Status of Awards and Legal Rights
Infected Blood Inquiry · Second Interim Report · Issued 5 April 2023 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
I recommend that, with reference to the status of awards: a) eligible infected and affected persons should not be required to accept the offer of an award in full and final settlement of any right to pursue legal actions related to the infection; b) any accepted scheme award should be set off against any entitlement to damages for the same subject matter; c) the availability of an award under the scheme should be a factor to which the court could have regard when determining liability for costs in any court proceedings related to the infection.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Second Interim Report · 5 Apr 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme regulations provide that scheme awards are made without requiring a waiver of legal rights (Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations, UK Parliament, 2024).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
In line with recommendations 9 and 10 of the Second Interim Report, acceptance of an award does not require applicants to waive their right to pursue litigation. In defined circumstances, if an infected person's condition deteriorates after their compensation award has been assessed, they will be able to return to IBCA for reassessment to determine whether they are eligible for an additional compensation payment. A reassessment following a health deterioration will be possible at any time, regardless of the time that has passed since a person's initial assessment.
UK Government · 17 Dec 2024 Written response →
●UK Government — follow-up
Accepting a scheme award does not require waiver of legal rights. Awards are set off against court damages for the same subject. Courts may consider scheme availability in costs decisions.
UK Government · 14 May 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 17 Dec 2024 Award status provisions implemented in scheme regulations. 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
- 31 Dec 2025 · UK Parliament Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 established IBCA. Three sets of scheme regulations in force (Aug 2024, Mar 2025, Dec 2025). First payments December 2024. £1.89bn paid to 2,861 people by January 2026. 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.