Thalidomide Victims

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 12:41 pm on 31 March 2009.

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Photo of Dawn Primarolo Dawn Primarolo Minister of State (Department of Health) (Public Health) 12:41, 31 March 2009

I shall certainly not deny the all-party group a meeting. However, if it expects me to take those issues forward, I need to know exactly what they are. The Secretary of State and I have received representations directly from the trust, and the chairman of the national advisory council has put a number of issues on the table for consideration. There has been no word from the trust or anyone else to indicate that those are not the issues of concern.

My hon. Friend reiterated the issues today. The first relates to finance and the second to access to appropriate services. Government policy is designed to ensure that a person can live independently, with as much choice as possible in their care and greater opportunities to control their future. A number of policies deliver such goals, but as my hon. Friend rightly said, each individual has a number of specific and detailed personal issues, which need careful consideration. Such issues relate to access to social care and appropriate GP services and then referral to specialist services.

I confirm to my hon. Friend that I should be more than pleased to receive details from the all-party group on the points that it expects me to cover in the meeting. I should also be grateful for an indication of how such information varies from the letter-writing campaign, the early-day motion and the work and campaigning of the national advisory council. That would help me to address the points that my hon. Friend has raised. I should be more than happy to facilitate such a meeting. However, what I cannot do, as I am sure that my hon. Friend appreciates, is discuss policies that might not necessarily be a matter for the Department of Health. They might, for example, be a matter for Diageo, or even the Treasury if the matter relates to tax.

On that basis, I hope that my hon. Friend feels that we have a way forward. I want to do all that I can to facilitate a meeting with the all-party group, but to assist me in ensuring that the meeting has the focus that everyone wants, I should be grateful if my hon. Friend provided me with the necessary detail. I am confident that all of us will ensure that we do the right thing with regard to the rights of these individuals. I thank my hon. Friend again for the opportunity of answering this Adjournment debate, and I look forward to receiving the points on which he wants us to reflect and then to facilitating the meeting with the all-party group.

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Bruce Page
Posted on 8 Apr 2009 8:14 am (Report this annotation)

from Bruce Page
07771 641 018

At least the official side recognises today (there were many decades of denial) that thalidomide was not properly tested before its launch.

But their version, as recited by Ms Primarolo places all the blame on Distillers. They were indeed blameworthy. But the government was equally so, and that is the acknowledgement needed now.