We are committed to meeting the health needs of people affected by thalidomide, known as Thalidomiders, and to ensuring that they can live with dignity and have access the support they need.

The Thalidomide Health Grant exists to meet the health and wellbeing needs, both present and future, of Thalidomiders living in England. This funding helps Thalidomiders to maintain control over their own health and enables them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

We will provide an update on funding arrangements beyond 2027 in due course.

The Thalidomide Health Grant exists to meet the health and wellbeing needs, present and future, of thalidomide survivors living in England.

In 2023, the Department put in place a new four-year grant agreement with the Thalidomide Trust, to administer the grant of approximately £40 million over four years. The agreement was made in recognition of the complex and highly specialised needs of people affected by thalidomide in England, particularly as they approach old age. The funding helps beneficiaries to maintain control over their own health, enabling them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

To understand how well the current grant agreement operates, the Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Thalidomide Health Grant through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The evaluation began in October 2024 and aims to understand the health and care needs of people affected by thalidomide, particularly as they age, what funded resources produce the most tangible benefits to this group, how best to distribute financial support to them, and the extent to which their needs are met by the current grant.

This independent, external research will help us to ensure that the Government supports the needs of people affected by thalidomide as they age. Funding beyond the current grant agreement will be subject to the outcome of future spending reviews.

The Thalidomide Health Grant exists to meet the health and wellbeing needs, present and future, of thalidomide survivors living in England.

In 2023, the Department put in place a new four-year grant agreement with the Thalidomide Trust, to administer the grant of approximately £40 million over four years. The agreement was made in recognition of the complex and highly specialised needs of people affected by thalidomide in England, particularly as they approach old age. The funding helps beneficiaries to maintain control over their own health, enabling them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

To understand how well the current grant agreement operates, the Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Thalidomide Health Grant through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The evaluation began in October 2024 and aims to understand the health and care needs of people affected by thalidomide, particularly as they age, what funded resources produce the most tangible benefits to this group, how best to distribute financial support to them, and the extent to which their needs are met by the current grant.

This independent, external research will help us to ensure that the Government supports the needs of people affected by thalidomide as they age. Funding beyond the current grant agreement will be subject to the outcome of future spending reviews.

The Thalidomide Health Grant exists to meet the health and wellbeing needs, present and future, of thalidomide survivors living in England.

In 2023, the Department put in place a new four-year grant agreement with the Thalidomide Trust, to administer the grant of approximately £40 million over four years. The agreement was made in recognition of the complex and highly specialised needs of people affected by thalidomide in England, particularly as they approach old age. The funding helps beneficiaries to maintain control over their own health, enabling them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

To understand how well the current grant agreement operates, the Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the Thalidomide Health Grant through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The evaluation began in October 2024 and aims to understand the health and care needs of people affected by thalidomide, particularly as they age, what funded resources produce the most tangible benefits to this group, how best to distribute financial support to them, and the extent to which their needs are met by the current grant.

This independent, external research will help us to ensure that the Government supports the needs of people affected by thalidomide as they age. Funding beyond the current grant agreement will be subject to the outcome of future spending reviews.

There is a Deed of Covenant agreed between Diageo plc and the Thalidomide Trust, which is subject to periodic review by both parties, with beneficiary representatives involved in the process. The Department has no role in these periodic reviews.

The Thalidomide Health Grant is awarded to meet the health and wellbeing needs, present and future, of thalidomide survivors living in England.

In 2023, the Department put in place a new four-year grant agreement with the Thalidomide Trust, to administer the grant of approximately £40 million. The grant was made in recognition of the complex and highly specialised needs of people affected by thalidomide in England, particularly as they approach old age. The funding helps beneficiaries of the Thalidomide Trust to maintain control over their own health, enabling them to personalise the way their health and care needs are met, maintain independence, and minimise any further deterioration in their health.

