Compensation scheme for infected blood scandal widened
More victims of the infected blood scandal will qualify for compensation while others will get higher awards under changes to the scheme.
The new rules mean estates of affected people who have already died will be able to claim payments.
As well as this, around 1,000 people who are already eligible will be able to claim a higher amount, including chronic Hepatitis C individuals.
The reforms are being introduced following 16 recommendations from the Infected Blood Inquiry, which published an additional report earlier this month.
Confirming the changes, minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds said the government has "concentrated on removing barriers to quicker compensation".
He added: "Our focus as we move forward must be working together to not only deliver justice to all those impacted, but also to restore trust in the state to people who have been let down too many times."
Between the 1970s and early 1990s, more than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C while receiving NHS care.
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Some 3,000 people have died after they were given contaminated blood and blood products, while survivors live with lifelong implications.
In last October's Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves committed £11.8bn to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal, with the scheme opening at the end of last year.
The changes will ensure that those who endured treatments with adverse side effects, such as interferon, will receive higher compensation to what is currently provided.
Extraordinary intervention forces govt to act
The government will now hope its response to Sir Brian Langstaff's criticism will be enough to convince the Infected Blood chair - and more importantly those infected and affected by this scandal - is listening and acting with urgency.
The long-awaited report was published in May 2024. It was an afternoon charged with raw emotion. After decades of being lied to, ignored and gaslit, finally the infected blood community had found its champion. Someone who understood their pain and suffering.
Sir Brian called on the government to deliver compensation quickly, knowing that many were dying before seeing justice delivered.
But Sir Brian was not himself convinced. Even after the publication of the report he kept the Inquiry open.
This is unprecedented. It showed that he feared there would be more stalling and further delays to payments. He was, sadly, proved right.
It took an extraordinary intervention from Sir Brian last month to push the government to respond. It says it will implement all of the Inquiry's latest recommendations, some immediately and the rest after further consultation with the community.
More people will now qualify for payment and others will get more compensation.
And importantly the claims of victims will not die with them but instead can now be passed on to surviving family members. All hugely important revisions.
The government says it understands the urgency. But it will also know it should not have taken an unprecedented intervention to force the issue.
Higher compensation will also be available for the impacts currently recognised by the Infected Blood Support Scheme 'Special Category Mechanism' (SCM), which is provided to chronic Hepatitis C individuals who have experienced a significant impact on their ability to carry out daily duties.
The government said the changes mean that over a thousand people will receive a higher amount than they would have under the existing scheme.
Scheme widened to estates of deceased affected people
The scheme will also be widened to some people who don't currently qualify.
Under the current mechanism, if someone who was infected dies before receiving full compensation, then any final award can be passed on to their relatives through their estate.
However while compensation is also available to family members affected by the scandal - a partner, sibling or parent of someone who was infected, for example, this claim dies with them if they pass away.
The changes announced today mean that if the affected person has died after May 21st 2024, or dies in future before receiving compensation, their estate will be able to make a claim.
Memorial plans announced
The government also announced that Clive Smith, president of the Haemophilia Society, will be the chair of the new Infected Blood Memorial Committee.
The project will include plans for a UK memorial and support memorials in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In line with the Infected Blood Inquiry's recommendation, the committee will also develop plans for commemorative events and is planning to hold the first by the end of 2025.
Mr Smith said the memorial is "long overdue".
He added: "It is a great privilege to be asked to lead this important work on behalf of the community.
"I am conscious that we are already behind in relation to implementing the Infected Blood Inquiry's recommendation that community events be held on a six-month basis post the Inquiry reporting. We intend to correct that by the end of this year.
"I look forward to working with the whole community across the UK on building an appropriate memorial to those we have lost and to act as a lasting memorial to the nation of what can happen when patient safety is not prioritised."
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