Correspondence

IBCA Community Update, 23 October 2025

Published 23 October 2025

Introduction

Hello and welcome to your community update. 

In this newsletter we cover:

• Opening for the next group of claims 
• Feedback from community sessions on a claim service for those infected but never compensated
• First publication of registration figures
• Our latest compensation figures 
• Responding to community feedback on evidence for a claim
• Guidance on probate 
• Update on IBCA community panel recruitment 
• Update on IBCA drop-in sessions 
• Updates from other organisations: interim estate payments 
• Your questions 

Thank you as always for your feedback and questions which we use to improve this update. Please do get in touch by email ibcaenquiries@ibca.org.uk or on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter).

Opening for the next group of claims

In our last community update we included our aim to begin the first claims in October for people who are infected but never compensated.

We now expect these claims to begin in November to allow for everything to be in place to start the first claims for this group. For transparency, we’ll always share - and try to meet - our aims for when we can open to new groups of claims, but sometimes we may need longer to make sure the service is ready. 

For this next group, this includes building the service to confirm an infection before a claim begins, checking the identity of each person claiming, and ensuring all the necessary legal and financial support is in place for anyone who wishes to use it. 

We will ask for this information before a claim begins because this is the first time we are opening the service to people who are not registered with an infected blood support scheme. This includes showing that you have been diagnosed with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. Checking this will also help people with evidence of infection to get started with their claims as quickly as possible, while reducing any fraudulent claims.

For anyone who is not sure about how to confirm an infection, we’ll provide guidance on what you’ll need once we have contacted you. Although showing you have an infection doesn’t guarantee you are eligible for compensation, we’ll confirm if you are eligible during the claim process. 

As soon as we open to this group, we’ll bring in around 50 claims initially, and will prioritise claims based on recommendations from the Infected Blood Inquiry (the Inquiry recommended we bring in claims first for those who are nearing the end of their lives, then by severity of infection and age).  We’ll identify these people via our registration service, so please register your intent to claim if you haven’t already, to make sure we know how to contact you and that we are aware of any details that may mean we should prioritise your claim.

You may remember that when we opened the claim service to the first group of people making a claim last year, we started with small numbers (often known as a private beta stage). We’ll be taking the same approach for each new group of claims, learning as we go then opening to more people as the service is built around their needs. 

This means the number of claims we start will temporarily be much lower as we design and open the service for this second group of claims. The number of claims will begin to increase again once we learn from each new claim and grow our service to handle more. This will help us continue to build and improve the service.

By the end of this year, as well as opening the service to the first claims for infected people who have never been compensated, we aim to open the first claims for deceased infected people and living affected people. Again, this will start with small numbers then scale up once the service is ready for more. 

For supplementary and deceased affected claims, we’re awaiting further regulations to be confirmed by the UK Government.

To note that we have amended our description of the second group of claims to ‘infected and never compensated’ to reflect the Inquiry’s language and reduce any confusion. We had previously described this group as ‘unregistered and living with infection’.

Feedback from community sessions on claim service for people infected and never compensated 

As part of our ongoing engagement with community members and their representatives, we held sessions about how we should open the claims service to those who are infected and never compensated.

Three sessions were held between 6 and 8 October 2025. Each lasted around 90 minutes and brought together people who are infected and never compensated, along with individuals and representatives who support them. We also held separate sessions with recognised legal representatives and IBCA’s user consultants.

These sessions built on earlier engagement about registration and prioritisation and focused on how people in this group will make a claim for compensation.

You can find the published summary of these discussions on our website alongside a table which lists our response to the themes and suggestions we heard.

If you think we missed any themes or have further suggestions, you can use our feedback form to let us know.

First publication of registration figures

IBCA opened the register your intent to claim service on 9 October. Since then, we have received 10,573 registrations of intent to make a compensation claim with us.

This figure represents all registrations, not unique people or claims. 

This means the figures we’ve published today are likely to change and grow. For example, some people who are eligible to claim may not yet have registered, and we won’t know if everyone who has registered is eligible to claim, until we begin their claim.

We have answered some of your questions about registration in the ‘Your questions’ section of this update.

Our latest compensation figures

We’ve published the latest figures on our website, and these are accurate as of 21 October 2025. 

• More than 3,614 people have been asked to start their claim 
• So far, 2,476 people have received an offer - the total value of offers made is £1,859,967,252.75 
• A total of 2,033 people have had their compensation paid - a total of £1,357,753,278.33 has been paid to people.

