5. On what date he expects to make an announcement on compensation for those infected by contaminated blood products supplied by the NHS. (28702)

In October we announced a review of a number of aspects of Lord Archer’s recommendations, including the level of ex gratia payments and the mechanism by which they are made, access to insurance, prescriptions charges and access to nursing and other care services. The Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), expects to report the outcomes of the review by the end of the year.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Does he believe that, after all the years of inaction, that will draw a line under the matter?

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to indicate that the matter has not been dealt with thoroughly for many years, and that is why the Government have launched the review. Obviously I cannot pre-empt its outcomes, but we will bring it to the House as soon as we can.

The Minister will be aware that no past Government have anything to be proud of in the way in which the matter was dealt with, and that Members on both sides of the House have campaigned on the issue. People hope that the Government will be able to live up to the promise in the October debate of producing a review before Christmas. Thousands of sufferers of HIV and hepatitis C, and thousands of dependants, are waiting for the announcement.

The hon. Lady makes some very important points. As she rightly says, the matter was debated in the House only recently, and the Government are determined to ensure that we are in a position to report back on the review before Christmas.

I know that the Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), has done a lot of work on the review and is keen to see a fair settlement. May I urge Ministers to take into account the fact that this is perhaps one of the worst tragedies to have befallen the NHS in this country? Many people have suffered terribly, and I hope that Ministers will make every effort to ensure that those sufferers can at last receive closure.

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her comments and will ensure that they are reported back to my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary for her consideration in the review.