My Lords, as a result of this scandal, two people die on average each week. It now seems that children, even babies, were experimented on in the 70s and 80s without their parents’ consent. As my Right Honourable Friend Diana Johnson said yesterday:

“These disturbing revelations raise serious criminal and ethical issues for the NHS and the medical profession”.—[Official Report, Commons, 23/4/24; col. 802.]

Last week, the Government laid amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill after the Commons forced the Government to act, but we were disappointed to see that the Government are attempting to wriggle out of the three-month time commitment to introduce a mechanism for compensation payments to be made. My noble friend Lord Ponsonby has tabled an Amendment that would reinstate the commitment to act within three months. This will be considered next week. Will the Government accept the amendment?

The Government accept the moral case for compensation, so can the Minister confirm what progress has been made on setting up the basis for a compensation scheme for those infected by contaminated blood and whether the Government will respond to every recommendation in the Infected Blood Inquiry report? How long after publication will the Government publish their full response to the recommendations? What preparatory work is being done by the Treasury on this issue, and will the Minister commit to making this publicly available?

We learned this morning of the sad passing of our loved and respected friend Lord Field of Birkenhead, a steadfast champion for justice on this and many other issues. I can do no better this afternoon than to consider Frank’s words. In his statement to the inquiry, he said:

“I do not know how to value the life of someone lost due to Factor 8, but I know that it is worth more than £20,000.”

He said this with reference to a meeting that he led in 1989. This has gone on for far too long. The time to act, as Frank said, has now long passed.