What is the infected blood scandal compensation scheme and when will it start?

The PA news agency answers questions on the latest information about support for infected blood scandal victims.

More than 30,000 people who received NHS treatment between the 1970s and early 1990s were infected with contaminated blood (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Victims of the infected blood scandal will be given life-long support payments, the Government has announced in its latest updates on the compensation scheme.

The new Labour Government has for the first time signalled how it plans to roll out compensation for the victims.

Here the PA news agency answers questions on the latest information about the support on offer.

– Why are people getting compensation?

More than 30,000 people who received NHS treatment between the 1970s and early 1990s were infected with contaminated blood.

They contracted a number of viruses including hepatitis C and HIV.

Some 3,000 are dead as a result and survivors are living with life-long health implications.

– What has the Government said that is new?

Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has for the first time spoken about how it will pick up the baton from the Tories and progress the scheme.

Victims of the infected blood scandal can receive financial support for life, it has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, those who were subjected to unethical research will get up to £15,000 extra in a one-off payment.

– What is this extra payment?

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Lord Mayor’s Treloar’s College in Hampshire offered specialist care for children with haemophilia.

Pupils undergoing treatment for the disorder were experimented on without their knowledge by NHS clinicians who knew the dangers it posed.

They have been offered a one-off £15,000 payment on top of the ongoing support, with a £10,000 award available for others in similar, less notorious cases.

But reaction to news of the payment has not all been positive, with Richard Warwick, a victim who attended Treloar’s School, describing the amount as “derisory and insulting”.

– When will the payments begin?

Infected people will start receiving payments through the new framework by the end of this year, while for others affected by the scandal, payments will begin in 2025.

Ministers are expected to introduce regulations for infected victims setting up the new scheme by August 24, followed by a second set of regulations for affected people in the coming months.

The accepted recommendations also include provisions for victims to receive independent legal advice to help them navigate the claims process.

It comes after senior barrister and interim chairman of the compensation authority Sir Robert Francis KC made 74 proposals for the rollout of the scheme, of which the Government accepted the vast majority.

Five recommendations have not been accepted, including a suggestion to uprate support payments beyond Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation.

– How much will the entire scheme cost?

The Government has not put a figure on how much the scheme might cost overall, though awards for those at the top end are likely to exceed £2.5 million.

Paymaster general Nick Thomas-Symonds said a total estimate would be laid out in the Budget red book as work was still ongoing and more people may still come forward to make a claim.

Some 3,000 people across the UK are estimated to have registered interest with the compensation scheme.

– Did the inquiry not make compensation recommendations last year?

Yes. Last year, Sir Brian Langstaff, chairman of the Infected Blood Inquiry, made separate recommendations on compensation, saying that people affected by the scandal should face no more delays.

He said he “could not in conscience add to the decades-long delays” victims had already faced and that “no time must be wasted in delivering redress”.

– What has happened since then?

Before the election, the previous Conservative government led by former prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged to pay “comprehensive compensation” to people affected by the scandal.

Then-minister John Glen said “time is of the essence” as he made a string of announcements in May, which created the compensation body led by Sir Robert and set out who would be eligible for compensation.

This included anyone who had been directly or indirectly infected by NHS blood, blood products or tissue contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C, and those who had developed a chronic infection from blood contaminated with hepatitis B.

Compensation would be paid to the estates of those who had died, the government said at the time, and anyone already registered with one of the existing support schemes would automatically be considered eligible for compensation.

Friends and family members of those infected would also be eligible for compensation, it was revealed.

– Have interim payments not been made before?

So far, about £400 million has been paid out through interim payments of £100,000 to infected people or bereaved partners.

Last year, Sir Brian said these interim payments left many “unrecognised” – including parents who lost children and children orphaned when their parents died.

Recently, ministers announced the interim payments would be available to a wider group of people as officials confirmed payouts would also be made to the “estates of the deceased infected people who were registered with existing or former support schemes”.