Haemophilia Scotland, alongside 30 other charities and campaign groups, has been invited to a virtual meeting on 11 December with Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office.
The meeting agenda includes an update from the Minister on the Government’s response to the recommendations in the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report. It will also provide an opportunity for attendees to raise outstanding concerns from the community regarding the compensation scheme.
The attendees have been divided into five groups and each group will have 45 minutes in total with the Minister. Haemophilia Scotland will be joined by representatives from the Scottish Infected Blood Forum, the Haemophilia Society, Haemophilia NI, Haemophilia Wales, and Friends and Family of Haemophilia NI.
This meeting marks the first opportunity to engage directly with the Minister for the Cabinet Office since the initial set of regulations for the compensation scheme was laid before Parliament last month.
In October, Haemophilia Scotland wrote to the Minister to highlight significant concerns and emphasise the need for greater engagement with the infected and affected community. However, we are still awaiting a response to this letter.
While we are disappointed that only 45 minutes has been allocated per group, we hope this will be the first of several meetings with the Cabinet Office. These discussions are crucial for addressing the ongoing concerns and uncertainties around the compensation scheme ahead of the next set of regulations, which are expected to be finalised by April next year.