We know there are a small number of people waiting to hear from us because, for example, they are waiting for a decision from a scheme or their details need to be confirmed. 

This means that over the last two weeks, we’ve opened the service to fewer than 10 new people to start their claim. The number of claims we start will temporarily be much lower as we pay people in the first group and design and open the service for this second group of claims. The number of claims will begin to increase again once we learn from each new claim and grow our service to handle more. 

Where fewer than 10 people have been contacted in a reporting period, we don’t report the increase in the compensation figures. This protects people’s privacy and makes sure no one can be identified. 

If you are an infected person registered with a support scheme and haven’t been asked to start your claim by IBCA, please get in touch by calling 0141 726 2397, emailing ibcaenquiries@ibca.org.uk, or writing to PO Box 384, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1XY.

The next update on compensation and registration figures will be on Thursday 6 November. 

Responding to community feedback on evidence for a claim

Confirming cirrhosis or probable cirrhosis in a person with hepatitis

We have heard from community members that we need to be clearer on how decisions are made around cirrhosis. We will publish further information shortly on our website and confirm on our social media channels when this is published.

Confirming a Hepatitis B infection

We have also been discussing with community members and representatives what further evidence may be needed in certain circumstances to confirm a Hepatitis B infection. Once we have considered these views, we will publish any further information to support those claiming and update you via our usual communication channels.

Current guidance can be viewed on our website.

Guidance on probate

We’ve published information on what legal documents you’ll need to make a claim or receive compensation on behalf of someone who has died. To make sure payment goes to the right person, IBCA must confirm you’re legally entitled to act for the person’s estate. 

In most cases, this means having a grant of probate (or letters of administration) in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or a grant of confirmation in Scotland. If you don’t yet have this documentation, you can still register your intent to claim while you take steps to get it. 

Our website guidance explains how to apply, how to tell the Probate Service that your application relates to an infected blood claim, and what to include in Scotland’s estate inventory.

Update on community panel recruitment 

On 1 October, we opened recruitment for our Community Advisory Panel. The panel will be made up of those with lived experience of being impacted by the infected blood scandal and will provide the IBCA Board with independent, experience-led advice and guidance.

The application deadline has been extended until 5 November 2025 and we will then interview people who are shortlisted, before confirming the appointments in our usual communication channels. You can find more details on our website.

Update on IBCA drop-in sessions

We will be working with community groups in Scotland to plan the first community drop-in event to take place in Glasgow in early December 2025. We welcome contact from any groups who may want to be involved via enquiries@ibca.org.uk.

We are holding additional sessions across the UK in early 2026, with events in more locations. We’ll share the dates and locations in advance so everyone has the chance to speak to IBCA people directly. 

We’ll send out details soon about how to sign up for the Glasgow event.

Your questions

Registering your intent to claim

Q: If my deceased infected family member was registered with a support scheme, do I still need to register my intent to claim?

Yes. If your family member was registered with a support scheme but has sadly passed away, you will still need to register. We will then link your registration and support scheme data when we ask you to start your claim.

Q: I’m currently going through the claims process. Do I need to re-register?

If you are currently working through a claim or have completed a claim as an infected person, you do not need to re-register in relation to that claim. However, you will need to register if you intend to make a separate claim as an affected person or a claim on behalf of a deceased infected person.

Q: I can’t register my intent to claim online, what do I do?

We have several resources to help you with online registration, including a step-by-step video on how to register. You can view all our guidance on www.ibca.org.uk/register.

You can also ask a trusted person to register on your behalf.

If you are still unable to register online or require additional support, please call us on 0141 471 8886. This line is exclusively for registration support; for all other enquiries, please visit our website or call our general helpline on 0141 726 2397. Please only call us if you can’t register online, so we can support those who need additional help.

Our team is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 4 pm, excluding bank holidays.

Updates from other organisations

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that applications for further interim compensation payments for estates are now open.

If eligible, you can apply now for up to £310,000.

To learn more about further interim compensation payments for estates, including eligibility and how to apply, visit gov.uk 

These payments will not be made by IBCA - they are made through the Infected Blood Support Schemes that managed previous interim payments.

Alternative formats

We understand that some people may need documents in different formats. If you would like to receive your community update newsletter in large print, another language, or another format please let us know by calling 0141 726 2397, emailing enquiries@ibca.org.uk, or writing to PO Box 384, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1XY.

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