Last week, alongside other groups from the infected blood community, we wrote to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, to raise our significant concerns around the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme’s Unethical Research Award.
As it stands, those eligible for the award – people who were deliberately given blood products known to be contaminated with HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, are set to receive an additional £10,000 (£15,000 for those who attended Treloar’s College) on top of the rest of their compensation.
The Government has proposed that the eligibility of this award be expanded to all infected people who received treatment for a bleeding disorder in the UK before 1985 (it’s only currently open to people who were treated at a specific list of treatment centres or were a participant in one of Dr Craske’s studies) and that those who attended Treloar’s College receive both awards (so in current terms, £25,000). They are also consulting on alternative ways to design and calculate this award.
Despite these steps in the right direction, we are worried that without enough attention given to this award, compensation amounts will still not be fair. Unless substantially revised, this risks creating a precedent that undermines fair compensation for victims of institutional abuse in the future. This is therefore not simply about infected blood. It is about the fundamental right of every UK citizen not to be experimented on without consent.
Our letter also raises concern at the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) announcement on 11 December 2025 that, 18 months after the Inquiry concluded, they remain unable to determine whether a criminal investigation could or should take place.
Without change, the Government risks sending a message that experimenting on children in the UK carries a negligible financial penalty and no risk of prosecution. We have urged the Minister to ensure that the award is fully and transparently reviewed, involving legal experts as well as the community, and to work with the NPCC to prioritise and resource their review.
This is one of several issues regarding compensation that we have concerns about and are actively working to raise with the Government.