September 2014
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: APPG Inquiry into Support for People with Contaminated Blood An Appeal for Information
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood is looking into the current support arrangements for those affected by the contaminated blood scandal, and is launching an inquiry into whether they should be changed.
Our reasons for launching this inquiry now are threefold:
1. It is now five years since the Archer Report and we think it is time to review whether the current arrangements have been effective in achieving the support Archer thought was necessary.
2. We expect the Penrose Inquiry (in Scotland) will be published this year. Lord Penrose has been looking at the origins of the contaminated blood scandal and we feel that as an APPG we can supplement his findings by looking at the current support arrangements.
3. The Rt. Hon Alistair Burt MP is currently leading negotiations the Prime Minister's Office into a permanent settlement. The APPG wholeheartedly supports Alistair and we hope our inquiry will give important context to Alistair's work.
We are inviting anyone who has been affected by this issue including family members, carers and representatives to take part in an online YouGov survey. We have tried to keep the survey itself short and simple. It has been written in conjunction with YouGov who have ensured its neutrality. YouGov are providing this service free of charge and we are incredibly grateful for their support. It can be accessed by visiting their website here: https://start.yougov.com/refer/vWD4KzHkwzqq71
Please only use this link when you are planning on completing the survey. If you have any problems with it please contact Diana Johnson MP's office using the details below. The survey will be open until midnight on Sunday 26th October.
The survey has two purposes. Firstly, the survey asks about the current support offered to those affected, in particular from the Skipton Fund, MacFarlane Trust, Caxton Foundation, MFET Ltd and Eileen Trust. Secondly, it asks for your views on options for a possible final settlement, to inform the discussions led by Alistair Burt MP with the Prime Minister on this matter.
We would like to emphasise that launching this inquiry does not mean the APPG has moved from its wish to see a permanent settlement made. This absolutely remains our aim, but we see this inquiry as part of the wider campaign to achieve as broad an evidence base as possible to inform changes. Ultimately, we believe this will make it easier to achieve a final settlement. We would thus be grateful if you could disseminate this survey as widely as possible to other people who you feel may have been affected.
The survey does not ask for any information which will identify who you are and we will not be asking for any personal details, nor will we be able to identify in any way unless they choose to tell us who you are. This letter has been provided to the Trust of which you are a beneficiary, in a stamped envelope with contact details attached by the Trust. They thus have no access to any responses you give. Conversely, the Trust has only sent the survey out to you on the APPG's behalf. Your personal details have not been passed on to the APPG, and your confidentiality has not been breached in any way.
Your response will be received directly by YouGov with no identifying information. The APPG will in due course produce a report from this and we will ensure no information that can personally identify you is included. If you include in the free text something we think may identify you, we will not include this in the report unless you tell us you are happy to do so.
This inquiry is being run with very limited resources and therefore it would be extremely helpful if you could fill-out the survey online. However, if you are not able to do this, please contact Thomas Stephens in the office of Diana Johnson MP on 0207 219 5647; or by writing to APPG on Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, c/o Office of Diana Johnson MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA to request a paper copy. If you have any queries please direct them to Tom at thomas.stephens@parliament.uk
Yours Sincerely,
Diana Johnson MP Jason McCartney MP