Correspondence

IBCA Community Update, 7 September 2026

Published 7 September 2026

Hello, and welcome to your community update.

This newsletter includes:

• an update on compensation claims
• moving to monthly reporting of figures
• your support scheme payments will be moving to IBCA
• what the new regulations mean for your claim
• future community drop-in events
• a reminder of your options: payment switching
• publishing our Annual report and accounts
• appointment of Interim Ethics Panel Chair
• appointing a research partner for IBCA
• recruiting a new Chair
• your questions.

Thank you for your feedback and questions. They help us improve this update. You can get in touch by emailing ibcaenquiries@ibca.org.uk or on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter).

An update on compensation claims

As of 25 August 2026:

• 6,321 people have been asked to start their claim
• 5,785 people have started the claim process
• 3,512 people have received compensation payments, totalling just over £2.25 billion

You can find a full breakdown of our latest figures on our website.

Between April 2026 and March 2027, it is our ambition to bring 5,000 claims to decision. We’re prioritising claims from the infected groups, this includes those who are living infected and registered with an existing support scheme,  living infected never compensated and deceased infected groups.

Here’s an update on what’s happening within each group:

• Living infected people registered with an existing support scheme: everyone in this group has been asked to start their claim
• Living infected people who have never been compensated: we’ve now asked everyone in this group who had registered by the middle of August and is also either nearing end of life, has advanced liver disease or is over 75 to start their claim.
• People acting on behalf of a deceased infected person: we’ve now asked everyone who had registered by the middle of August and is also either nearing end of life or over 75 to start their claim.
• Affected people: we’ve asked everyone who had registered as nearing end of life by the middle of August to start their claim, and we continue to bring in new registrations or changes of circumstances on an ongoing basis.

Where someone has more than one claim with us, we may process them together or need to assess a related claim first to allow a prioritised claim to progress.

Moving to monthly reporting of figures

We are changing how often we publish our compensation and registration figures.

We’re moving to monthly statistics publications because we think they will give you the fullest possible picture of claims progress. Some weeks our numbers go up by more than others, which is normal, but it can make it more difficult to understand how claims are progressing over time.

From now on, we will share figures once a month instead of every 2 weeks. We’ll still share the same information, but in a way that’s easier to follow.

While we make this change, there will be a longer gap than usual between our final fortnightly report and our first monthly report:

• our last fortnightly report was published on Thursday 27 August
• our first monthly report will follow on Thursday 8 October, covering the period from 26 August to 30 September

From then on, each report will cover a full calendar month. We aim to publish each report on the second Thursday of the following month. For example, the next reporting period ends on 30 September, we’ll publish that report on the second Thursday after, which is 8 October.

We’re continuing to look at how we can improve the presentation and amount of detail in our figures in future.

Your support scheme payments will be moving to IBCA

As set out in the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme regulations, the four Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are closing next year. Responsibility for making support payments will transfer from the IBSS to IBCA from the following dates in early 2027:

• Wales Infected Blood Support Scheme: 15 January 2027
• Scotland Infected Blood Support Scheme: 1 February 2027
• Infected Blood Payment Scheme for Northern Ireland: 1 February 2027
• England Infected Blood Support Scheme: 23 March 2027

This change affects anyone currently registered with a support scheme. If this is you, here’s what you need to know.

You do not need to do anything yet. Your support scheme will continue to manage your payments as normal for now. There will be no gap in your support: IBCA will take over your payments directly from your current scheme, so they continue without interruption.

We are working closely with the support schemes to make this transfer as smooth as possible. Before your transition date, we will write to you to provide your new IBCA reference number and explain what the change means for you.

To help you stay informed, we’ve launched an IBSS transition hub on our website. We will update this with the latest information, and we’ll continue to highlight key developments in our community updates.

What the new regulations mean for your claim

The fourth set of regulations for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme became law on 24 July 2026.

From 1 October, the regulations will be part of our service. This means our calculator, website, and guidance will be updated to reflect the fourth set of regulations. Anyone who is in the service or brought into the service after 1 October will have the new regulations applied to their claim.

We’re currently contacting everyone who has previously been paid their compensation by IBCA to let them know these changes may mean we owe them more money and we will review their claim. We will contact each person via their preferred contact method, whether that’s post or email.

If you received compensation before 1 October and you’re impacted by the fourth regulations, we’ll rework your claim, and we’ll contact you directly when we’re ready to do this.

Future community drop-in events

We are planning more drop-in events across the UK. These are informal sessions where you can meet IBCA team members in person. We’re organising these events because you told us you would value face-to-face meetings alongside our other services.

You can ask questions about the claims process, talk about evidence you may need, or simply meet our team. While we can’t discuss open claims, we can answer general questions about how to prepare to make a claim, the documents you might need, and talk through any worries or questions you may have.

Upcoming drop-in sessions:

• Brighton: 15 October, register for the event here
• Cambridge: 12 November, register for the event here

You can register for the events online and choose an arrival time that suits you best. We’ll then send you an email to confirm your registration, joining instructions and venue details will follow two weeks before the event.

We are also planning drop-in events in the following locations:

• Northern Ireland (location to be confirmed): January 2027
• Edinburgh: February 2027
• York: March 2027
• Wales (location to be confirmed): April 2027
• Plymouth: May 2027

Registration for each drop-in opens at least four weeks before the event. We’ll keep you updated about future events on the Community drop-in section of our website, social media and in this update.

A reminder of your options: payment switching

If you have already received compensation and currently get regular payments from us, you can choose to switch to a single compensation payment. As part of the third set of regulations, this now includes anyone who is registered with an Infected Blood Support Scheme.

