IR2-11 Accepted

Interest on Past Losses

Infected Blood Inquiry · Second Interim Report · Issued 5 April 2023 · Addressed to: UK Government

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

Inquiry recommendation

I recommend that interest be payable on awards for past financial losses and past provision of care, from the date of infection to the date of the award, in accordance with the practice in personal injury damages claims; alternatively, that such awards are uplifted for inflation during that period.

Infected Blood Inquiry, Second Interim Report · 5 Apr 2023 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- The Government stated in December 2024 that the compensation scheme aligns with the spirit of this recommendation and uses the GDP deflator to uplift past financial losses for inflation, rather than applying personal injury interest rates as recommended (Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry, Cabinet Office, December 2024).
- The Infected Blood Inquiry Additional Report (July 2025) raised further concerns about the calculation methodology for past financial losses (Infected Blood Inquiry Additional Report, July 2025).

Response — verbatim from government

UK Government — initial response

With respect to recommendation 11 of the Second Interim Report, the compensation scheme aligns with the spirit of the recommendation regarding interest payable on past financial loss. The Scheme uses the rate of current median +5% annual salary netted for tax and NI, which is then applied to all years for the working period (age of infection to retirement age) and 50% of this rate from retirement age to life expectancy age. As the Scheme uses the current median salary, as opposed to rates from previous years, interest is not payable.

UK Government · 17 Dec 2024 Written response →

UK Government — follow-up

The scheme provides for appropriate compensation for past losses taking account of the passage of time since infection.

UK Government · 14 May 2025 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 17 Dec 2024 Provisions for past losses implemented. 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.