To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many inquests into the deaths of people who contracted (a) HIV, (b) Hepatitis C or (c) variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease through contaminated blood products administered to them under the NHS have been completed; and if he will make a statement. (269757)

The Ministry of Justice collects statistics on the verdicts returned at inquests by coroners in England and Wales during each calendar year, broken down into 15 categories of verdict and the sex of the deceased. No further information is collected on the circumstances of each case. (In a reformed system, the Chief Coroner is likely to review the matters on which annual statistics are collected and published, and is likely to consider whether there are specific issues on which occasional research should be carried out.)