The Cabinet Office has laid the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1358), made on 16 December 2025 and coming into force on 31 December 2025. The instrument amends S.I. 2025/404 under sections 49, 50 and 79 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, following approval by both Houses of Parliament. It is a correcting instrument issued free of charge to recipients of S.I. 2025/404 and applies across the United Kingdom, according to legislation.gov.uk.
The regulations replace the previous focus on a “period of infection” with a defined “compensation period” that anchors award calculations. For an eligible infected person, the first year of the compensation period is the later of 1952, the person’s first year of infection, or (for certain partner‑transmission cases) the year cohabitation began. For an eligible affected person, the first year is the later of 1952 or the year immediately following the infected person’s death. These definitions flow through to the methodologies used to calculate past and future amounts across multiple awards.
Eligibility for infected persons is broadened and clarified. A person who is, or immediately before death was, an infected support scheme payments (SSP) recipient is automatically eligible. Those infected with HIV by infected blood treatment at any time before 1 January 1982 are explicitly included. Where Hepatitis B was transmitted by someone who does not meet the documentary conditions in regulation 3(3)(c)(i)–(ii), eligibility can still be established if the recipient meets those conditions and the transmitter meets all other criteria. Sexual transmission within a long‑term relationship counts where partners did not live together at the time of contact but subsequently cohabited. By contrast, infection from a tissue transplant is excluded where the recipient was notified, before the procedure, that the tissue carried HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C.
Rules for affected persons are updated. An estate may claim if the affected person died on or after 21 May 2024 and on or before 31 March 2031. A person who is, or immediately before death was, an affected SSP recipient becomes automatically eligible. The “relevant date” for applications now reflects who died first where both the infected and affected persons are deceased, and applications may be made by personal representatives where the applicant has died. The award periods for affected financial loss and supplemental payments end when the affected person dies if that occurs earlier than the default end points.
Administrative handling is tightened. The “relevant person” for any payment or repayment is the eligible person themselves; for children it is a person with parental responsibility, and for deceased persons it is the personal representative. This ensures payments and any repayment obligations sit directly with the eligible individual rather than an attorney. Application evidence is simplified: dates of Hepatitis diagnoses no longer need to be provided, although the date of HIV diagnosis is required for HIV cases and when applying for further infected core or supplemental payments where the new infection is HIV.
Award calculations are aligned to the new compensation period. References to “each year of infection” are replaced with “each year of P’s compensation period” in the additional financial loss (core) award, care awards and excess past care costs. Where past severity must be inferred due to missing records, each such year is a “deemed year”. If severity is level 2 on the relevant date, all deemed years are level 2; if level 3, deemed years within the six‑year period ending with the final year are level 3 with the remainder at level 2; if level 4, deemed years in the four years to the final year are level 4, those in the preceding six years are level 3, and all earlier deemed years are level 2.
Care awards are clarified for deceased people who did not have HIV or level‑4 Hepatitis C. Where Hepatitis B was level 5, the care (core) award is £41,188.49. Where there is co‑infection of Hepatitis B level 5 with Hepatitis C level 2 or 3, the award equals £41,188.49 plus the amount that would apply under the relevant care provisions for the Hepatitis C severity. The regulations also prevent double compensation for end‑of‑life care costs.
Financial loss provisions are widened. The minimum earnings threshold for claiming exceptional reduced earnings caused by infection is removed. In addition, the PAYE earnings award calculation is updated with a revised table in regulation 37(10).
Timings for the transition of support scheme payments are moved back. References to 2026 are updated to 2027 and to 2025 to 2026, delaying when the Infected Blood Compensation Authority will pay support scheme amounts under the compensation scheme rather than via existing infected blood support schemes. A new “recent bereavement period” is created for IBSS‑registered affected persons: the 12 months starting with the month after the infected person’s death.
During the IBSS transfer year, bereaved partners in a recent bereavement period receive 100% of the relevant category amount for those months, reverting to 75% for months outside that period. The same apportionment method applies in subsequent Part 5 years, with the monthly split set out in formulas in regulations 60(4A) and 63(2A).
Flexibility is added for periodic payments and for those who remained on support scheme payments. Where compensation is being paid periodically and the recipient dies, or the relevant person elects to stop periodic payments, the IBCA must pay the outstanding balance calculated under regulation 78. Where a person is no longer treated as an infected or affected SSP recipient-either because they opt out or registration ends-the IBCA compares the sum of future award amounts with the post‑implementation support scheme sums actually paid after 31 March 2025 and pays any positive difference.
Future award amounts are treated as compounded annually by the consumer prices index each April, as specified, with special rules for affected persons that set the future‑loss period from 2025 to the year in which the infected person attained (or was expected to attain) healthy life expectancy. For 2025, the calculation references the final‑year amount determined under the past affected financial loss award before switching to non‑support scheme annual amounts for subsequent years.
The clinical criteria and drafting are refined. Schedule 2 broadens psychiatric conditions so that secondary psychotic disorders attributable to infection or interferon treatment can qualify. The definition of a child now includes those who, but for the infection, were expected to be cared for by the infected person. Minor corrections include updating scheme names for England and Northern Ireland, fixing cross‑references, inserting “serious” before “fibrosis” in Schedule 1, and correcting “socium” to “sodium”.
From 31 December 2025, claimants and administrators should operate on the new footing. People currently receiving infected blood support scheme payments who wish to convert to a compensation award-or to commute periodic payments to a lump sum-now have clear routes. Bereaved partners should expect 12 months at 100% of the support scheme amount from the month after death. Estates of affected persons who died between 21 May 2024 and 31 March 2031 should ensure personal representative documentation is in place. These changes are drawn directly from S.I. 2025/1358 and the underlying S.I. 2025/404 under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.