Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Cabinet Office

My Right Honourable friend, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, has today made the following statement:

Today, I have laid the Government Response to the public consultation on proposed changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme. I have also published the accompanying report by the Technical Expert Group.

We consulted on seven specific areas of the compensation scheme and gave respondents an opportunity to tell us what else they thought should be changed. I am pleased that we are now making substantial changes in all seven areas, and making an additional change based on feedback we heard. These changes will increase the levels of compensation available for infected and affected people.

I am grateful to the Infected Blood Inquiry, and would like to pay tribute to Sir Brian Langstaff and his team for the sensitivity and care with which they carried out their work. The Government has now fully responded to all of the Inquiry’s Additional Report recommendations on the design of the compensation scheme.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, has today made the following statement:

On 9 July 2025 the Infected Blood Inquiry published its Additional Report on Compensation. The Inquiry made a number of recommendations to the Cabinet Office and to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) to ensure that fair compensation is provided to every person that is eligible without delay.

As of 21 October, IBCA has contacted over 3,614 people to start their compensation claim, and 3,371 have started the claim process. 2,476 people have received an offer, totalling over £1.8 billion, and so far 2,033 people have had their compensation paid with more than £1.35 billion paid in compensation by IBCA. IBCA has now contacted all registered infected people to begin a claim, and the Government expects IBCA to open the service for those who are infected and unregistered, deceased infected and affected this year.

I am pleased that progress is being made, but I acknowledge the calls from the community highlighting the need for faster payment. That is why, on 21 July 2025, I informed the House that the Government would make a further interim payment of £210,000 to the estates of infected persons who were registered with an Infected Blood Support Scheme or predecessor scheme (on or before 17 April 2024) and have sadly passed away.

This is in addition to the interim payment of £100,000 which opened for applications in October 2024, meaning an estate could be eligible for up to £310,000 in interim payments. Since applications opened, over 600 estates have received payment, totalling over £60 million.

Today, I can announce that the process under which estates can apply for a further interim compensation payment has now opened. I hope this payment goes some way in recognising the hurt of those who have been impacted by losing their loved ones due to infected blood and blood products.

These payments will be delivered through the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes. They will be made to the estates of deceased infected persons As with all compensation payments related to infected blood, it will be exempt from income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax and disregarded from means tested benefit assessments.

Only the personal representative of the estate is able to make the application. Applicants will need a grant of probate, letters of administration, or a grant of confirmation (specific to Scotland) to evidence entitlement to claim interim compensation on behalf of the estate. To assist the legal process of obtaining this evidence as quickly as possible (for those that do not already have it), applicants can claim back their exact legal costs up to £1,500. The application form is available to download online at gov.uk, together with full guidance on how to apply.

For those estates that have already received £100,000 an expedited application form is available. This requires much less information from the applicant than provided previously. Estate representatives can access this directly by contacting the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes.

I hope this additional interim payment brings some relief to the families impacted by a scandal that is a shameful mark on our national history. Please rest assured that delivering compensation for every person that is eligible remains an utmost priority for this Government.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

My Right Honourable friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, has today made the following statement:

On 21st July, I updated the House that the Government would be bringing forward further regulations to respond to the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Additional Report. I also informed the House that to make the proposed changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme would require further technical clinical and legal advice. I can now confirm that this advice will be provided by a new Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Technical Expert Group.

The Technical Expert Group will assist the Government in developing proposals, in response to the Inquiry’s Additional Report, for public consultation. Following that consultation, the Government will be in a position to finalise any changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, informed by the consultation findings and the Technical Expert Group’s advice.

I have published the Terms of Reference for the Technical Expert Group, including full membership, as well as its work programme. To ensure the necessary changes to the compensation scheme can be implemented with the minimum possible delay to IBCA’s ongoing delivery of compensation, I am appointing all members of the previous Expert Group to the new group. In addition, I am pleased to have personally appointed five further experts to broaden the group’s expertise and ensure any changes to the scheme are thoroughly assessed and validated. The new additional members to the Technical Expert Group are as follows:

Dr Lise Estcourt, Transfusion Medicine specialist

Dr Susie Shapiro, Haematology Specialist

Dr Chloe Beale, Psychological medicine - psychiatrist

Professor Deborah Christie, Psychological medicine - psychologist

Professor John Weinman, Psychological medicine - psychologist

The appointments I have made reflect feedback from infected blood community stakeholders and I thank the community representatives for their valuable input into this process.

While the previous Expert Group, appointed by my predecessor, provided advice which enabled the Government to take critical decisions on the design of the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, I acknowledge the Inquiry’s and community’s criticisms about the transparency of its work.

After reflecting on the Inquiry’s report, I gave the House an undertaking that transparency will be at the heart of any expert group going forward. Today I published an open letter to Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, who I have asked to Chair the new Technical Expert Group, setting out my expectations on how it will operate. This includes an expectation that the group will undertake targeted engagement with the infected blood community on issues raised in the Inquiry’s Additional Report, to inform its work and help it answer the questions set out in its work programme.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

My Right Honourable friend, the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, the Rt Hon. Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, has today made the following statement:

Today, the Infected Blood Inquiry has published an Additional Report. This additional report reflects the unprecedented nature of the Infected Blood Scandal and the thoroughness of the Inquiry’s investigation. I am grateful to Sir Brian Langstaff and the dedicated work of the Inquiry.

I would like to reiterate a wholehearted and unequivocal apology on behalf of current and previous governments to every single person impacted by this scandal. Nothing of this nature can ever happen again, but for this to be anything more than words, more tangible action must be taken.

The UK Government committed £11.8bn in the Budget, delivered on 30 October 2024, for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme. As of 1 July, 460 people have received their compensation payment, totalling £326,184,985.78. 2,043 people have begun their compensation claim and 616 people have received an offer of compensation, totalling £488,346,336.18.

The Government is committed to reflecting carefully on this Report to ensure that people who are both infected and affected are properly supported in their search for justice for this devastating Scandal and to receive compensation they are due.

As the Inquiry notes “it is the time now to build constructively on the scheme as it is and as it operates”. During the hearings to the Infected Blood Inquiry, I set out that there were matters that the Government is willing to consider in light of any recommendations from the Inquiry. The Inquiry has today made a total of nine recommendations many of which reflect the areas I have already committed to reviewing. These include eligibility for the unethical research award; the 31 March 2025 cut-off date, beyond which people will not be able to register with support schemes as a bereaved partner; expanding the supplementary route for the affected; the position of persons infected with HIV before 1 January 1982 and the Special Category Mechanism (and its equivalents).

The Government will now quickly work through these recommendations and work closely with the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to understand the delivery implications of any policy changes to the Scheme.

In his concluding remarks, Sir Brian Langstaff has said “it is fair to record that the Government has taken major steps”. It is our firm commitment, as we reflect on the Inquiry’s work, to continue to take steps and support the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to deliver compensation to victims of this scandal as quickly as possible.

Subject to parliamentary approval, my intention is to provide a further update to the House before summer recess, and a response to Sir Brian’s Additional Report of actions the Government is taking in due course.