Up to 140,000 blood scandal relatives may claim compensation

As many as 140,000 bereaved parents, children and siblings of infected blood scandal victims may claim compensation under new laws laid before Parliament.

It is thought 30,000 people contracted HIV and hepatitis from contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 80s.

The new laws will allow the relatives of those infected to claim full compensation in their own right for the impact on their lives.

In May 2024, a damning report found the authorities covered up the scandal and exposed victims to unacceptable risks.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her autumn Budget that £11.8bn had been set aside for compensation, in what is thought will be the largest payment of its kind in NHS history.

The scheme is being introduced in phases.

Legislation was passed last summer to compensate individuals who contracted HIV and hepatitis B or C as a result of NHS treatments.

The new laws will extend those payments to the parents, partners, children, siblings and some carers of those infected.

The final amounts paid out will depend on individual circumstances.

Draft documents published last year suggest a parent who lost a child to hepatitis C can expect to receive about £85,000, while a sibling can expect about £30,000.

The number of relatives and carers who might apply for compensation is extremely uncertain, partly because of the length of time that has elapsed since the scandal first emerged in the 1980s.

Internal government estimates suggest between 24,000 and 140,000 affected individuals might claim.

Cabinet office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the government is determined to deliver justice for victims of the scandal.

"I know the scale of suffering people have endured," he said.

"These new laws will be vital to delivering compensation to people who did such a huge amount, and often suffered so much themselves, when caring for their loved ones who contracted life-changing illnesses."

The £11.8bn total set aside by ministers is meant to cover the period until the next general election is due in 2029, but could increase if large numbers come forward.

The new laws will also allow some infected individuals to claim supplementary payments if extra evidence is provided.

Those who can show they were the victims of unethical research, for example, can receive an extra £10,000.

Those with the blood disorder haemophilia, who contracted HIV or hepatitis C as children while at Treloar's school in Hampshire, will receive £15,000.

The draft laws must be debated and approved by both houses of Parliament before being passed, which the government expects to happen by the end of March.

Groups representing victims and their families have already expressed concern about the length of time it has taken for the scheme to start operating.

So far, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), which administers the payments, has invited 113 infected individuals to claim, and made 23 offers of compensation.

Lawyer Des Collins, who is advising thousands of families, said the scheme is not yet able to cope with "anywhere near" the volume of applications it should be processing, and warned "many may die" while they wait.

IBCA said it was "starting small" because of the complexity of some cases, but pledged the process would speed up from April this year.