Deeming of Severity Bands
Infected Blood Inquiry · Additional Report on Compensation · Issued 9 July 2025 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Where the level of severity of a person's infection at Level 3 or more has been established to IBCA's satisfaction in relation to a given year, but it is not known when it reached Level 3 or more, the legislative provisions should apply to deem the level of severity in the years which preceded that given year.
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 (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
The Government acknowledges the concerns that the Inquiry has set out regarding the mechanism for determining the number of years a person with Hepatitis was likely to have spent at particular severity bands when there is an absence of evidence. The Government will amend the regulations so that those who were diagnosed with a level 4 Hepatitis infection, but are unable to evidence disease progression before that point, will be deemed to have spent up to six years prior to this with a level 3 infection and be compensated accordingly.
UK Government · 21 Jul 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 21 Jul 2025 14 April 2026 update: December 2025 regulations already changed the provisions IBCA use to assume infection progression: "The provisions that IBCA use to assume infection progression where someone lacks evidence have changed to ensure that anybody with a Level 4 Hepatitis infection will also be compensated for the period that they will likely have spent with a Level 3 infection, regardless of when they were diagnosed with a Level 4 infection" (CP 1565 Executive Summary, summarising changes in force since December 2025). 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.