Victims of the contaminated blood scandal will receive compensation before the end of the year

By Liam On May 21, 2024

An estimated multi-billion pound plan to compensate British victims of the tainted blood scandal and their families by the end of the year has been announced, the day after a damning report found the NHS and government were responsible for the tragedy.

The chairman of the Contaminated Blood Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, last year called for a compensation framework to be put in place for those infected and affected by the scandal and criticized the government’s failure to do so in Monday’s report .

In response to Langstaff’s findings, Rishi Sunak pledged to put in place a comprehensive compensation scheme “whatever the cost” and on Wednesday Cabinet Office minister John Glen announced the details in Parliament.

Glen echoed Sunak’s apology and announced that Sir Robert Francis, who wrote the report on compensation that fueled Langstaff’s recommendations on payments, would be interim chairman of a new infected blood compensation authority.

Glen acknowledged that people were “still dying every week from their infections” and feared they would not live to receive compensation. Glen said that, prior to the introduction of the full scheme, payments of £210,000 would be made to living infected beneficiaries. within 90 days “so they can reach those who need it most urgently.”

He told MPs: “For the avoidance of doubt, if you have been infected directly or indirectly with NHS blood, blood products or tissue contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C, or if you have developed a chronic infection from blood that has been contaminated with hepatitis B, you are eligible to claim compensation under the scheme and, where an infected person has died but would have qualified under these criteria, compensation will be paid to their estate.”

He continued: “It is not only the damage caused by the infections that requires compensation, it is also the injustice suffered by those affected that must also be compensated. So once a person with a qualifying infection is accepted into the scheme, their affected loved ones can apply for compensation on their own. This means that partners, parents, siblings, children, friends and family… who have acted as caregivers of those who have been infected are all eligible to make a claim.”

He said the government has accepted Francis’ recommendations for five categories of compensation:

Damage impact, which takes into account the physical and mental damage caused by the infection.
Social impact, to address the stigma or social isolation resulting from the infection.
Autonomy, recognizing how family and private life was disrupted during this time.
Compensation for past and future healthcare needs of anyone infected.
Past and future financial losses incurred due to the infection.

Glen did not provide details of the cost of the scheme, but said examples of rates people would receive would be published on the government’s website. He said Francis would seek the opinion of the infected blood community on the proposed plan in the coming weeks before finalizing it, but the expectation was that final payments would begin before the end of the year. He said the lawyer’s involvement would ensure the plan is “credible and trusted by the (infected blood) community.”

All payments will be exempt from income, capital gains and inheritance tax, and will be disregarded for the purposes of means-tested benefit assessments. There will also be a right to appeal the amount of the award.

More than 30,000 people became infected with HIV, hepatitis C or both between the 1970s and the early 1990s as a result of using contaminated blood products or transfusions. In emphasizing the urgency of setting up the compensation scheme, Langstaff pointed out that the death toll is rising by the week, with an estimated 3,000 people already dead.

Until 2022, when more than 4,000 survivors and relatives each received interim compensation of £100,000 after Langstaff endorsed Francis’ recommendations, only ex-gratia payments had been made. Last year, Langstaff said interim payments should be provided to survivors and children, and expressed frustration when the government failed to do so before the publication of the final report.

In Monday’s report, he said victims of the scandal had been let down by “successive governments” that ignored warnings about the risks of contagion, engaged in a “cover-up” and resisted establishing a public investigation or payment of compensation.

Concluding his statement, Glen said: “I know the whole House of Commons will join me in thanking Sir Brian and the inquiry for the work they have done, and paying tribute to all those who have been involved in this matter. terrible tragedy and fought for justice for so long. Yesterday was a day of great humility for everyone involved in this investigation, and today I can only hope that now that the investigation’s report has been published and with our firm commitment to compensate those affected by the scandal, the infected blood community knows that their cry for justice has been found. heard.”