Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation his Department conducted prior to the launch of its consultation on infected blood: reform of financial and other support.

We developed proposals in the consultation document based on a wide range of views we have heard over time including via numerous debates, representations from Members and several inquiries conducted by Parliamentarians.

In addition, an independently facilitated meeting was held on 5 October 2015 with some members of three groups (Tainted Blood, the Contaminated Blood Campaign and the Haemophilia Society). The aim was to further inform the Department’s understanding of what matters most to members of these groups in terms of financial and non-financial support. A separate meeting was held in November with members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, where we sought views on proposals for reform ahead of consultation.