Compensation scheme changes announced

Written by Jessica Bomford, April 14, 2026

The government has announced changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, including an increase to its unethical testing award and greater recognition of people infected as children.

Speaking in the House of  Commons on 14 April, the Paymaster General, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP claimed ‘substantive changes’ had been made to the compensation scheme. He added that the government had got the message from the infected blood community that the scheme needed to do more to recognise peoples’ individual experiences. You can read the full response here.

The government was forced to make a series of changes to the compensation scheme last year when the Infected Blood Inquiry published an Additional Report on compensation, in response to widespread concerns raised by the infected blood community. Some amendments have already been made. Proposed additional changes were published in October 2025 and the infected blood community were invited to submit their views. A total of 710 responses were received.

The main points announced today were:

  • Unethical research payment for people treated at Treloar’s College increased to £60,000 (from a proposed £25,000).
  • Unethical research payment for other children with a bleeding disorder treated before 1986 uplifted from £10,000 to £45,000 and £30,000 for those treated in adulthood.
  • Eligible bereaved parents of children, bereaved partners and children and siblings of infected people who were affected whilst under the age of 18 to get a 50% uplift to core Injury award.
  • A £60,000 uplift on the Exceptional Loss award for people who had entered, or had an offer to enter, a high-earning career, but could not progress due to their infection. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) to have some flexibility to decide if claims qualify for uplift.
  • Anyone receiving Special Category Mechanism (SCM) will receive additional Financial Loss and Care compensation through a new supplementary route.
  • Everyone receiving this new award will receive uplifts to their Financial Loss and Care awards from 2017, regardless of when SCM was awarded.
  • A one-off uplift to the Injury award of £10,000 will go to people infected with hepatitis C and B currently on level 2 banding (chronic).
  • A ‘Level 2B’ category of Financial Loss has been created for people who suffered side effects of interferon treatment, with payment for each round of interferon. Financial loss will be calculated at a rate of 80% for two years.
  • Anyone who has been treated with interferon and received less than 16.5 hours of care per week during the year of treatment, will receive one additional year of ‘low level’ Care award (16.5 hours a week).
  • Government will remove a 25% reduction applied to past Care compensation for people who choose to receive support payments for life. It pledges that on past Financial Loss calculations, the most financially beneficial calculation will be awarded. This will be automatically calculated by IBCA.
  • Severe Psychological Harm which cannot be evidenced under the current system could be compensated through new SCM categories offering additional financial loss and care compensation for psychological harm.
  • People aged 18 or under when infected will receive a 50% uplift of their core Autonomy award.

These changes will need to be turned into legislation and approved by Parliament before IBCA can implement them. Compensation claims can continue to be processed while these changes are being finalised. IBCA will contact anyone who is owed additional compensation as a result of the changes.

Kate Burt, Chief Executive of the Haemophilia Society, said: ‘We are pleased to see some positive changes to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme. It is very disappointing, though, that the government and its expert group have ignored huge amounts of real-world evidence regarding the debilitating, enduring impact of interferon treatment. We’re also concerned that there is very little reference to some significant problems regarding estate claims, despite a number of meetings and correspondence with the Cabinet Office on this issue.

‘It is crucial that the changes announced do not become bureaucratic hurdles that impede the delivery of compensation. We must not forget that thousands of bereaved families continue to wait for their compensation claims to begin, causing great anxiety and distress. Others will need greater clarity to understand how these changes affect them.  We hope the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) will rapidly scale up its claims process to end this unbearable period of limbo, for so many in our community.’

The government also announced that it is setting up a new mechanism where people can raise concerns about the function of the compensation scheme and IBCA. There will be quarterly publications of the feedback given by the community, with the first expected in July. Email [email protected], and your email will be directed to either the Cabinet Office or IBCA.

The government has also published the advice of its Technical Expert Group (TEG), which has advised it on many of the issues covered in this consultation. You can read this here.