On Monday 2 September, Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas Symonds MP gave an update to the House of Commons on the next steps for delivering compensation to the infected blood community.
On the first day of parliamentary business after summer recess, the Minister with responsibility for Infected Blood described the scandal as a “shameful mark” on the British state and noted that the Government had met the deadline of 24th August for laying the regulations to establish the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.
Shortly before those regulations were laid, Sir Robert Francis made 74 recommendations to the Government on proposed changes to the plans for the Compensation Authority, covering a range of areas that broadly aimed to tailor compensation more to the experiences that infected and affected people went through as a result of the scandal. In yesterday’s update, the Government confirmed they are accepting 69 of those 74 recommendations, including continuing support scheme payments for life as part of compensation packages, and the inclusion of an additional award for those subjected to unethical medical research.
For the five recommendations not accepted, Thomas-Symonds stated that the Government “believe that a different solution will be more practical and better for the victims”.
He explained that the Government has now laid regulations for the “core route”, allowing infected individuals to receive compensation, and allowing their personal representatives to receive it where a person has died as a result of their infection. Payments under the core route will begin this year. There will be a second set of regulations to establish the “supplementary route”, for affected individuals. Thomas-Symonds said that these second regulations will be laid “when parliamentary time allows”, though people applying under this route should be able to receive payments in 2025.
John Glen MP, the previous Minister with responsibility for Infected Blood, responded to the statement asking the Government to clarify how the voice of the infected blood community will now be built into the Compensation Authority, to ensure that the victims of the scandal continue to have a voice in the running of the Authority. He also called for more specific detail on when payments will be made to infected and affected people, as the current timelines are vague.
Several other MPs also made calls for further details on timelines for payments, as well as asking for an assurance that there would be no delays to delivering compensation to infected and affected people from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and calling for a commitment to training caseworkers in the Compensation Authority to make the application procedure as easy and distress-free as possible for people to use.
The Hepatitis C Trust has been contacted by IBCA Chief Executive David Foley, who has offered to host a webinar with our community to provide an update on the IBCA’s work to date and answer questions people have. We will circulate details of the webinar as soon as it is scheduled.
They have also suggested regular meetings between IBCA and HCT staff which will enable us to continue to better understand and share IBCA developments as its implementation progresses.
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If you would like information and support from The Hepatitis C Trust, or responses to questions about your own situation, please contact our helpline on 020 7089 6221 or helpline@hepctrust.org.uk.