Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adjusting lump-sum compensation payments under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme to reflect inflation where payments are delayed for several years.

Individuals applying for compensation from IBCA have the choice between receiving their award as a single lump sum payment, or as a series of periodical payments over a 5, 10, or 25 year period. The compensation scheme indexes all future periodical payments to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure that these payments hold value against inflation and provide parity between applicants that choose a lump sum or periodical payments.

The Government has consulted on proposed changes to the infected blood compensation scheme, to gather views on how the Government intends to implement the Inquiry’s recommendations. The consultation closed on 22 January. The Government is considering the responses to the consultation carefully, and we will publish our response to the consultation, which will set out our final decisions on the compensation scheme, within 12 weeks of the closing date.

The delivery of compensation is a matter for IBCA, and as of 10 February, 3,153 people have received an offer of compensation, totalling over £2.5 billion. IBCA has now opened its service to the people who are infected but not registered with an IBSS, as well as to the first claims from affected people and from estates on behalf of deceased infected people.