Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd June 2010 Lords Chamber

Tabled by

[Lord Morris of Manchester]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the implications for the Department of Health and haemophilia patients infected by contaminated NHS blood products of the High Court judgment in March v Secretary of State for Health; and what action they will be taking.

[Lord Morris of Manchester]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and, in doing so, declare a non-pecuniary interest as president of the Haemophilia Society.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, we have decided not to seek leave to appeal the judgment, and we shall be writing shortly to let the court know of our decision. We are considering our response to the judgment and will announce our decision in due course. In the mean time, ex-gratia payments will continue to be paid at current levels to those affected.

[Lord Morris of Manchester]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl and congratulate him on his well merited ministerial post, which I know he will grace with all his customary integrity. Is he aware that 1,982 haemophilia patients have now died from being infected with HIV and hepatitis C by contaminated NHS blood products in this worst ever treatment disaster? Given the High Court’s landmark judgment, the wide all-party acclaim for the Archer inquiry’s findings and David Cameron’s strongly positive response to the Haemophilia Society’s pre-election call for urgent new help for the afflicted and bereaved, can the Minister confirm that there will be no delay now in ensuring a just settlement for this cruelly stricken and arguably most needful minority in Britain today?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, perhaps I may begin by thanking the noble Lord for his kind words. I am sure he knows how seriously I take these matters. I hope he can take as read my wish to see that those whose health is suffering as a result of this tragedy are properly looked after by the NHS. I know that the noble Lord will understand that we are looking at the court judgment. It is early days yet, but we are considering very carefully what the court has said and I cannot be of more help to him at this stage than I already have been in my earlier Answer. I stand ready to talk to him, either inside or outside this Chamber, on these important matters.