Earlier this month the Chairs of three UK societies wrote to the Prime Minister on the issue of compensation for people infected and affected by contaminated blood, following the announcement of the delay to the publication of the Inquiry’s final report until March 2024.
In this letter the Chairs urged the Prime Minister to once again to consider his government’s stance on waiting for the final report before responding on the matter of compensation.
Within the letter, it highlighted that compensation was recently extended to the victims of the Post Office scandal prior to the conclusion of its own inquiry, thereby refuting any suggestion that such a course of action represents a customary governmental practice.
The letter concludes with the Chairs urging the Prime Minister to “do what is right for all the people infected and affected by contaminated blood and blood products” and asked for a response by the 1st December 2023.
Since this letter was sent, the UK Paymaster General made a written statement on the 23rd October which did not suggest that any change in this stance has happened thus far.
Haemophilia Scotland remains committed to advocating for full compensation for all affected individuals and for interim compensation for bereaved parents, children and siblings. We will continue to engage with both the UK and Scottish Governments on behalf of our members to address this critical issue.