Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement of 17 July 2015, on the Cap on Care Costs, Official Report, House of Lords, HLWS135, what progress has been made in consulting on the distribution of £25 million allocated to ease transition to a reformed system of support for individuals affected by NHS-supplied blood or blood products contaminated with either or both of the HIV or hepatitis C viruses.

The Department is considering wider reform of financial assistance and other support for those affected with HIV and/or hepatitis C by infected NHS-supplied blood or blood products. We are doing this within the context of the spending review and in a way that is sustainable for the future.

In order to help develop the shape and structure of any new scheme, we plan to consult on scheme reform before the end of the year.

The £25 million was announced by the Prime Minister in March 2015, to support transition to a reformed scheme. We do not intend to use this for the administrative costs that might be associated with reforming the existing schemes, but expect to announce our plans for that money once we have a better understanding of what wider scheme reform might comprise following the outcomes of the consultation.