MPs have supported a move to speed up compensation for people who received infected blood, in a vote in the Commons last night.
MPs voted 246 to 242 in favour of a Labour-led amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill that will require the government to set up an independent body to administer compensation within three months of the bill becoming law.
The new amendment, called New Clause 27, states that the compensation scheme must be led by a High Court or Court of Session judge.
New Clause 27 requires the government to:
- establish a body to administer a compensation scheme for victims of the infected blood scandal
- ensure the body is chaired by a High Court or Court of Session judge with status as sole decision maker
- set up the compensation scheme within three months of the passing of the Act.
The Victims and Prisoners Bill will now be debated in the House of Lords and could receive Royal Assent in early 2024.
Rachel Halford, CEO of The Hepatitis C Trust, said: “We warmly welcome Parliament’s decision to require the Government to establish a body to administer compensation to those affected by the infected blood scandal. Extending support payments, including to bereaved parents and children and people given hepatitis B, and removing the arbitrary cut-off date of September 1991 for people infected through transfusions, is the next important step to redressing the huge injustices of this scandal.
“Every four days, someone who received infected blood dies without seeing justice served. The government must now move quickly to ensure that the people who have waited decades for justice are not forced to wait any longer than necessary to receive the support they deserve.”
Find out more about the Infected Blood scandal.