FOI 0081 - Recruitment

Requested: 2 December 2025

Responded: 19 December 2025

Published: 17 February 2026

This is IBCA's response to Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Thank you for your email received on 2 December 2025 in which you made a request for access to information which may be held by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA).

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”) is to allow a general right of access to information held at the time of a request, by a Public Authority (including the Infected Blood Compensation Authority), subject to certain limitations and exemptions. We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and we provide a response for your attention.

We have established that the information you requested is held by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted by the e of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

You asked the following:

1. How much money has IBCA spent on using Reed to recruit for roles?
2. As above, broken down to a monthly spend.
3. Number of roles recruited by Reed
4. Approximate spend per role recruited
5. Total operating costs (staff, facilities, travel expenses, pension liabilities etc) incurred to date by the IBCA
6. The current demographic breakdown of staff working for IBCA as available
7. The contact details for anyone working at executive level or above
8. The contact details for any minister working with IBCA
9. The contact details for anyone senior within recruitment at both IBCA and Reed
IBCA’s response:

IBCA's response

We have now had the opportunity to fully consider your request and we provide a response for your attention.

How much money has IBCA spent on using Reed to recruit for roles?

Between July 2025 and November 2025 IBCA had recorded expenditure of £164k with Reed

As above, broken down to a monthly spend.

IBCA's records show the following costs by month:

July £75,840
September £20,160
October £14,400
November £53,760

Number of roles recruited by Reed

213 Claims Managers were recruited via our Claims Managers recruitment campaign partnered with Reed.

Approximate spend per role recruited

The approximate cost per employee recruited of £900.

Total operating costs (staff, facilities, travel expenses, pension liabilities etc) incurred to date by the IBCA

Since IBCA's inception to the end of November 2025, IBCA has accounted for £108m of operational expenditure.

The contact details for any minister working with IBCA

The contact details of ministers working with IBCA are linked below and available on the Members of Parliament website as follows;

• The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Darren Jones can be found here
• The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, The Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds can be found here
• Josh Simons MP can be found here

IBCA is unable to fulfil some parts of your request. The reasons for this are set out below.

The current demographic breakdown of staff working for IBCA as available

Section 22(1) FOIA: Information intended for future publication

We have established that the information you requested regarding our current demographic breakdown of staff is held by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. The information you have requested is being withheld as it is exempt under section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act ("the Act").

Section 22(1) protects information intended for future publication. Section 22(1) is a qualified exemption and we have considered whether the balance of the public interest favours maintaining the exemption in section 22(1) or disclosing the information. We recognise the public interest in demonstrating transparency by releasing information to the public. We also appreciate that this increases public trust and that the public benefits from being kept informed about matters affecting them. However, there is a public interest in cost effectiveness in how public authorities publish information.

Section 22(1) acknowledges that public authorities must have freedom to be able to determine their own publication timetables. This allows them to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publication. It is a part of the effective conduct of public affairs that the general publication of information is a conveniently planned and managed activity within the reasonable control of public authorities.

As there is a commitment to publish, we are reasonably entitled to make our own arrangements to do so. After weighing up the competing public interest considerations, we consider it is reasonable, in all the circumstances, that the information held should be withheld from disclosure until the future date of publication (section 22(1)(c)) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

The contact details for anyone working at executive level or above

The contact details for anyone senior within recruitment at both IBCA and Reed

Section 21(1) FOIA: Information accessible to applicant by other means

We have established that the information you requested regarding contact details for anyone working at executive level or above and anyone senior within recruitment at both IBCA and Reed is held by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. This information is exempt from disclosure under section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is information that is reasonably accessible by means other than under FOIA. Section 21 is an absolute exemption and IBCA is not required to consider whether the public interest favours disclosure of this information.

In order to assist you, the information and contact details are available below.

• IBCA website here, and the contact detail is - ibcaenquiries@ibca.org.uk
• Reed website here