Contaminated Blood

Jim Shannon Excerpts
Thursday 20th July 2017

(6 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jackie Doyle-Price Portrait Jackie Doyle-Price
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I can give the hon. Gentleman that commitment. I have already discussed this with the Welsh Minister. It is a UK-wide inquiry and health is a devolved matter, so obviously we will need to work closely to ensure that we all respond to what the inquiry finds.

Jim Shannon Portrait Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
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I thank the Minister for her statement and commend the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for her tenacity on this issue. Although only last December the Northern Ireland Health Minister allocated funding for contaminated blood victims to put us on a par with compensation paid on the UK mainland, it is essential that any UK investigation includes the Northern Ireland victims—I am speaking on their behalf—so that it is not done on an England-and-Wales-only basis. Can she confirm that that will be the case?

Jackie Doyle-Price Portrait Jackie Doyle-Price
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I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are very sensitive to the facts as they apply to Northern Ireland, and we will by all means ensure that the requisite dialogue takes place so that we can deal with it sensitively.