New Infected Blood Inquiry minister

Written by Jessica Bomford, November 14, 2023

A new government minister with responsibility for the Infected Blood Inquiry has been appointed – the eighth since the inquiry was announced in 2017.

John Glen MP, a former Treasury minister, became the latest Paymaster General on 13 November as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ministerial reshuffle. His predecessor, Jeremy Quin MP, decided to stand down as a minister to focus on projects in his constituency.

Mr Glen joins the Cabinet Office as it prepares for the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report which is due in March 2024. The government is under pressure to respond to the inquiry’s Second Interim Report on compensation, published in April 2023, which called for a compensation scheme to be set up immediately and begin its work this year.

The government has said it will not respond to the inquiry’s compensation recommendations until it has read the final report. Last month the Chairs of Haemophilia Scotland, Haemophilia NI and the Haemophilia Society wrote to Mr Sunak asking him to re-think this decision. They have so far not received a reply.

Although the government accepted the first interim report from Sir Brian Langstaff, the inquiry’s chair, in August 2022, that interim compensation should be paid to everyone registered on a UK infected blood support scheme, there are still large groups of affected people, including bereaved parents and children, who have not received any compensation.

We will be making contact with Mr Glen and will let you know if there are any updates.