Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on securing funding for patients infected with contaminated blood and for their families.

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. We plan to consult on a way forward before the end of the year.

Before the election, the Prime Minister announced an additional one-off £25 million to ease transition to a reformed system of payments for affected individuals. The Department is currently considering how that money will be used.