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Thalidomide Survivors

May I also strongly welcome the Minister's statement? I accept entirely what he said about the timing of the announcement to the House; it was very important to put that information into the public domain, and I am glad he did so on this occasion. I am also glad that the Minister paid tribute to the campaigners who have worked so hard on the issue—not only those in the trust, but those in both Houses of Parliament who have taken up the issue along with members of the press. There has been a long-standing and concerted campaign, and it has been conducted with enormous perseverance. We should pay tribute to those involved for what they have achieved. They have secured not only payments that were entitled from the successors to the original company that marketed the drug, Distillers, but also—oddly, perhaps, in the context of such an awful thing happening to so many people—the real benefit and advance represented by the Medicines Act 1968. I am glad that the Minister mentioned that, because it provides a huge legacy of proper and good regulation based on sound science. I hope the Minister agrees that these events underline the importance of having a proper testing regime with high vigilance following the issuing of a marketing licence, including—to make a controversial point—animal testing because that is the only way the gestation of drugs can be assessed. The Act is a lasting legacy. Can the Minister confirm that the research on the needs of the thalidomiders that is part of this package will be relevant to a wider group of people who are now experiencing the onset of old age, with the disability and all the mobility problems that that involves? In some respects, we have little relevant experience of helping people with disability as they get older, so there are lessons to be learned here that can be applied to the wider community. I also welcome the fact that the Minister said no funding programmes will be de-prioritised as a result of the action he has announced today. Tributes have been paid to Members in the other place. In addition, I want to pay tribute to Members of this House, and especially the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Caton), who tabled early-day motion 779 in the last Session, which was signed by 275 Members from both sides of the House. If I may sound one note of dissent, I was saddened at the time that those 275 Members did not include the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) and the Conservative Front-Bench team. I know that it was a matter of great concern for the Thalidomide Trust that those Members were unable to provide support at that stage. However, I entirely accept the comments today by the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien), and I am glad that the House has come together to support this very important initiative.