- The Government has published its response to the recent
public consultation on the proposed changes to the infected blood
compensation scheme
- These changes will mean more compensation for those who have
been impacted by the infected blood scandal, totalling around
£1bn in compensation payments sent out to victims, as part of the
wider £11.8 billion allocated by the government in the 2024
Autumn budget to compensate victims
- For infected people, the changes will increase the amount of
core compensation available, and for affected people, additional
core compensation will be available to those eligible.
The Government has now published its response to the 12-week
public consultation on the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme,
which received over 700 responses.
This response highlights several areas of action that will be
taken to improve compensation payments for the infected blood
community, with this Government remaining committed to listening
to the community and ensuring they receive the compensation they
deserve.
All of the changes being made to the scheme will either meet or
go further than the proposals set out in the initial consultation
document, with regulations being brought forward later this year
to implement these.
As of 7 April, 3,273 offers of compensation have been made,
totalling over £2.6 billion. This is in addition to the £1.4
billion already paid out in interim payments.
The Rt Hon , Paymaster General and
Minister for the Cabinet Office, said:
While this government understands no amount of money will make up
for the suffering endured by the infected blood community, I hope
that these changes to the compensation scheme demonstrate our
commitment in ensuring this community receives the compensation
they rightly deserve.
The areas in which the government will be making significant
changes are:
- Those eligible for the Special Category Mechanism (SCM) will
receive additional financial loss and care compensation through a
new award
- Applications to the new SCM award will also be welcomed from
those who can show that they require further compensation for
psychological harm.
- A new ‘level 2b' award will mean that people who suffered
from the side-effects of interferon treatment can receive more
compensation for this
- Removing the 25% deduction applied to past care compensation
for people who choose to receive support scheme payments for
life
- Introducing a new award to recognise exceptional loss, for
those who can demonstrate their infection prevented them from
entering a highly paid career or disrupted their career
progression
- Changing the eligibility criteria so that everyone treated
for a bleeding disorder within a specific time period will
receive an unethical research award and increasing the value of
these awards.
- Increasing the size of injury awards for some affected
people
The Government is also establishing a new route for the community
to raise concerns with the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
about the scheme design or delivery. This will mean the Cabinet
Office and IBCA will publish quarterly summaries of the feedback
received on the compensation scheme delivery, and any action
being taken as a result, therefore increasing the transparency of
how the communities concerns are dealt with.
The Government's priority remains on focusing on the delivery of
compensation payments without undue delay, and ensuring
applicants only need to provide the minimum possible evidence to
receive their compensation.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- You can find the Government's full
response to the consultation online.
- The consultation was open for responses for 12 weeks, from 30
October 2025 to 22 January 2026, and received 710 responses.
- As of 7 April, IBCA has contacted 3,942 people to start their
compensation claim, and 3,754 have started the claim process.
3,273 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £2.6
billion, and so far 3,161 people have accepted their
offers.
- The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Technical Expert Group
(TEG) has also published their report of their final advice to
Government on changes to the scheme today (14 April 2026).
