Nothing “can put right the damage that inaction by multiple previous governments has done”, a minister has said, almost a year after the Infected Blood Inquiry report was published.
Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds told MPs that the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), set up in response to the inquiry, had paid out more than £96 million to people affected by contaminated blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s.
More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with viruses, including HIV and hepatitis C.
Sir Brian Langstaff, who chaired the original inquiry, found evidence of documents being lost or destroyed across Whitehall, and among his recommendations called on the civil service and Government to end its “defensive culture”.
He also called for a “permanent memorial” to be established in the UK to patients who received contaminated blood products, lifetime liver damage monitoring for patients infected with hepatitis C, and for doctors to offer hepatitis C tests to patients who received a blood transfusion before 1996.
“I recognise that for many in the community, the Government’s actions are coming after decades have passed, and there’s nothing that can put right the damage that inaction by multiple previous governments has done, and it’s not my intention for this statement to diminish that,” Mr Thomas-Symonds told the Commons.
He later added: “The UK and devolved governments have accepted the inquiry’s recommendations in full or in principle and implementation is under way across Government, arms-length bodies and healthcare settings.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “The Infected Blood Compensation Authority, or IBCA, delivered on the Government’s commitment to provide the first full compensation payments by the end of last year.
“IBCA publishes its data regarding compensation on a monthly basis and, as of May 6, payments totalling over £96 million have been made.
“IBCA has been continuing to scale up its operations to deliver compensation as quickly as possible and has confirmed plans to contact an average of 100 people every week to begin their claims.
“I’m also pleased to announce today that the (IBCA) interim chair Sir Robert Francis, who developed vital work to inform the design of the compensation scheme and has overseen the delivery of the scheme to this point, will continue in that role of interim chair for a further 18 months.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds also said the Government has set aside £500,000 of funding this financial year for charities, in response to Sir Brian’s recommendation that “the patient voice be enabled and empowered”.
On “ending the defensive culture” in Whitehall, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “It’s imperative we get this right so the public can put their trust in our institutions which have let down not just the infected blood community but victims of scandals that have taken place over decades.
“The Prime Minister (Sir Keir Starmer) has committed to legislation on a duty of candour, and has confirmed the duty will apply to public authorities and public servants, and include criminal sanctions.”
The Government is “working to draft the best, most effective version of a Hillsborough Law as part of our wider efforts to create a politics of public service”, the minister added.
Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood urged the Government to “directly address the profound distress, anger and fear that’s been expressed by victims and their families at the pace of the full compensation scheme’s rollout”.
His colleague, the former chancellor and health secretary Jeremy Hunt, said that the compensation system was “not working”.
The Conservative MP said: “I know he is totally sincere about getting justice for this and really trying his best, but I think he also knows in his heart of hearts that the system that has been put in place is not working.”
A total of 677 people have been asked to start their compensation claim, according to IBCA, and 432 have started the claim process.
Referring to the pace of compensation, Mr Hunt said: “Does he not agree that the right target for IBCA is to commit to processing the vast majority, more than 90% let’s say, by the end of this year?
“That’s what really needs to happen because two people are dying every single week, and justice delayed really is justice denied.”
The minister replied: “What I said last week to the inquiry about changes to the scheme was that I am open to changes that do not in themselves cause further delay. That’s the open approach that I took last week at the inquiry.”
The Infected Blood Inquiry report was published on May 20 2024, and the first anniversary of its publication is next Tuesday.
