Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the criteria are for England Infected Blood Support Scheme registrants to be classified as (a) stage 1, (b) special category and (c) stage 2 for purposes of hepatitis C support payments.

For stage 1 payments, the individual would have been infected with hepatitis C as a result of treatment with National Health Service blood, blood products or tissue prior to September 1991. Applicants must demonstrate that they were chronically infected with hepatitis C; they have not already received payments for hepatitis C infection from the Skipton Fund or any other United Kingdom ex gratia payment scheme; it was probable that they were chronically infected with hepatitis C through treatment in England or a British Military Hospital; and that in cases where treatment was received in more than one country within the United Kingdom, that they reside in England, or lived in England immediately before leaving the UK.

If the applicant was infected with hepatitis C by someone infected through treatment with NHS blood, blood products or tissue prior to September 1991, they must demonstrate that that they were chronically infected with hepatitis C; and it is probable that they were infected by someone who was infected through treatment in England - the person must be receiving payments from England Infected Blood Support Scheme or have received payment(s) from the Skipton Fund. Where this is not the case, the individual will first need to qualify for a hepatitis C stage 1 payment before the application can be considered.

The applicant must also confirm how they had contracted the infection. If they have contracted the infection from sexual transmission they must also confirm they were with the person who infected them at the time, either in marriage, civil partnership or long-term relationship, and living together and their spouse or partner was unaware they had the infection, or reasonable precautions were taken to prevent transmission at the time they contracted the infection.

Applicants for Special Category Mechanism must first be registered for stage 1 payments and whose infection, treatment or associated conditions has a long-term negative impact on their ability to carry out daily activities and their condition has worsened but do not qualify for stage 2 payments. Applicants must demonstrate that they have either autoimmune disease due to or worsened by interferon treatment. This includes coombes positive haemolytic anaemia, idiopathic fibrosing alveolitis of the lung and rheumatoid arthritis; or sporadic porphyria cutanea tarda; or immune thrombocytopenic purpura, if autoimmune with antiplatelet antibodies; or type 2 or 3 mixed cryoglobulinaemia, if accompanied by cerebral vasculitis, dermal vasculitis or peripheral neuropathy with neuropathic pain; and/or have been affected in performing your daily duties due to the infection or the treatment.

Applicants for stage 2 must first be registered for stage 1 payments and must demonstrate that they have or have had either cirrhosis; or primary liver cancer; or B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; or a liver transplant, or are on the waiting list to receive one; or type 2 or 3 cryoglobulinemia accompanied by membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis.