The families of those who died after being infected with contaminated blood will be able to apply for £100,000 of compensation in October if they have not already had support, the Government has announced.
In a statement to the Commons, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds reiterated the Government’s “deep and heartfelt” apology to the victims of the infected blood scandal.
This comes after the new Labour Government committed to meeting the compensation deadlines set out under the previous Conservative administration.
More than 30,000 people were infected with deadly viruses between the 1970s and early 1990s as they received blood transfusions or blood products while having NHS care.
As of June 30, interim payments of more than £1 billion have been made to patients infected with contaminated blood products and bereaved partners – a total of 4,606 recipients.
On Friday, Mr Thomas-Symonds told MPs: “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.”
“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’,” he added.
He continued: “The Cabinet Office is working closely with DHSC (Department of 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’m 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.”
Shadow Cabinet Office minister John Glen said he hopes the “goodwill generated” by the previous government with victims of the infected blood scandal will not be “squandered”.
He told MPs: “I’m delighted that (Mr Thomas-Symonds) this morning has confirmed that over £1 billion has now been paid during the run up to the General Election.”
He added: “I’m anxious that the guarded optimism I heard during my 18 meetings with representatives from 40 groups in May will be sustained and that the goodwill generated on the path to delivery will not be squandered.”
Mr Glen also asked if the £1 billion referred to was the completion of the 90-day interim compensation commitment.
Mr Thomas-Symonds replied: “In relation to his point about the 90 days, my understanding is that the payments were completed on the 24th of June, which is within that 90-day period. But there will be, as I announced in my statement, now these additional interim payments to the estates of infected people, and that process will begin from October.”
The 2,527-page report from the inquiry found the infected blood scandal “could largely have been avoided” and there was a “pervasive” cover-up to hide the truth.
The report suggested the Government should introduce a “statutory duty of accountability on senior civil servants for the candour and completeness of advice given to permanent secretaries and ministers, and the candour and completeness of their response to concerns raised by members of the public and staff”.
Mr Thomas-Symonds said the Government will be bringing forward legislation on duty of candour for public officials “as soon” as they can.
He said: “With regard to the duty of candour, it does stand alongside other matters that we are bringing forward including the public advocate and ensuring that families who find themselves in the tragic situation that many did with Hillsborough, are able to be appropriately represented at an inquest as well.
“So I think we need to see them as a collective package, but we will be bringing those forward as soon as we can.”
Mr Thomas-Symonds also said a specific memorial for children sent to Treloar’s school should be created, in addition to other memorials in constituencies, as recommended by the inquiry’s chairman Sir Brian Langstaff.
Around 50 former pupils of Lord Mayor Treloar College, where boys with haemophilia were given contaminated blood in the 1970s and 1980s, are suing the specialist school for an alleged failure of its duty of care.
Of the pupils that attended the school in the 1970s and 1980s “very few escaped being infected” and of the 122 pupils with haemophilia that attended the school between 1970 and 1987, only 30 are still alive.
The report found children were used as “objects for research” while the risks of contracting hepatitis and HIV were ignored.
The minister said the children were “sent to Treloar, frankly, for protection, but actually ended up with this quite awful, hideous situation, where frankly they were experimented upon when they were at their most vulnerable”.
