HIV Eligibility Start Date
Infected Blood Inquiry · Additional Report on Compensation · Issued 9 July 2025 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
An amendment to the Regulations be made as soon as possible to remove the reference to 1 January 1982 from Regulation 3.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Additional Report on Compensation · 9 Jul 2025 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- A consultation on proposed changes to the infected blood compensation scheme was opened on 24 November 2025, covering this and other regulatory amendments (Consultation: Proposed Changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, Cabinet Office, November 2025).
- The regulatory amendment had not been made as of March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
In his oral evidence to the Inquiry, the Minister for the Cabinet Office agreed to look again at the Scheme's eligibility criteria for people infected with HIV. The Inquiry went on to recommend that the scheme should be open to those who were infected with HIV before 1982. The Government commits to amend the scheme to remove the 1982 start date, meaning anyone infected with HIV because of treatment with infected blood or blood products will be eligible for compensation, irrespective of the year they were infected. Whilst there will be no start date for eligibility to the scheme, the financial loss award requires a date of first possible infection (for instances where a specific date cannot be identified). In these cases the date will mirror the start date for Hepatitis which is 1952. The Inquiry's Report noted that doing this was 'unlikely to give rise to any injustice'.
UK Government · 21 Jul 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 21 Jul 2025 14 April 2026 update: Government response to consultation on proposed changes to the infected blood compensation scheme (CP 1565) states: "We will make sure that everyone who was eligible for SCM or an equivalent payment through the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS) receives additional financial loss and care compensation so that the existing acknowledgement of the impact their infection had on their day-to-day life is properly compensated. Following the consultation, we agree that everyone in this position should have the award fully backdated to 2017 (when the SCM award was first introduced) regardless of when they were assessed. We will make sure that living people who were not given a chance to apply for SCM can apply for it through the Scheme." Regulations to implement these changes will be brought forward later in 2026. Sources: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-infected-blood-compensation-scheme-will-improve-support-for-victims; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69ddf5fd7e2086c62da2f152/Government_response_to_consultation_on_proposed_changes_to_the_infected_blood_compensation_scheme__PDF_.pdf Source →
- 15 Jan 2026 · IBCA Community Update As of 13 January 2026: 3,721 people asked to start claims, 3,546 begun process, 3,074 received offers totalling £2.47bn, 2,861 paid totalling £1.89bn. Third compensation regulations in force 31 December 2025. View source → Good Progress
- 28 Oct 2025 · IBCA Independent Review IBCA has contacted 2,215 people to begin compensation claims; 1,934 started process. £812m+ paid via Horizon Shortfall Scheme. £11.8bn committed in Autumn Budget. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.