Public Inquiry

Compensation update from our Big Get-Together annual conference

Written by Jessica Bomford, November 20, 2024

David Foley, interim Chief Executive of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) came to our Big Get-Together conference in Leicester on 16 November to answer your questions. As well as addressing the conference, he also spoke to many infected and affected people on a one-to-one basis during the day.

Here’s a summary of what we learned.

When will payments be made?

Mr Foley acknowledged the community’s ‘frustration’ that progress towards compensation payments appears slow.

Currently there is a trial group of 20 people who are being used to test the system. Mr Foley said that around five of that group could expect their compensation offers this week. Further ‘waves’ of people would be selected, totalling about 250 by March 2025. He said the numbers then processed were expected to rise ‘exponentially’.

Further regulations

Before the end of March 2025 more regulations will have to be laid in Parliament to allow IBCA to make payments to affected people. It will also be when details about the ‘supplementary route’ will be set out, which will involve additional compensation payments relating to care, financial loss and autonomy categories.

IBCA currently only has power to make payments on the ‘core’ scheme to surviving infected people and the estates of those who have died.

IBCA funding

The government has allocated £11.8bn to the compensation scheme, but Mr Foley said there was no limit or cap on this figure.

IBCA team expands

Mr Foley said it was crucial that the compensation scheme’s design was effective so that claims could be handled quickly.

He told us that IBCA has so far recruited 31 claims managers. Applicants will know the name of their claims manager and have a way of contacting them directly. Mr Foley said claims managers should be ‘problem solvers to help you get to the right place, they are not an assessor’. He stressed that they would be supportive and encouraging.

IBCA plans to do the ‘hard work’ on compensation claims by accessing, with your permission, the information held by support schemes and the Infected Blood Inquiry. He said they were not going to ask for ‘reams’ of information from applicants.

On missing information, he said IBCA would work on the ‘balance of probability, based on what seems credible’.

Communication

Mr Foley said the infected blood community would be ‘the first to know’ of any developments or announcements from IBCA.

He said his priority was to publish a simple and clear description of compensation tiers and tariffs which he hoped would happen within the next few weeks. He confirmed that an eligibility checker and compensation calculator were also being worked out.

Date of infection

Mr Foley heard that many people are concerned about how to establish the date of their infection. He said that if you had received numerous treatments, the infection date would be the first factor treatment.

Other issues raised

Audience members raised concerns that Inheritance Tax exemptions could be quickly lost as many elderly people would be receiving large sums of compensation and also the way in which some people would choose to distribute lump sums could make them immediately taxable. An objection was raised that the recently appointed non-executive directors of IBCA were not drawn from the infected blood community. Mr Foley said IBCA was very keen to consult the community and that there would be an advisory panel made up of infected and affected people.