Tom Gordon MP continues his support for victims of the contaminated blood scandal in Parliament last week as he questioned the Minister on compensation timelines. The Minister responded that 2029 “is a backstop, not a target”.
The scandal dates to the 1970s, when tens of thousands were infected with Hepatitis B and HIV after receiving treatment with infected blood products. Tom’s question comes as almost a decade after the Infect Blood Inquiry was first launched in 2017, and thousands of victims still await compensation by the Government.
While there has been progress, with an over £2 billion already paid out, many victims, including one constituent who raised the matter with the MP have yet to receive payment. They fell under the special category mechanism which allows a larger award but has caused further delayed.
Tom Gordon sought clarity on their behalf, asking whether the Minister is confident that those eligible including those in the special category, will receive payment by 2029 as outlined in the 2024 compensation scheme. The Minister responded that Tom was right to keep holding him to account on this and added his reassurance that he is treating 2029 as “a backstop, not a target”.
Tom said:
It’s almost a decade since the inquiry started and with some victims having lived and died with these conditions for half a century.
I welcome the Minister’s attitude and the work he’s carried out on this.
Together we can see that these people, who have been failed time and time again, can finally get the compensation that they deserve.
I’ll continue to keep banging the drum for them in Parliament.
