On 19 April, Paymaster General Jeremy Quin MP told the Commons that the Government welcomes the publication of the infected blood inquiry’s second interim report to assist its ongoing work, however, the Government “do not underestimate the complexity of these recommendations, which do need careful consideration.”
Mr Quin added:
“I would like to reassure the House that while the Government are progressing work to ensure that we are in the best possible position to respond fully at the end of the inquiry, every recommendation by Sir Brian, including in relation to timing and a further interim payment, is receiving intense focus.”
The interim report made it clear that action should be taken now, specifically recommending that “a compensation scheme should be set up now and it should begin work this year” and stating that “The scheme need not await the final report to begin work, since this second interim report fully covers the inquiry’s recommendations on financial redress”.
Unfortunately, the Government made no such promise in their statement today, stating that a response will be given after the publication of the inquiry’s final report. The final report is expected in Autumn 2023.
Mr Quin said:
“This Government want to deliver resolution, and we are working at pace across all relevant Departments to consider the recommendations as outlined in this latest report and to ensure that we are best placed to respond to the inquiry’s final report.”
On 12 April, Rachel Halford, CEO of The Hepatitis C Trust, wrote to Jeremy Quin calling on the Government to act on Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations without delay.
In light of the Government’s response today, we urge all our supporters to write to their MPs and add their voice to this call.
A template letter can be found on our website.
You can watch the Government statement on ParliamentTV .