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1,763 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeYes, I certainly can. That has been driving the Government over recent months. As we make progress, I am sure that we will give more detail on exactly how and when the work of the…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeThe hon. Gentleman makes a powerful representation on behalf of Joyce Donnelly, who I believe I have met. The purpose of today’s announcement is to bring an end to the need for…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeMy hon. Friend puts it very well, and I agree with her assessment. We need to come to terms with the fact that there are flaws in the way we operate. They have been powerfully and…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI thank my right hon. Friend for what he did when he was in office to bring forward interim payments and to make progress. As for the business case for the arm's length body and…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeThey will, absolutely. When I was in Edinburgh I had long conversations about the need to understand the integration of the existing infected blood support schemes, which present…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI cannot speak for the collective will of Government, but the hon. Gentleman makes a completely reasonable and logical case. I support the principles in what he says. We need to…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeAbsolutely. My right hon. and learned Friend makes a very wise point. The need to swiftly expedite payments in full to as many qualifying people as possible is the imperative that…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI can certainly reassure my right hon. and learned Friend of that. Today’s announcements about compensation, and the documents that will flow through, will constitute substantive…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeThe eligibility is clear: people who were infected by NHS blood, blood products and infected tissue qualify. The only challenge is how to verify that from records from a long time…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI very much respect the hon. Gentleman’s points about Hillsborough. I am not able to answer his question on that, as my remarks are about the compensation scheme, but a number of…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeMy right hon. Friend very eloquently makes a very important point. In the course of my engagement, I met a number of former pupils from Treloar. I believe that in Sir Robert’s…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI am very sorry to hear about the right hon. Gentleman’s constituents. I know from my prior experience that the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeThe hon. Lady talks about a public advocate. I am not in a position to respond to that today, but it is clearly one option that is available and I think will be part of the wider…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI thank the hon. Gentleman for his engagement and for the points he has made today. I was there yesterday for the two hours of Sir Brian Langstaff’s presentation of his report,…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI thank the hon. Lady for her points, which I will address. The first that she makes is that everyone who has been impacted by this scandal is an individual and has had a…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI agree. When I went to Edinburgh I was keen to meet a representative group of Scottish infected blood campaign organisations. I had a very candid conversation with them, in which…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeThe hon. Lady is right to pay tribute to Lynne Kelly, whom I met in Cardiff. To clarify, I have been talking about two interim payments. We have put one payment into legislation…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI defer to my right hon. Friend’s considerable experience and wisdom on many matters. I recognise his points, but to move on this matter in that way in this short timeframe would…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI thank my right hon. Friend for her questions, and for her personal engagement with me over recent weeks. The fact that she refers to an unnamed constituent provokes me to…21 May 2024HANSARDInfected Blood Compensation SchemeI thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We have previously engaged on the British Steel matter and the unscrupulous exploitation of people moving from defined benefit to…21 May 2024