Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government on what date the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will open to applications under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025; and whether those who are already registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Scheme need to make a new application.

In October 2024, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) opened the claim service to a small number of people. As of 6th May, a total of 677 people have been contacted to start their claim for compensation. Since they became law on 31 March this year, IBCA has been working under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025. Going forward, IBCA is aiming to contact an average of 100 people to begin their claims every week. The Government expects IBCA to begin payments to people who are affected, to whom the 2025 Regulations also apply, by the end of this year.

Regarding the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS), all those invited to claim so far are registered with IBSS. People are required to go through an application process for compensation, as the Compensation Scheme is separate to IBSS, but those registered with IBSS are automatically eligible for compensation. Additionally, IBCA holds details for all those people who are registered on existing support schemes and can request other information, such as medical records and information about a person's condition and severity, from organisations who already have it. This should mean those claiming will be asked for the least amount of information possible needed to calculate the compensation they are due.