Request

As advised by the EIBSS assessor [name redacted] in response to my request for information, please find my questions forwarded to you as an FOI request.

Question 1

Can you please confirm how many estates of EIBSS registered bereaved partners have so far been identified as entitled to receive the Infected blood ‘Interim payment’.

Question 2

Can you please confirm how many estates of EIBSS registered infected individuals have so far been identified as entitled to receive the Infected blood ‘Interim payment’.

Question 3

The Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff, published his compensation report (‘second Interim report’) on the 5 April 2023. He did not recommend that compensation should be paid to the estates of bereaved partners.

Therefore, what information informed the following answer from [the EIBSS assessor - name redacted], provided to me on the 27/10/2023.

“At present we believe those people who died after the 17 August 2022 and weren’t registered with EIBSS before the 28 October 2022, will fall under the compensation scheme recommended by Sir Brian Longstaff and Sir Robert Francis.”

Response

Question 1

Three estates of EIBSS registered bereaved partners have been identified as entitled to receive the Infected blood ‘Interim payment.

Question 2

16 estates of EIBSS registered infected individuals have been identified as entitled to receive the Infected blood ‘Interim payment’.

Estates have been identified by either the infected beneficiary or bereaved partner passing away after the announcement made on 17 August 2022 regarding interim payments:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infected-blood-victims-to-receive-100000-interim-compensation-payment

Question 3

The information provided by the EIBSS assessor was informed by part G of Sir Robert Francis' recommendation, which covers this identified group of people. However, this group was not included within the interim recommendation by Sir Brian Langstaff as shown below.

Compensation Study Recommendation 5: Sir Robert Francis - Compensation and redress for the victims of infected blood: recommendations for a framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

I recommend that the following relevant indirectly affected persons should be admitted to the scheme:

a) spouses, civil partners and long term cohabitees (for at least one year) of living or deceased eligible infected persons; b) children of an eligible infected person; c) parents of eligible infected persons whose eligibility started in childhood; d) siblings living, while under the age of 18, as a family with an eligible infected person; e) providers of care to an eligible infected person, as a result of the infection; f) members of the family, or friends of an eligible infected person, whose relationship with them was so close that it could reasonably be expected that their mental or physical health would be seriously affected by the consequences of the disease, and who has in fact suffered a mental or physical injury as a result; g) the estates of deceased affected persons who would, if alive, have been an eligible affected person for the compensation to which they would have been entitled during their lifetime; and h) dependants (as defined by the Fatal Accidents Act) of deceased infected persons whose death was caused by the infection or its consequences.

Inquiry Recommendation 4: Sir Brian Langstaff

I recommend that the following relevant affected persons should be admitted to the scheme:

a) spouses, civil partners and long term cohabitees (for at least one year in the case of the latter) of living or deceased eligible infected persons; b) children of an eligible living or deceased infected person; c) parents of an eligible living or deceased infected person; d) siblings of an eligible living or deceased infected person; e) providers of care to an eligible living or deceased infected person, as a result of the infection; and f) members of the family, or friends of an eligible living or deceased infected person, whose relationship with them was so close that it could reasonably be expected that their mental or physical health would be seriously affected by the consequences of the disease, and who have suffered emotionally, mentally and/or physically as a result.

Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01628