Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the work of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is an operationally independent body. My honourable friend in the other place, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is the sponsoring Minister for IBCA, is committed to working with IBCA to monitor their performance and ensure compensation is delivered to everyone who is eligible as quickly as possible. The first payments to infected people have been made, totalling over £25 million, and in February the Government laid the second set of infected blood compensation regulations before Parliament. If approved by Parliament, these regulations will give IBCA the powers it needs to also begin payments to affected people eligible under the Scheme.