Update on Contaminated Blood Campaigning

Written by Daniel Barnes, June 29, 2016

The Haemophilia Society are continuing to put pressure on the government to respond to the issues raised by the consultation on support arrangements for people infected by contaminated blood.

Following on from the APPG meeting last month where a group of MPs questioned the responsible minister Jane Ellison and some DH civil servants, we have had further conversations with the relevant policy team at the DH. We have been able to make clear that the new proposals do leave many people worse off and the policy team are committed to reviewing the discretionary support.

The recent political uncertainty following the EU referendum has distracted MPs and ministers how to order ambien online however our engagement with civil servants has been able to continue. We have focused on showing the individual circumstances in which people will be worse off under the new proposals and demonstrating how a better scheme could be created even within the new budget. We are expecting the DH to convene a reference group on the transition to a new scheme that we can also be part of.

This week the DH reaffirmed their desire to respond to the consultation before parliament goes on summer recess on the 21st July.  However, we believe the announcement could be delayed until September.