Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure that bereaved families are treated equitably within the compensation scheme and retain a route to seek recognition of the full extent of injuries suffered by their relatives.

The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme provides compensation to affected people, who have suffered the impacts of infected blood through their relationship with an infected person. This includes partners, parents, children and siblings.

All eligible affected people receive the Injury, Autonomy, and Social Impact awards. The Injury award compensates for both physical and mental injury, including the death of an infected person or the likely death of a loved one in the future. The Injury award is higher in circumstances where it is likely that the infection had caused or could cause death.

A supplementary route is also available to compensate financial dependents where the infected person has sadly died. Financial dependents include bereaved partners, and children who were under 18 at the time of death.

In its Additional Report, the Inquiry asked the Government to give consideration to there being a supplementary route for affected people, suggesting that this include opening the supplemental award for severe psychological harm to affected people.

The Government has consulted on whether, and how, an expanded supplementary route for affected people could be constructed whilst continuing to allow for timely delivery of compensation within a tariff-based scheme. The Government is considering each response to the consultation with the seriousness the issue deserves, and will publish its response within 12 weeks of the consultation’s closing date.