Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Lords Chamber

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[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 12 February be approved.

Relevant document: 18th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

My Lords, as today is my first time engaging publicly in your Lordships’ House on this hugely important issue, I hope noble Lords will allow me a moment to thank those whose tireless work brought us to this point, especially the noble Earl, Lord Howe, the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, and the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, whose dedication ensured that the legislative framework for delivering compensation was established. I pay tribute to noble Lords across this Chamber who have ensured that the voices of people infected and affected remain at the centre of our debates, particularly the noble Baronesses, Lady Campbell and Lady Featherstone, who have been resolute in seeking justice for everyone so tragically impacted by this harrowing scandal.

At the heart of this are countless people whose personal experiences and needs must always drive our actions. We must pay testament to those across the infected blood community, whose tenacious fight for justice has driven this work for so long. I hope that these regulations mark the next substantial step forward in finally getting compensation to those who have fought for so long.

This Government recognise that those impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy understandably have limited trust in the state. The onus is on us to rebuild those relationships and support those impacted as they progress through the next chapter of their journey. This is an area of deep importance for me, and I am personally and deeply driven to make sure that the Government are moving this work forward in the right way.

The infected blood scandal was a profound failure of the state. It is hard to conceive the scale of damage done and the incredible suffering of everyone impacted. The people impacted must remain at the forefront of our minds and we must do everything in our power to rectify this injustice, restore trust in the state and demonstrate that we will not allow for failures such as this to happen again. That is why we are going further than any other Government have gone before. In the Autumn Budget, we set aside £11.8 billion to compensate people who are infected and affected by the infected blood scandal, making it rightly one of the largest compensation schemes in our country’s history.

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I am aware that last week the infected blood inquiry set out its intention to publish an additional report. This is a moment for unity in the face of one of the gravest failures of the British state. The infected blood scandal demands not just words of sympathy but a compensation scheme that truly delivers justice. We owe the victims and their families nothing less.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. As with previous debates on infected blood, this has been a thoughtful, important and, I hope, constructive debate, with noble Lords ensuring that the voice of people infected and affected remains at the centre of all we do.

I am committed to carrying forward this work swiftly and compassionately. I will work with Members across the House to ensure that I can achieve that, to help build back trust with the infected blood community, who have felt overlooked and disregarded for many years. On a personal level, that is my starting point and I will do everything I can. The onus is on us to do that, not on them. Noble Lords have raised many points that demonstrate the importance of getting this right, and I am grateful to those who attended our recent meeting to provide some clarity on some of these difficult and detailed issues. I will revert to some of the points raised momentarily.

Compensation must be not only fair and comprehensive but simple enough to deliver quickly without diminishing the individual harm that each person has faced. This is not a straightforward task. The recommendations of the infected blood inquiry, Sir Robert Francis, and the advice of the infected blood inquiry response expert group have been critical to reaching this point. There is no amount of financial compensation that can make up for the pain and suffering that victims of this scandal have faced, and the Government recognise that. We must now focus on supporting the IBCA to provide compensation as swiftly and as compassionately as possible, and I hope these regulations will help to do that.

I turn to the points raised by noble Lords. I start by apologising that the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, is not with us today. She is much missed. Her voice is powerful on all issues related to infected blood and many other issues related to disability. I will ensure that the appropriate authorities reflect on the issue that stopped her attending today. As noble Lords who have raised it will be aware, I spoke to her today and I have committed to meet her personally to move forward.

I must ask noble Lords to bear with me because lots of questions were raised. If I do not answer them all, I will reflect on Hansard and write accordingly. I want to get as much on the record as possible, because I am aware that members of the infected blood community do not live and breathe what happens in our Library but will be watching here tonight, so I will endeavour to answer as many questions as possible.

I will start with the Getting It Right document that has been highlighted this evening. I am aware that a number of key representatives wrote to the Minister for the Cabinet Office last year; I have read the paperwork. I want to reassure noble Lords that this paperwork was received by the Cabinet Office on 19 November and on 20 December the Minister for the Cabinet Office responded fully. I made sure that the Paymaster-General was happy for us to share his detailed response, and I will write to noble Lords in due course with what has been outlined for each of the issues that they have raised. With regards to the request from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, to meet all Members present to discuss that in detail, I am more than happy to facilitate that meeting in the coming days.

Many noble Lords raised the announcement made last week that the infected blood inquiry would remain open. For everybody who attended and watched the incredibly painful testimony that was given, the fact that the infected blood inquiry and the work of Sir Brian Langstaff continue is something that I personally welcome. As difficult as this is, it is incredibly important. As was seen in the response he received on 20 May, he is a figure genuinely trusted by those who participate, and his ongoing involvement can be only a force for good. We acknowledge that the infected blood inquiry intends to produce a further report. We are committed to co-operating fully with the inquiry and acting on its recommendations. We remain determined to deliver justice for the victims of the infected blood scandal.

