Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many victims of the infected blood scandal have received their full compensation.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In late October, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority began contacting the first group of people so that they could begin making their compensation claims. As of 12th December, 10 people have been offered compensation totalling over £13 million. The first few people have accepted their offers and the first payments have now been made. Between now and January, the Authority will reach out to more people so that they can begin making their compensation claims. The Authority is aiming to reach around 250 claims in early 2025 and continue ramping up payments from there. At the October Budget the Government committed £11.8 billion of funding for the compensation scheme. The individual payments build on the more than £1 billion which victims have received so far in interim payments.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to all Departments to require them to use alternative social media sites to X.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government uses a range of channels to reach and engage the public. Any use of these platforms would be assessed against the high standards for digital safety set out in the Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE framework. The four core principles of the framework are safety and sustainability, ads context, freedom of speech, and ethics and enforcement.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the child poverty taskforce has had with medical professionals.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Child Poverty Taskforce understands the importance of children’s health in tackling child poverty. In December, children's health will be discussed at the external experts meeting as part of strategy development for ensuring low-income families are able to access quality services to tackle the impacts of poverty.
This engagement is happening alongside a wider commitment for the Taskforce to involve families, charities, campaigners, and leading organisations across the UK to understand the multiple drivers and impacts of poverty. Recently Taskforce co-chairs, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Education, visited a Barnado’s Family Centre in Brent to join a children’s session focused on healthy eating and heard how parents are struggling with the costs of essentials.
The Taskforce has set out their broader engagement strategy in their latest publication titled ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’. This engagement is in addition to the large existing evidence base on child poverty in the UK and internationally, which the Taskforce is building understanding from.
Individual medical professionals as well as organisations are also welcome to submit specific evidence to childpoverty.secretariat@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. We will set out details on the publication of the Strategy in due course.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to negotiate a youth mobility scheme with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We will work to reset the relationship with our European friends to strengthen ties, secure a broad-based security pact and tackle barriers to trade.
We have no plans for an EU-wide youth mobility scheme and there will be no return to freedom of movement.