Damien Moore MP calls for immediate payments to victims of infected blood scandal

ON 19 April 2023 the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Jeremy Quin MP, gave a statement on the Infected Blood Inquiry in the House of Commons, following the publication of the Second Interim Report by the Chair of the Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff.

Mr. Moore has long called for victims and victims’ families to be adequately compensated at the earliest opportunity, speaking last November in a debate in Parliament on the issue. Last week, at the Minister’s statement, Mr. Moore again raised the urgency of making these compensation payments as soon as possible, and called on the Government to ensure that there are no further delays.

Mr. Moore has spoken with some of his constituents in Southport who have been affected by this scandal, and their personal, heart-breaking stories have had an enormous impact on his work in Westminster. As he outlined in his contribution to Parliament, all 19 recommendations laid out by Sir Robert Francis QC relating to compensation should be adopted as soon as possible, as without adopting them, Mr. Moore’s constituents are continuing to be deprived of compensation that they deserve.

In particular, Mr. Moore made specific reference to recommendation Number 5, arguing that there is a strong moral case for the government to provide compensation to close family members of victims, who have been directly affected by the devastating impact on their loved ones who were given infected blood.

The publication of Sir Robert’s full report is anticipated to be later this year. Mr. Moore’s office remains open to provide support to constituents affected by the scandal.

Damien Moore, Member of Parliament for Southport, said:- “I remain appalled that the victims of this tragedy are not only yet to receive the full compensation they deserve, but that many victims’ families, including some of my constituents in Southport, are yet to receive any compensation at all. I have again called in Parliament, speaking in the House of Commons, for the Government to pay compensation to victims’ families as soon as possible, and to right the outrageous moral injustice that this tragedy has caused. I will continue doing all I can to support my affected constituents in Southport.”

National review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs - LGA response

RESPONDING to the National review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs, Phase 2 Report, Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said:- "The treatment suffered by children in settings operated by the Hesley Group is both unacceptable and deeply distressing. The findings of the national panel must be an urgent call to action for the entire sector to make sure that children with disabilities and complex health needs receive the support they need in settings where they are safe and well cared for. There are clear opportunities through planned children's social care and SEND reforms to implement these recommendations, if they are adequately funded. As this report rightly identifies, supporting these children well requires the commitment of a range of partners. To help ensure this happens, Councils should be given additional powers to hold local partners, including health and Schools, to account for their role in supporting children with SEND."

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Future farming support sessions well attended across the North

THE Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have hosted 4 Agricultural Transition events across the North to help members understand what the latest agricultural policy announcements mean for their rural businesses.

Well over a hundred delegates heard from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as well as experts from the CLA, among others. These roadshows were supported by GSC Grays.

Events were held at:- Darrington Golf Club (Pontefract), Darlington Auction Mart, Newton Rigg (Penrith) and Garstang Golf Club.

Building on the success of the Agricultural Transition Roadshows which ran in early 2022, the aim of the roadshows was to provide greater clarity and an in depth look at the latest information on Defra's Agricultural Transition Plan.

Presentations included:- the latest information regarding the Sustainable Farming Initiative, Countryside Stewardship, as well as the latest developments on the farming funding support fund.

Cameron Hughes, CLA Land Use Policy Adviser, who presented at these roadshows said:- "Those attending these roadshows said the information provided was indispensable in navigating through the steady stream of information on funding support which is constantly issued and then updated by Defra. Although Defra's communications have been improving with more simplified information, praise was heaped on the CLA for providing insightful hand-outs at these events. There was also a good uptake in the free advice provided by GSC Grays as part of the DEFRA funded Future Farm Resilience Programme.”

To find out more about the Agricultural Transition, farmers and landowners can access the CLA's Agricultural Transition Hub at:- CLA.Org.UK.

Care Friends win the King's Award for Enterprise in Innovation

CARE England, the largest and most diverse representative body of adult social care providers in England, is delighted that their partner, Care Friends, has just received a King's Award for Enterprise in Innovation.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England says:- "Despite promises to:- 'fix social care once and for all,' the sector has an overwhelming lack of confidence in the Government's plan to alleviate the current challenges. Care England and Hft's Sector Pulse Check report found that high vacancy rates within the sector are an enormous problem and a cumulative result of the aforementioned barriers to recruitment and retention, including low pay, the challenging nature of the work and better opportunities elsewhere. Care England is proud to work with Care Friends and firmly believes that the work Care Friends is doing provides a crucial solution to recruitment and retention pressures. Being 1 of 48 organisations to be awarded for its excellence in innovation is an outstanding achievement and Care England is excited to continue to support Care Friends as their work goes from strength to strength."

As a recruitment channel, Care Friends is unique in both creating long term recruitment infrastructure which continues to deliver year after year, as well as reaching out to those many high-potential candidates in the local community who are not actively job seeking. The solution is proven to retain staff for longer for half the cost of traditional recruitment methods and can be up and running within your services in around 2 weeks.

To date, Care Friends has:-

46,000 app users.
700 CQC-registered employers.
85,000 candidates generated to date.
950,000 job shares to friends and contacts
£4.5m earned by care workers in points.

Martin Green continues:- "When the Government's White Paper, People at the Heart of Care, was published in 2021, it was pledged that the adult social care sector would benefit from at least £500 million to improve recruitment, retention, progression, and staff wellbeing. We are now in a position where over a year down the road there has been no material difference to the development of the workforce, the £500m allocation has been halved, and we are facing a record number of vacancies. The workforce crisis is 1 of the most significant pressures facing the sector currently and the solution offered by Care Friends is simple, affordable, and helps recruit more loyal individuals into adult social care. The most important resource in any care service is the staff, and recognising their hard work is vital to recruitment and retention. By addressing both recruitment via the Refer a Friends process, and retention, by providing reward points for staff, Care Friends is providing the best possible solution to resolve the workforce crisis. Care England encourages Local Authorities and Integrated Care Boards to purchase Care Friends licenses for their providers using their Discharge Funding to increase workforce capacity within adult social care to support Hospital discharges."