Whether it will reinstate independent counselling grants for beneficiaries of the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme and their families…

The Scottish Government appreciates the distress that has been caused to infected and affected persons by the long wait for compensation. For this reason, the Scottish Government remains committed to the continued funding of both the Scottish Infected Blood Psychology Service and the Haemophilia Psychology Service, which offer availability for referrals alongside existing NHS services. In addition, the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) has discretion to make payments for counselling grants to infected and affected persons in some specific circumstances. This discretion, in cases of applications made by a deadline of 30 October 2026, will remain in place until the full transfer of functions to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is completed.The UK Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 required SIBSS, along with the other UK Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS), to transfer remaining members to the IBCA early next year. This was in order that the IBCA could progress payment of final compensation, which the Scottish Government regards as a priority, and assume responsibility for any ongoing support payments. SIBSS members were due to transfer to the IBCA on 1 February 2026, which would have meant that no payments could be made by SIBSS, including for discretionary grants, in respect of the period of that date onwards.However, in July 2025 the UK Government requested that the IBSS remain open for a further calendar year, prior to the IBCA taking responsibility for making IBSS payments. In order to ensure parity across the IBSS the Scottish Government has been working since with the UK Government and the other Devolved Administrations to determine future arrangements for discretionary grants and other related matters. As a result, the Scottish Government has now published an amendment to the SIBSS scheme document, which came into force on 22 October 2025. This amendment provides SIBSS with the continued discretion to make payments for such grants up to 1 February 2027.Given that consultation on the establishment of the IBCA and the UK-wide compensation scheme is led by the UK Government, and taking into account the fact that SIBSS continues to have discretion to make payments for counselling grants, the Scottish Government has not undertaken any risk or other assessment, or specific consultation, about the removal of such grants. The decision to set a closing date for such grants is a direct consequence of the IBCA taking on the support payment functions of the IBSS, as a result of which all IBSS across the UK will close in early 2027.The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the UK Government and the IBCA in order to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to the new arrangements. These meetings have not included discussions about the transfer of discretionary grants, as the IBCA does not directly seek to replicate the services that have been provided by the IBSS. Rather, the UK infected blood compensation scheme – which is based on the recommendations and principles put forward by the Infected Blood Inquiry (IBI) and the IBI Response Expert Group, and informed by feedback from representatives of the infected and affected blood community – aims to provide a fair and comprehensive final compensation scheme that is quick and simple for eligible applicants to access.The Scottish Minsters meet regularly with Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum to ensure that the views of infected and affected people are heard. The Scottish Ministers remain open to meeting individual SIBSS beneficiaries in order to discuss particular concerns.