HL Deb 29 March 2004 vol 659 c138WA
Lord Morris of Manchester

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What public funds, at constant prices, have been made available year-by-year to the Macfarlane Trust to provide ex gratia payments for haemophilia patients infected with HIV by contaminated National Health Service blood and blood products; and what was the level of payments; and [HL1904]

What public funds, at constant prices, have been made available year-by-year to the Macfarlane Trust to provide ex gratia payments to the widows and other dependants of haemophilia patients infected with HIV by contaminated National Health Service blood and blood products; and what was the level of payments. [HL1905]

Lord Warner

Since the inception of the Macfarlane Trust, the Department of Health has provided the Macfarlane Trust with the following funding.

Year Grant
1989 £10,000,000
1990 £0
1991 £0
1992 £0
1993 £5,000,000
1994 £0
1995 £0
1996 £2,500,000
1997 £0
1998 £3,000,000
1999 £0
2000 £2,000,000
2001 £2,500,000
2002 £2,250,000
2003 £0
2003–04 £3,000,000
£30,250,000

The Macfarlane Trust does not make ex gratia payments. The funding that is made available is to enable the Macfarlane Trust to make regular payments to registrants and their dependants on the basis of their health and financial circumstances. In addition, one-off grants are made for specific needs that are generally health-related. Since 1989 a total of £35,064,821 has been paid out by the trust.