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Thalidomide Survivors

I also add my grateful thanks to my right hon. and learned Friend for his statement today. We all have cases in our constituencies that we have had to bring to his attention. May I also pay tribute to the chair of the all-party group, my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Caton)? He has also worked tirelessly on behalf of thalidomiders. I pay tribute to the trust, too, for the way in which it has lobbied parliamentarians. I listened very carefully to the Minister's response to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for— ... From Scotland. His point was about the devolved Administrations. May I probe a little further on whether we could have a more formal means of working with the devolved Administrations? I would like to reach a situation in which thalidomiders in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England are not treated any differently. There could still be people out there who are not on anybody's list, and I hate to think that there are some people in parts of the UK who might not receive the same service and financial support. As Members have already said, some of the carers have left. They have become old and weary, and so the carers aspect of the question is also important. Thalidomiders are also getting older, and are perhaps having to rely on young carers to look after them, which is an issue. I am pleased that the Minister referred to the work that Lord Ashley and Lord Morris have done; I have been on other all-party groups with them. I also hope that it will be possible for the Minister to express his firmness and sensitivity when dealing with the blood contamination issues—perhaps at a later date.