Support Services for Applicants
Infected Blood Inquiry · Second Interim Report · Issued 5 April 2023 · Addressed to: UK Government
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (May 2025)
DeliveryNo statement from UK Government found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
I recommend that the scheme should include provision of the following support services to be provided without charge to the applicant: a) an advice and advocacy service, supplemented where necessary by discretionary access to independent legal advice and representation, where necessary and within a pre-authorised budget, to assist and advise applicants; b) a financial, insurance and benefits advice and support service, to assist recipients in accessing financial and insurance services and obtaining any relevant benefits; and c) advice and referral to appropriate specialist services, signalling or certifying access to any special arrangements.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Second Interim Report · 5 Apr 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry asked the UK Government to provide free advocacy, legal, financial, and referral support. In May 2025, the UK Government stated that psychological support was available or expanding across the UK and that the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) aims to ensure support is available for managing awards, accessing financial services, and benefits advice (Cabinet Office response, May 2025). The response did not describe advocacy services or referral to specialist services (Cabinet Office response, May 2025). In April 2026, the National Audit Office found that the authority covers the cost of legal advice for applicants throughout their claim (Gareth Davies, Apr 2026).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 14 May 2025
With respect to recommendations 15 and 17 of the Second Interim Report, the Government acknowledges the immense psychological harm that has been caused as a result of this scandal, and is committed to offering psychological support to those impacted by this scandal. Bespoke psychological support for the infected and affected people is already offered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, the Infected Blood Psychological Service began supporting its first patients in some parts of the country in late August 2024, with providers building up capacity over the following six months until they are up and running in all areas of England in Spring 2025. The Government also recognises the need to support applicants through the process of claiming compensation, and as such, the IBCA aims to ensure that appropriate advice and support is available to assist people awarded compensation to manage their compensation awards, access financial services, and access benefits advice where relevant.
Extract from: Full Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry's May 2024 Report
Delivery
No statement on delivery from UK Government has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
What other bodies have found
●National Audit Office · 15 Apr 2026
IBCA pays for legal advice to potentially eligible people throughout their claim
From: Government's compensation and financial recognition schemes, Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.