Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with Hepatitis B who are entitled to compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

While there is no way of knowing exactly how many people were infected as a result of this scandal, the findings of the Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991. In their September 2022 Report, they noted that, due to the limitations in the data available, it is not possible to answer the question of how many people were infected with Hepatitis B due to infected blood “with any reasonable accuracy when compared to other infections.”

Therefore, the final number of eligible people infected with Hepatitis B will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, who are responsible for the delivery of the Compensation Scheme. There is no limit or target on the amount announced for the scheme and each eligible person will get the compensation they are due.