Infected Blood Inquiry

Lord Bishop of Sheffield Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Bishop of Sheffield]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for scheduling this vital debate and for this opportunity to contribute to it. I follow other noble Lords in expressing my gratitude to Sir Brian for his comprehensive report and my deep sorrow at the distress suffered by the infected and affected alike, with many cases ongoing.

I will touch briefly on three matters: candour, culture and compensation. The first is the duty of candour. As the noble Lord just said, it is sadly true that this scandal is part of a regrettable pattern, and I do not believe that we can yet be confident that the pattern is historic. I welcome the prospect of a law placing a duty of candour on public servants and authorities, but I hope that this law when introduced will be as ambitious as possible and place as much responsibility as possible on every citizen—not only those in the public sector—to be candid about failure, especially over a duty of care. Have the Government considered the widest possible application of a duty of candour?

The second is the issue of culture. The inquiry report identifies the need to address

“the unacceptable defensive culture prevalent across too much of the public sector”.

It recommends that the Government must be proactive in calling inquiries, saying that never again must campaigners have to wait for decades for an official, independent investigation to take place. But, as the Bishop of Sheffield, I am bound to note that an overly defensive culture has thus far inhibited a comprehensive inquiry into events at Orgreave in 1984. If the Government aspire to be proactive in calling for inquiries, there is an opportunity right there. Would the Minister be prepared to comment?

The third matter is compensation. After having waited decades for justice, the infected and the affected are, in many cases, still being made to wait for the full implementation of the compensation scheme. This is just wrong. When an inquiry is published as damning as this one, it is surely an overriding priority for compensation to be generous and prompt, and we are failing in that regard right now. It is a legal maxim that justice delayed is justice denied; it presumably follows that compensation delayed is compensation denied. Will the Minister please assure the House that due compensation will be paid without significant further delay?