial support for people affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through historic treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood or blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2017, country specific support schemes were set up in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These four schemes are devolved, and each nation has made different choices around their offers of support over time.

We are aware that there are disparities between the schemes, and we are working with our partners in the devolved nations and other relevant Government departments to improve parity of support for all beneficiaries across the United Kingdom.