Infected Blood Compensation Scheme

The Scheme will recognise and provide financial compensation to victims of infected blood, both people who have been infected and affected.  The Scheme has been designed, in line with advice from the Expert Group, to minimise the burden on those applying. People registered on a current UK Infected Blood Support Scheme (IBSS) or who were in receipt of support payments from the Alliance House Organisation (AHO) schemes will therefore automatically be eligible and registered for the Scheme.

Infected persons

Infected persons include those directly and indirectly infected, which are defined as follows:A person who is or was directly infected:

• with HIV through the use of NHS-supplied blood, blood products and/or tissue;

• with an acute or chronic case of Hepatitis C through the use of NHS-supplied blood, blood products and/or tissue;

• with a chronic case (more than 6 months) of Hepatitis B through the use of NHS-supplied blood, blood products and/or tissue;

• with an acute case (less than 6 months) of Hepatitis B through the use of NHS-supplied blood, blood products and/or tissue and died as a result of the Hepatitis B infection during the acute period.

or a person who is or was indirectly infected

• by transmission of infection from a person who is or was directly infected (e.g. a person infected by their partner);

• by transmission of infection, in defined circumstances, from another person who was infected by someone who was directly infected (e.g. a child infected by their mother who was infected by her partner).

Affected persons

Affected persons include those who have suffered the impacts of infected blood through their relationship with a living or deceased infected person (as described above). Affected persons include:Partners of eligible infected persons. This includes:

• spouses;

• civil partners;

• partners cohabiting with an eligible infected person for at least one year following infection.

Partners who separated from the eligible infected person prior to infection will not be eligible for compensation.Parents of an eligible infected person, including:

• biological parents;

• adoptive parents;

• others acting in the capacity of a parent as described below (e.g. step parents, grandparents);

whocared for and lived with an eligible infected person whilst that person was under the age of 18. The provision of care and accommodation must have continued or been expected to continue for a period of at least 1 year. The age at which the child became infected is not relevant to eligibility but compensation rates will be higher for the parents of an infected person where the onset of infection began before the child turned 18 (and the parents cared for and lived with the infected child for at least 1 year) than for parents whose child was infected as an adult.Children of an eligible infected person, including:

• biological children;

• adoptive children;

• others in the position of a child as described below (e.g. step children);

whowhile under the age of 18, were cared for and lived with (for a period of at least 1 year) a parent who was, or later became, infected. The age of a child at the time of infection does not impact eligibility but compensation rates will be higher for children who, while under the age of 18, lived with and were cared for by an infected parent (for at least 1 year), than for people whose parents were infected when they were in adulthood.Siblings of eligible infected persons, including:

• biological and adoptive siblings;

• step siblings;

• others in the position of a sibling (as described below);

whowhile under the age of 18, lived in the same household as an infected person for a period of at least 2 years after the onset of the infection.Carers of an eligible infected person (e.g. friends or family) who, without reward or remuneration, provided personal care or support greater than would otherwise reasonably have been expected. Such carers will be eligible for compensation in their own right where the provision of care averaged at least 16.5 hours of care per week over a time period of at least 6 months.

The scheme is based on the recommendations and principles put forward by the Infected Blood Inquiry. In line with these, the Government has sought to design a fair and comprehensive compensation scheme that will be quick and simple for eligible applicants to access. The priority will be to deliver compensation as swiftly as possible and with the minimum possible delay, as advised by Sir Brian Langstaff and the Inquiry.The Scheme’s detailed design reflects the advice of the Infected Blood Inquiry Response Expert Group, chaired by Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery. The Expert Group brought together legal and clinical experts who were assisted by care specialists. The Scheme accepts the Inquiry’s recommendations on eligibility for infected persons. For affected persons, the Scheme delivers on the spirit of the Inquiry’s recommendations on eligibility but has linked eligibility to familial relationship or their provision of care to the infected person. The Scheme includes the categories of award recommended by the Inquiry which are payable to all infected persons and most affected persons.The proposed Scheme is subject to further validation with representatives of the infected blood community, prior to being established in regulations. This process will be led by the interim chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, Sir Robert Francis. The Government will finalise the Scheme proposal and present it to Parliament for approval in secondary legislation. The Victims and Prisoners Bill sets a three month deadline for the making of these regulations.

For people who are diagnosed before 1 April 2025, the Scheme will remain open to applications for compensation for 6 years from 1 April 2025 (until 31 March 2031). The proposed date for closing the Scheme to people with existing diagnoses will be reviewed within 3 years (by 31 March 2028) to ensure that it remains appropriate based on the numbers of applications and expected processing times.For people who are diagnosed after 1 April 2025, the Scheme will remain open to applicants for 6 years from their date of diagnosis.

The Scheme will compensate for both past and future losses suffered as a result of infected blood. This will mean that, for the first time, payments to those who have suffered as a result of infected blood will be on a single statutory basis that applies across the UK. The establishment of the Scheme will not have any immediate impact on the support payments received through the IBSS. The eligibility criteria for the IBSS will not be impacted by the new Scheme.IBSS are delivered separately in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and decisions on individual schemes will be for the devolved administrations.Payments will continue to be paid, at the same level, via the IBSS and on an ex-gratia basis until 31 March 2025. This means that any payments received before and up to 31 March 2025 will not be deducted from compensation awarded through the new Scheme. After this point, from 1 April 2025, people who receive IBSS payments will continue to receive payments until such time that their case is assessed under the new Scheme by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA). Once assessed under the Scheme, the applicant will be able to choose how to receive their compensation (lump sum or periodic payments). The IBCA will not be able to assess all cases at the same time. Therefore, to ensure a fair and consistent approach over the transition from the IBSS to the new Scheme, any IBSS payments received from 1 April 2025 will be deducted from a person’s total compensation award.In the event that the IBCA assesses that a person is entitled to less compensation through the Scheme than would have otherwise been paid to them through continued IBSS support payments, an additional top-up payment will be provided to bring the compensation they receive up to the level of the support payments. This will ensure that no one will receive less compensation through the Scheme than the payments they would have otherwise been entitled to through existing schemes. Any top-up payment awarded will take into account other compensation payments that a person has received through the Scheme, either in their own right or as an estate beneficiary.