Contaminated Blood and Blood Products

Paul Maynard Excerpts

Thursday 14th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

I thank the Backbench Business Committee for tabling this motion. It is vital to realise that when the noble Lord Owen first took action on this issue as a Minister the year was 1975—the year of my birth, which shows just how long this issue has been current and how long it has not been dealt with by Governments of all political persuasions.

I understand that when medical treatment does not go according to plan—when something goes wrong and disability or a chronic condition results from it—a wound is opened that is very difficult to heal. It cannot be healed by money alone, although compensation is important. Intense frustrations are released. We have heard talk of a lost childhood, for example, or of what might have been or never would be, and of early deaths. Such events affect lives totally in a way that many of us cannot really understand.

That is why I welcome unambiguously the written ministerial statement, not just for what it contains but for the fact that it deals with issues such as travel insurance and access to insurance. I am not going to get hung up on what the meaning of the word “access” might or might not be in the view of the Minister. The fact that we are covering those things is what matters. Many haemophiliacs want to lead as ordinary a life as possible. We need to understand the gap between the lives that ordinary people lead and the effect of haemophilia and other conditions on people’s ability to lead an ordinary life. That, to me, is crucial.

I made an effort to read the Minister’s statement before I came into the Chamber—many hon. Members might have found that a useful exercise. However, having read it carefully, I noted one omission—or, perhaps, one thing that I could not find. It was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage), but I want to stress it a bit more: it is the Skipton Fund and the arbitrary cut-off date of 28 August 2003 for payments. I was not clear from the statement whether that would be readdressed in the Minister’s review.

I came into politics largely out of frustration at the poor quality of public policy making in this country under all parties—I just happened to pick the Conservative party as the vehicle from which to express my frustration. There is a useful quotation in the briefing documentation with which we were provided, which I want to read as quickly as I can, about the Skipton Fund. It is from the Department of Health and says:

“The announcement of a scheme on 29 August 2003 occurred after the Secretary of State had revisited this issue…The difficult decision not to extend the scheme to people who had died before this date meant that it became an unavoidable cut-off point. We realise that the circumstances are not ideal, but have attempted to provide a pragmatic solution.”

I have seen a fair amount of civil-service speak in my time, but that is as near as I have come to finding one that admits, “This is an awful decision. We know that it is an awful decision, but tough. You will have to live with it.”

I urge the Minister to try to include a review of this arbitrary cut-off date in the work that she is doing in the run-up to Christmas. I unambiguously welcome the progress that we are making, as everybody from all parties should. In particular, I ask for clarity on the figure of £3 billion. If there is a loose zero floating around this debate, it will make it very hard for hon. Members fully to understand the motion and the issues before us, so I ask for clarity.

Finally, the number of people who have wanted to speak has underlined the importance that Members attach to the subject. We will pay very close attention come Christmas to the outcome of the review. I am sure that all of us in the Chamber and in the Public Gallery will hope that we will finally get the closure that so many people want. It will be difficult to achieve, but we need it.