Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on discussions with the Patient Safety Commissioner on the costings for compensation for people who have been harmed by Valproate.

Our sympathies remain with all those affected by the side effects of sodium valproate. Patient safety is a priority, and we are taking a range of action to improve the future safety of medicines and medical devices, setting high standards for industry to market and manufacture products, with the aim of reducing harm in the future.

The Department has asked the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, to undertake work on redress for people harmed by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.

The Patient Safety Commissioner will publish a report setting out the findings from this work. Once finalised, Ministers will consider the report’s findings before deciding how to proceed on this matter.