Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds has told MPs that the estates of people who died as a result of the infected blood scandal can apply for interim £100,000 payments from October
People who lost loved ones as a result of the infected blood scandal will finally be able to claim compensation, the Government has announced.
From October the estates of people who died can claim a £100,000 interim compensation payment, MPs were told. Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds told the Commons that ministers are committed to “swift resolution” to deliver the compensation “as soon as possible”.
More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. In May a bombshell public inquiry report by Sir Brian Langstaff found governments and the NHS had covered up wrongdoing. Campaigners have welcomed the latest announcement.
Mr Thomas-Symonds told the Commons: “It was a profound moment of shame for the British state, and a movement of long overdue recognition for the victims and their loved ones.” He said the scale of the scandal “almost defies belief”.
The Cabinet minister confirmed that applications will open in October for £100,000 payments to the estates of those who died. He told MPs that so far more than £1billion has been paid in compensation to victims, with interim payments of £210,000 paid last month to people who were on infected blood support schemes.
Announcing a widening of the compensation scheme he said: “The Cabinet Office is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care, the devolved governments and the administrators of the existing infected blood support schemes to establish the process for making interim payments of £100,000 to the estates of deceased people who were infected with contaminated blood or blood products, and whose deaths have not yet been recognised.
“Work is progressing to ensure these payments are made as soon as we are able to, and I am pleased to confirm to the House today that applications for these payments will open in October, and we will set out further details of this in due course.”
Jason Evans, director of Factor 8, which campaigns on behalf of victims, said: “Today’s announcement is a welcome step forward, honouring the commitments we were able to secure in the Victims & Prisoners Bill earlier this year. Bereaved families have waited far too long to see any compensation, with the Infected Blood Inquiry recommending these interim payments in April 2023.
“We will be encouraging the relevant authorities to ensure these payments are made as quickly as possible and do all we can to assist the Infected Blood Compensation Authority as it gears up to make final payments.”
In one of his final acts of Prime Minister in May, Mr Sunak apologised for the role of the state in the infected blood inquiry. He acknowledged that children infected with HIV through blood products were used as objects for research.
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “The infected blood scandal is an injustice that has spanned across decades on an unprecedented scale. Thousands of people have died, and continue sadly to die every week. Lives have been shattered and the voices of victims ignored for decades.
“People have watched their loved ones die and in one of the most chilling aspects that the inquiry brought to light, children were used as objects of research.” He added: “The former prime minister issued an apology on behalf of the State for the devastating impact that the use of infected blood and infected blood products has had on countless lives, and today, on behalf of this Government I reiterate that deep and heartfelt ‘sorry’.”