🩸 Infected Blood Compensation Scheme

• Update on Infected Blood Scandal: The Paymaster General, Nick Thomas-Symonds, updated Parliament on the progress of the infected blood compensation scheme, following the infected blood inquiry’s report in May 2024, which highlighted significant systemic and individual failures.

• Government Response: The Government accepted all 12 recommendations of the inquiry in December 2024, with further updates planned for May 2025.

• Compensation Scheme: The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme was established in August 2024, allowing the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) to start making payments to infected individuals. The first payments were made by the end of 2024.

• New Regulations: In January 2025, draft regulations were laid before Parliament to extend the scheme to those affected, including partners, parents, children, siblings, and some carers. These regulations will be debated and need parliamentary approval before becoming law.

• Tariff-Based Scheme: The compensation scheme operates on a tariff system, which can be supplemented for exceptional cases. The aim is to start making payments to those affected before the end of 2025.

• Progress on Payments: IBCA has invited 113 people to claim compensation, with 23 offers made and 14 accepted, totaling over £13 million. The target is to invite 250 people by March 2025.

• Staged Rollout: IBCA plans to open the compensation service in stages to ensure efficiency, starting with those already registered with support schemes, then moving to supplementary claims, registered estates, affected individuals linked to registered cases, and finally to those not yet registered.

• Funding Commitment: The Budget has allocated £11.8 billion for the compensation scheme, demonstrating the government’s commitment to justice for victims.

• Cross-Party Support: There is bipartisan support for the scheme, with the opposition pledging to work with the government to ensure swift compensation for all eligible victims.

• Concerns and Assurances: Concerns were raised about the speed and capacity of the compensation process. The Minister assured that IBCA is scaling up its operations and committed to speeding up the process while maintaining a compassionate approach to handling claims.

• Future Updates: The Paymaster General promised regular updates and a debate on the new regulations, emphasizing the urgency and importance of delivering justice to victims of the infected blood scandal after decades of delay.

The session displayed minimal disagreement and a high level of cross-party cooperation, with all contributors expressing support for the Government’s efforts on the infected blood compensation scheme. Several examples highlight this unity and lack of significant disagreement:

• Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, Conservative) explicitly stated that there is nothing the Government is doing that the Opposition would have done differently if they were in power, emphasizing that they speak as one on the matter and will support the Government’s efforts.
• Clive Efford (Eltham and Chislehurst, Labour) praised the Minister for securing £11.8 billion in the Budget and expressed support for the progress made, although he raised a concern about the tariff system, which was addressed sympathetically by the Minister.
• Marie Goldman (Chelmsford, Liberal Democrat) welcomed the legislation and the extension of the scheme, while urging for increased speed and the introduction of a duty of candour, which the Minister responded to positively.
• Throughout the session, various MPs from different parties (Labour, Conservative, DUP, SNP, Liberal Democrats) raised specific concerns related to constituents, but these were generally met with assurances and commitments from the Minister to address them or to explain the steps already taken.

Overall, the session was characterized by a collective focus on ensuring the scheme’s effective implementation and addressing victim concerns rather than any significant partisan disagreements.