Budget: Chancellor promises £11.8bn compensation for infected blood victims - bereaved Leeds woman responds
The Government will set aside £11.8 billion to compensate people affected by the infected blood scandal - but there are still concerns that the sum might not meet the number of claims, a bereaved Leeds woman has said.
Earlier today (October 30), the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first budget since 2010, setting out plans to raise taxes by £40bn, with measures including a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions and an increase in capital gains tax.
Mrs Reeves, who is the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, also promised that £11.8bn would be set aside for those affected by what has been described as the worst treatment disaster in NHS history.
She said that compensation for victims of the infected blood scandal is “long overdue for the pain and injustice that they have suffered”.
Louise Edwards, from Churwell, was just 12-years-old when her dad Jack died. He was one of around 30,000 people who are believed to have been infected with HIV by imported blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Reacting to today’s announcement, she said: “We’ve been forgotten for so long, so hearing this mentioned in the budget means that people are being held to account.”
However, the 51-year-old added: “I have an issue with the figure: as far as I’m aware, nobody knows the value of the [individual] compensation pay-outs yet. How can they put a figure on something when they don’t actually know how many people need to be paid?
“There will be concern amongst the community about whether that figure will be capped, because there is no idea of the scale of the claims.”
It is understood that living victims who have directly suffered as a result of infected blood products will be compensated first as part of the scheme, but Louise explained that they have yet to receive a full offer. Meanwhile, claims for bereaved family members are not expected to open until next year.
Louise spoke about the importance of legal representation for those affected by the scandal.
“We absolutely need independent legal advice, because we’ve had to fight for this for so long,” she said.
“The government will have legal advice available to them. We don’t. A lot of people won’t have the money to pay solicitors’ fees up front.”
When asked how confident she is in the Labour Government’s handling of the scheme, she said: “Until we get some traction and see payments being made, I won’t know how confident I am.
“They certainly haven’t forgotten us. It's something that the Labour Government has backed us on previously, so that gives me hope. But until payments are made, I will still feel like we're being held in limbo.”