With regard to IBCA independence, which was raised by several noble Lords, not least by the noble Baronesses, Lady Brinton, Lady Featherstone and Lady Finlay, I want to reassure noble Lords that IBCA is an operationally independent arm’s-length body established by noble Lords during the passage of the Victim and Prisoners Bill. On 10 March, the framework document for IBCA was published. The document provides clarity between the role of the Cabinet Office as sponsor department and of IBCA as an independent arm’s-length body. IBCA has operational independence from the Government, with its role being to deliver the compensation scheme to the victims of this scandal. The Cabinet Office’s involvement in the development of IBCA is necessary as the Government had stewardship over the money allocated for the scheme.

As for government officials being seconded, IBCA has begun operations staffed by civil servants so that we could create it as quickly as possible, but with a clear intent that staff will be employed directly by IBCA as soon as possible. Noble Lords will appreciate that there are HR policies and systems which must be in place before IBCA is able directly to employ people. We were determined this should not slow down the delivery of compensation. IBCA is clear about its independence, which is why I can give an update on its figures, but I cannot speak for IBCA—I find myself in a very strange position this evening, given some of the questions raised. I will come back to the question from the noble Baroness about training; I will give an answer later in my response.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Brinton and Lady Finlay, raised the issue of hepatitis C and HIV severity bands. On the tariff rates for hepatitis C, the impact of hepatitis infection can range from very mild to very severe, including liver failure and death. The expert group provided the Government with clinical advice on the distinctions between these impacts. This meant that we could set severity bands for hepatitis infections based on clear clinical markers. This means that where someone’s experience of hepatitis has been more severe, whether it is historic or in the present day, they receive more compensation.

The expert group recommended using a single severity band for those infected with HIV. Very sadly, most people infected with HIV due to infected blood have already passed away, and in most cases those deaths were as a result of their infection. Those who have survived will continue to be severely impacted by their infection. It was the view of the expert group that it would be disproportionately complex to break down the HIV category into different bands.

I turn to the estate claims for care awards, which several noble Lords raised, especially the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton. I am so sorry; the fact that I have a cold this evening, given that we are talking about something so serious, is far from ideal. I am genuinely sorry. There is nothing I can do about it. Where a person who would have been eligible to apply for the scheme as an infected person has died, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate may apply for compensation on their behalf. Any decision on the provision of compensation would be for the beneficiary of the estate.

The care award is one of the five awards that an infected person is eligible for. It provides compensation to recognise the cost of care that a person may have required as a result of their infection. The award is provided only to people making a claim as an infected person or to their estate. The infected person can take a decision on whether the award should be passed on to an affected person. An executor of a deceased infected person’s estate will be responsible for administering the estate as per the wishes of the infected person. That is in line with the advice from the expert group.

Where a parent provided care for a child in their early years, and the child passed in adulthood and left their estate to a spouse or their own children when they sadly died, it would be for the beneficiary of the estate to make a decision on how the care award was allocated. This reflects the principle that it would not be right for the Government or IBCA to intervene or overrule the will of the person who has passed. However, in this example, under these regulations, a parent would also be able to claim compensation in their own right as an affected person.

With regard to the order of IBCA invitations, as was highlighted by the SLSC report, every single person entitled to compensation is unique, with their own set of experiences. I know that people have waited too long already, and IBCA wants to ensure that its service will work for everyone as it designs and builds it. Given the scale and complexity of this national tragedy, it does not currently have a mechanism to prioritise individual claims based on personal circumstances, but that is something it is seeking to develop.

On the question about the bulk of payments to infected people by the end of 2027 and by the end of 2029, I have an answer for both the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, and the noble Lord, Lord Patten. The statutory instrument outlines an option for those people who are newly diagnosed. They will have six years to claim, so I cannot give your Lordships a date when that will close; it will have to remain open as we are seeing secondary infections and intergenerational infections, while, heartbreakingly, some people have contracted hepatitis C in the last 30 or 40 years but they are only being diagnosed now because their symptoms are coming to an end. So I cannot give a date for the closure of the scheme.

I will come on to the question of communications. The language is very difficult when we are talking about such an emotive and personal issue, and about people’s lives. We expect the overwhelming majority— I agree; I do not like the word “bulk”—of these cases to be met within the timeframes outlined, but the scheme will remain open for the foreseeable. The framework document set out the timelines agreed between IBCA and the Cabinet Office: the “bulk” of infected people are to be paid by the end of 2027, and I am going to say the “overwhelming majority” of affected people are to be paid by the end of 2029. In its recent newsletter to members of the infected blood community, IBCA set out its aim to have made the majority of payments far ahead of those dates.

Several noble Lords touched on some of the challenges that other compensation schemes have had with rollout. To ensure that it has not been overwhelmed with applications and to make sure we get this right, IBCA is adopting a “test and learn” approach. That is why the numbers have been smaller, but we expect them to grow quickly in the coming months.

The noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, highlighted the fact that the numbers are for ever moving and mentioned the updated numbers and the disparity. The most recent numbers I have of people who have engaged with IBCA are that as of Friday 14 March, last week, 255 people have been invited to start their compensation claim, 214 have started the claim process, 63 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £73 million, and 40 people have accepted their offers, with over £44 million paid in compensation. This means that IBCA has met its aim of inviting 250 people to begin a claim by March—that was the agreed number—and making sure that the process is working.