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Written question asked by Diana Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 17 December 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 December 2018 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Thursday, 20 December 2018. A substantive answer was provided by Jackie Doyle-Price (Conservative) on Friday, 21 December 2018 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Macfarlane Trust

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consultations his Department held with beneficiaries of the Macfarlane Trust prior to the closure of that Trust and transfer of that Trust's residual funds and assets to the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Answer

The Department launched the first infected blood consultation, ‘Infected blood: reform on financial and other support’1, in January 2016. The consultation confirmed that the majority of beneficiaries would prefer one scheme to the then five schemes. The second consultation ‘Infected blood: Consultation on Special Category Mechanism and financial and other support in England’2 in October 2017 announced that NHS Business Services Authority, not the former scheme administrators, such as the Macfarlane Trust, would manage the new reformed scheme.

I have written to the Macfarlane Trust on a number of occasions since 12 September 2018 asking for its plans with respect to any residual funds it held on closure. I also reminded the Macfarlane Trust that it must operate in accordance with its trust deed which states that the funds can only be transferred to one or more bodies established for charitable purposes with similar, or the same, objectives to its own i.e. providing support for people infected with HIV. The Macfarlane Trust informed me of the transfer of the its residual funds and assets to the Terrence Higgins Trust via a letter dated 12 December 2018. Consultation with beneficiaries regarding this transfer of assets on closure was not the responsibility of the Department.

Notes:

1https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-reform-of-financial-and-other-support

2https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/infected-blood-support-special-category-mechanism

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
202780
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Compensation Contamination Blood HIV/AIDS Haemophilia Macfarlane Trust Terrence Higgins Trust
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk