Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is planning to take to (a) consult further with the infected blood community and (b) involve that community in the development of the Government's response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This Government is committed to engaging openly and transparently, and taking on board feedback from the infected blood community. The Cabinet Office regularly engages with over 30 key representatives and organisations in the community. I have met with a number of these representatives several times and will continue to do so.
The Government will consider the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Additional Report carefully, and respond in due course.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the (a) establishment and (b) ongoing administration of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office will lay IBCA's annual reports and accounts before Parliament in the usual way. The Cabinet Office will expect to be consulted by IBCA where there is a risk that IBCA will breach its administrative cost controls, or vary significantly from the agreed business plan.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the funding allocated to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority is drawn from the £11.8 billion set aside by the Government for infected blood compensation or provided from a separate budget.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In the Autumn Budget, the Government announced £11.8 billion in compensation to people who were infected and affected as a result of the Infected Blood scandal.
This is separate to the funding allocated to the administrative costs of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the equality impact assessments undertaken in relation to the development of regulations on infected blood compensation.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 Equalities Impact Assessment can be found here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348268843/pdfs/ukdsipes_9780348268843_en_001.pdf.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken preparatory work on a potential youth mobility scheme with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be time-limited and capped, and we have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans she has for the reporting to Parliament of the work of the Council of Nations and Regions.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The inaugural Council of the Nations and Regions met on 11 October in Edinburgh to discuss growth and investment.
The UK Government will be publishing the Terms of Reference for the Council and a communique summarising the discussion shortly.
A communique will be published following each meeting of the Council.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to tackle the potential security threat posed by Chinese state-linked companies in the Government supply chain.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Procurement Act 2023 introduces new powers to exclude and debar suppliers from public sector contracts if they pose a national security risk. To implement these powers, the Cabinet Office has established the new National Security Unit for Procurement, responsible for investigating suppliers on national security grounds, both within the government supply chain and for the wider public sector.
We have also taken action to remove surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive government sites. A timeline for removal was published on 29 April 2024. The Cabinet Office is monitoring progress against this timeline and departments are on track to replace all such equipment by April 2025.