Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 11 January 1988 to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead, Official Report, column 184W, on contaminated blood products, if he will place a copy of the letter sent to that right hon. Member in the Library.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
We regret that we are unable to locate a copy of a letter from Tony Newton, the then Minister of State for Health, to the Rt. hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field MP).
We have published all available material before 1992 and have acknowledged that unfortunately some papers from the period were inadvertently lost or destroyed a number of years ago. This is covered in some detail in Lord Archer’s report and it is important to note that Lord Archer also made clear that his inquiry “discovered no evidence of malicious destruction of relevant records”.
Officials have not been able to identify any of the correspondence referred to or the information it would have contained. However haemophilia centres were alert to the potential of HIV in blood products by 1983.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans that the new, single trust for people affected by contaminated blood will be a registered charity; whether he plans that that trust will have trustees representing (a) his Department, (b) the Haemophilia Society and (c) the infected community; and whether he plans that the registered beneficiaries of that trust will be contacted from the (i) wider beneficiary community registered with the MFET and Skipton Fund or (ii) narrower list of people registered with the Caxton Foundation, Eileen Trust or MacFarlane Trust.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
There will be a new scheme administrator combining the discretionary and annual payment functions of the existing five schemes into a single scheme going forward.
The new scheme administrator will become operational in the financial year 2017/18 and the current bodies will operate until the new scheme is operational.
The Department has initiated the pre-market engagement phase of the procurement process for identifying a new scheme administrator. At this stage, it is too early to comment on who will be successful in the procurement process and what their internal governance arrangements will be.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department conducted prior to the launch of its consultation on infected blood: reform of financial and other support.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We developed proposals in the consultation document based on a wide range of views we have heard over time including via numerous debates, representations from Members and several inquiries conducted by Parliamentarians.
In addition, an independently facilitated meeting was held on 5 October 2015 with some members of three groups (Tainted Blood, the Contaminated Blood Campaign and the Haemophilia Society). The aim was to further inform the Department’s understanding of what matters most to members of these groups in terms of financial and non-financial support. A separate meeting was held in November with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, where we sought views on proposals for reform ahead of consultation.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 22461, on blood: contamination, how many cases of liability have been established for people with haemophilia infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C through NHS-supplied contaminated blood or blood products.
Answered by Jane Ellison
These infections are a tragedy for those affected but they occurred before blood donor screening tests or methods of viral inactivation were available in the United Kingdom. In 1991, a case brought by haemophilia patients infected with HIV was settled out of court with no liability established. In 2001 the National Blood Authority was found liable under the Consumer Protection Act for infection with hepatitis C in relation to whole blood caused to 117 patients infected between 1988 and 1991. It is not known if any of these plaintiffs were haemophilia patients. Since 1988, ex-gratia financial support schemes have been set up for people who have been affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood or blood products. To date over £390 million has been paid out to those affected through five different organisations funded by the health departments.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 19004, what steps he has taken to communicate with people affected by contaminated blood products on the timing of the consultation.
Answered by Jane Ellison
An update on the timing of the consultation was provided during an Urgent Question on 16 December 2015, Official Report, columns 1555-1565. I updated the members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood on the progress of the consultation at a meeting in November. A note of this meeting was published on the Haemophilia Society website.
It is anticipated that the consultation will be published and an announcement made, in January 2016. The Department will be communicating this to all affected individuals and those with an interest. The details of the consultation will be published on the gov.uk website, including details of how those who are interested may provide a response.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the minutes of the infected blood reference group meeting held on 5 October 2015; and for what reasons those minutes have not yet been published.
Answered by Jane Ellison
A report was produced by the independent facilitator who chaired the event and a final version was agreed with representatives from the campaign groups who attended, namely the Haemophilia Society, Contaminated Blood Campaign, and Tainted Blood. The report has now been published on the Haemophilia Society website.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2015 to Question 7788, whom his Department has consulted on the matter of compensation packages for people affected by NHS contaminated blood.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Department is considering wider reform of the ex-gratia financial assistance and other support for those affected with HIV and/or hepatitis C by infected NHS-supplied blood or blood products. We are doing this within the context of the spending review and in a way that is sustainable for the future.
In order to help develop the shape and structure of any new scheme, we plan to consult publicly on scheme reform soon. The Department has alrady engaged with representative groups of infected/affected individuals. These individuals were nominated from the Contaminated Blood Campaign, Tainted Blood and The Haemophilia Society. The event was held in a neutral venue and had an independent facilitator. A report from this one off event will be made public soon. Discussions are ongoing with other interested parties.
While we are working to establish a full and fair resolution, liability has not been established in the majority of cases, so it would not be appropriate to talk about payments in terms of compensation, particularly on the scale that some may envisage.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with support groups and other charitable organisations on the issue of contaminated blood.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Departmental officials meet regularly with the Caxton Foundation, Skipton Trust, McFarlane Trust and the Eileen Trust and with the Hepatitis C Trust from time to time to discuss hepatitis C related matters. Officials also held an introductory meeting with the Chief Executive of the Haemophilia Society earlier this year.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he has made on providing compensation for people with haemophilia who were infected with contaminated blood during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
We intend to update the House on our intention to consult on reforming the current system of ex-gratia financial support for people infected with, or affected by, HIV and/or hepatitis C as a result of treatment with National Health Service supplied blood or blood products prior to September 1991. Work on this is ongoing.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress his Department has made in formulating a new scheme of support for those who contracted haemophilia or hepatitis C as a result of contaminated NHS blood supplies; what assessment he has made of the effect on the implementation of such a scheme of the dissolution of Parliament before it is completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Work on what can be done to improve the system of support for those affected by HIV or hepatitis C through historic treatment with NHS supplied blood or blood products is detailed and ongoing. When that work is complete, we will make an announcement to hon. Members and affected individuals.