If you’re considering this option, we have updated the guidance on our website.

Find out how to switch to a one-off compensation payment

Publishing our Annual report and accounts

Our annual report and accounts will be published on 10 September. This includes a report on how IBCA continued to develop as an arm’s-length-body and deliver compensation between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. It also includes our financial statements for that period. We’ll let you know through our social channels when the report is available.

Appointment of Interim Ethics Panel Chair

At our last public Board meeting in July, we explained that the Community Advisory Panel recommended that IBCA set up an Ethics Advisory Panel.

The panel will provide advice and support on decisions relating to the delivery of compensation which raise ethical questions. This is part of our commitment to you to build trust and fairness in every part of our service.

To support IBCA in setting up this new panel, we have appointed Professor Dave Archard as the Interim Chair. He will work as an independent advisor to IBCA. Part of his job will be to set up a framework so that the panel has guidance to work within as they support IBCA to answer ethical questions.

Professor Archard has previously worked on bioethics at the Nuffield Council, a UK-based, independent charitable body that examines and advises on ethical issues arising from new advances in biological and medical research. As well as working as part of the Ethical Advisory Group for the ‘Every Story Matters’ project within the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry.

Once we have a framework for the panel, we will begin recruitment. We will update you when this process begins. You can find more information about the Ethics Advisory Panel in our latest Board papers and minutes.

Appointing a research partner for IBCA

We have appointed Ipsos, a research agency, to check trust and awareness of IBCA amongst the community, as well as how well our communications are working and how to improve them for you.

While this is a new contract, Ipsos previously carried out research for us under a Cabinet Office contract. Appointing Ipsos directly to an IBCA contract gives us more control over this work.

We award contracts in line with public sector procurement rules. Money spent on this contract is separate from the money we use to pay compensation.

Recruiting a new Chair

In May, we let you know that Sir Robert Francis, IBCA’s Interim Chair, will leave IBCA in November as part of his retirement plans.

Sir Robert said: “It has been an enormous privilege to have met so many people from the community that we support over the last two years. This has truly been one of the most meaningful roles of my professional career.”

You can find Sir Robert’s full statement on our website.

The Cabinet Office is recruiting a new Chair. The job advert for the new role closes on 14 September. We will continue to update you on the progress of this recruitment.

Your questions

Can I get help from friends, family or support organisations?

We understand this process can feel difficult. You’re welcome to have a friend, family member or support organisation join your calls with us for support. They can offer emotional reassurance, help you understand information, support your agreed communication needs, and ask for clarification.

However, to keep your claim focused on you, there are some things they cannot do. They cannot answer security questions, answer questions on your behalf, or make decisions for you, unless they have formal legal authority to do so. We’ll always explain this clearly at the start of any call where someone is supporting you, so everyone knows what to expect.

We will always try to facilitate whatever support you think is necessary and most helpful. To protect the integrity of the compensation scheme, this might involve verifying the identity of those supporting you.

When can I make a supplementary claim?

We’re not processing supplementary claims yet. We know many of you are asking about this, so we want to be clear on timing.

If you’ve told your claims manager that you intend to make a supplementary claim, we’ll contact you as soon as the service is ready for you to do so.

Legal support is available when you claim

Some people have told us they were contacted by solicitors offering ‘no win, no fee’ terms or Conditional Fee Agreements in relation to making their IBCA claim.

We know some people may feel under pressure to sign legal agreements quickly. You should never feel rushed into making a decision about your claim or legal representation. If anyone is encouraging you to sign something you do not fully understand, or asking for money in relation to an IBCA claim, please seek independent advice or contact us.

If you are worried that someone may be pressuring or taking advantage of you in relation to your claim, please let our safeguarding team know by emailing safeguarding@ibca.org.uk.
Before making any decisions, there are a few important things to know:

• legal support is available, paid for by IBCA and completely independent of us
• you do not need a solicitor to register or make a compensation claim. If you would like legal support, IBCA can arrange this for you at no cost when your claim begins
• ‘no win, no fee’ or Conditional Fee Agreements, often advertised by other legal firms, may deduct costs from your compensation award - we are aware of cases where significant amounts have been charged to those who have made a claim
• registering with IBCA is free and straightforward - you can do it yourself, with support from our team, or with someone you trust

We can arrange legal support when a claim begins, through six independent legal firms who offer impartial advice at no cost to you. If you want to use a different firm, we can discuss this with you.

Protecting you from fraud

We have systems in place to prevent, spot and deal with fraud. If you get a suspicious message or phone call and want to check if it’s really from IBCA, call us on 0141 726 2397 or email fraud@ibca.org.uk.

If you think someone has defrauded you:

• report it online at Report Fraud or call 0300 123 2040
• in Scotland, call the police on 101
• tell your bank straight away

If you’re worried about fraud, you can find more information on the Stop! Think Fraud website: stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk.

Recognising genuine return envelopes from IBCA

Have you asked us to contact you by post? We’ve heard some people have been concerned about whether the address label we provide for you to return information is genuine.

To help you recognise IBCA return envelopes, you’ll now see a small “FREEPOST IBCOM” label on your return envelope instead of a Royal Mail sticker.

Please use it to return your forms at no cost to you.

Alternative formats

Do you need this newsletter in a different format? We can provide large print, another language, or other formats. Let us know by:

• calling 0141 726 2397
• emailing ibcaenquiries@ibca.org.uk
• writing to PO Box 384, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1XY

Find us online

For more information and latest updates from IBCA, you can find us online:

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