In March 2021, the Government committed to continue the Thalidomide Health Grant beyond 31 March 2023, when the current Grant concludes. This includes an initial payment of approximately £39 million for the first four years after the current Grant ends. The following table shows awards through the Thalidomide Health Grant in each year since 2013/14.

Thalidomide is a powerful human teratogen, inducing a high frequency of severe and life-threatening birth defects. Many lines of evidence have confirmed the causal link of exposure to thalidomide in pregnancy with congenital malformations. Consequently, thalidomide must never be used by women who are pregnant or by women who could become pregnant unless all the conditions of the Pregnancy Prevention Programme are met. The evidence for a possible causal association between hormone pregnancy tests (HPTs) and birth defects was considered by an Expert Working Group of the Commission on Human Medicines which published its findings on 15 November 2017. Based on this review, the Expert Working Group concluded that based on the totality of the data, the scientific evidence does not support a causal association between the use of HPTs and birth defects or miscarriage.

Work is ongoing to consider recommendation 4 of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review report, which included a proposed redress scheme for hormone pregnancy tests. This work includes looking at a range of existing schemes, including for thalidomide.

Further to my previous answer, at spending reviews the Barnett formula is generally applied to the overall change in each department’s funding, rather than being applied at programme level.

It is not therefore possible to specify the Barnett consequentials generated by the funding for the Thalidomide Health Grant Renewal at the 2020 Spending Review. However, I can confirm that the 2020 Spending Review provided the devolved administrations with a combined additional £4.7 billion for 2021-22 through the Barnett formula.

Funding for 2022-23 onwards will be determined at the upcoming spending review.

At Budget 2021 a lifetime commitment was announced to continue the Thalidomide Health Grant in England once the existing funding commitment expires in 2023-24.

The devolved administrations have already received Barnett consequentials in the usual way for any funding provided to the Department of Health and Social Care at previous fiscal events and spending reviews up to 2021-22.

For 2022-23 onwards, the devolved administrations will receive funding through the Barnett formula at the upcoming spending review and future fiscal events. The government is committed to engaging closely with them to ensure all recipients benefit from this funding.

The current multi-year settlement continues for a further three years running until the end of the 2022/23 financial year. Officials are continuing to meet with the Thalidomide Trust to discuss ongoing health needs after the end of the current Grant.

While we are unable to take commit future funds at this time, ahead of the forthcoming Spending Review, we remain committed to supporting thalidomiders to live a full and independent life. We are working closely with the Thalidomide Trust to consider how thalidomiders can be best be supported in the future.

The Government is committed to meeting the additional health needs of thalidomiders and to give them the same opportunities that others enjoy. The provision of the Thalidomide Health Grant is a central element of this. The current multi-year settlement continues for a further three years running until the end of the 2022/23 financial year.

Officials are in ongoing discussion with the Thalidomide Trust and hold regular meetings.

Further discussions with the Thalidomide Trust are due to take place later this year and we expect to discuss how those suffering from the effects of thalidomide can be best supported in future and consider arrangements after 2022 when the present 10-year grant is due to end.

Q3

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Simon Hoare (North Dorset) (Con):

On behalf of those on the Conservative Benches, may I wish my right hon. Friend the best of good fortune in the 12 December general election?

While we live in a period of some uncertainty, there are 426 people who have thalidomide and very much rely on the health grant to give them dignity, care and support. That grant comes to an end in a few years’ time. As chairman of the thalidomide APPG, and on behalf of those 426 recipients, I urge my right hon. Friend to end their uncertainty as soon as possible by signalling a renewal of that grant. That would give them the peace of mind that, I hope the whole House agrees, they most certainly deserve.

I congratulate my hon. Friend on everything he does for his constituents and the thalidomide victims. I reassure him that the current health grant, which as he rightly says is subject to review in 2023, will be reviewed. I am getting confirmation of that from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. I hope that my hon. Friend will pass those assurances to the thalidomide victims as fast as he can.