Trust in IBCA
Trustworthiness
Over half (51%) consider IBCA to be trustworthy, similar to December 2025 (55%). This suggests IBCA has been able to sustain the significant improvements in trust seen since May 2025.
However, distrust has increased slightly (12% to 18%) suggesting that frustrations among some waiting claimants may be beginning to influence perceptions.
Those who have received compensation remain the most trusting, reinforcing the link between direct experience of the compensation process and positive perceptions of IBCA noted in the December 2025 survey. Among those who have not yet received compensation, lower trust appears to be driven more by uncertainty than outright negativity, as this group are more likely to hold neutral views than to actively distrust IBCA.
| December 2025 | August 2026 | |
| Very trustworthy | 24% | 24% |
| Fairly trustworthy | 30% | 27% |
| Neither | 23% | 22% |
| Fairly untrustworthy | 5% | 10% |
| Very untrustworthy | 7% | 8% |
| Don’t know | 10% | 8% |
| % Net: Trust | 55% | 51% |
| % Net: Distrust | 12% | 18% |
| IBCA (December 2025) | IBCA (August 2026) | The NHS(August 2026) | The Department of Health and Social Care (August 2026) | The UK Government (August 2026) | |
| Very trustworthy | 24% | 24% | 13% | 5% | 3% |
| Fairly trustworthy | 30% | 27% | 28% | 20% | 16% |
| Neither | 23% | 22% | 19% | 24% | 20% |
| Fairly untrustworthy | 5% | 10% | 19% | 18% | 20% |
| Very untrustworthy | 7% | 8% | 16% | 16% | 35% |
| Don’t know | 10% | 8% | 4% | 15% | 4% |
| % Net: Trust | 55% | 51% | 41% | 25% | 19% |
| % Net: Distrust | 12% | 18% | 35% | 34% | 55% |
Ability to fulfil its aims
Half (51%) believe IBCA will compensate everyone entitled to compensation, unchanged from December 2025 and well above May 2025 levels (37%). The improvement observed in December has therefore been sustained rather than reversed.
Confidence in IBCA’s ability to fulfil its aims remains closely linked to trust. Three quarters of those who trust IBCA believe it will successfully deliver compensation to all entitled individuals, indicating that maintaining trust will be critical to sustaining confidence in the scheme overall.
| December 2025 | August 2026 | |
| Strongly agree | 19% | 20% |
| Tend to agree | 35% | 31% |
| Neither | 18% | 19% |
| Tend to disagree | 10% | 14% |
| Strongly disagree | 9% | 8% |
| Don’t know / Prefer not to say | 8% | 7% |
| % Net: Agree | 54% | 51% |
| % Net: Disagree | 19% | 23% |
| Process | 33% |
| Justice for those impacted | 26% |
| Perceptions of IBCA | 25% |
| Communication | 4% |
Reasons that people agree IBCA will fulfil its aims
Comments from respondents included:
- “I believe it is just a matter of time before everyone who is eligible is processed and offered their rightful award. I have every confidence in IBCA, based on my contact with them, that they will ensure everyone receives their award, eventually.”
- “My experience of IBCA so far has been all good and very positive. They have been very helpful and have treated me and my sister really well.”
- “I feel that the motivation of the staff at IBCA is very high; they appear to comprehend the terrible distress that those exposed to contaminated blood/blood products have suffered. They seem very aware that the hoodwinking has gone on far too long in accepting responsibility for this ‘crime’.”
- “[IBCA] have been open and transparent with everyone by providing regular newsletters and the availability of a helpline number Because I have read updates that I have received from IBCA and I have no reason to disbelieve their content.”
However, of those who agree IBCA will fulfil its aims, 33% of them shared negative mentions of IBCA in their feedback. These comments included:
- “The whole process is taking far too long. Many of the people who are eligible are old and they want to see justice before they die. The inertia in the system appears to make this unlikely. Hence, the people who are directly affected are less likely to receive compensation than their descendants.”
- “The delays and the updates do not bring me hope. I registered almost a year ago and no one has advised me personally on the process or expected outcomes for my personal claim. We are being drip fed information through the government and it does not always tally up with how I thought things would progress. There is little trust.”
Most of the improvements in trust seen in December 2025 have been maintained. Trust in the speed of IBCA’s delivery is the only measure to have fallen, reflecting verbatim comments about delays.
| Do not trust at all (1) | Distrust (2-3) | Trust (8-9) | Completely trust (10) | Average score on the scale of 1-10(December 2025) | Average score on the scale of 1-10 (August 2026) | |
| In a way that is free from stigma | 6% | 4% | 26% | 24% | 7.1 | 7.2 |
| Respectfully | 5% | 4% | 24% | 22% | 7.1 | 7.0 |
| Safely | 8% | 7% | 22% | 24% | 6.9 | 6.7 |
| Compassionately | 4% | 5% | 20% | 22% | 6.7 | 6.9 |
| Fairly | 13% | 9% | 16% | 17% | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| Transparently | 12% | 10% | 16% | 18% | 6.0 | 5.9 |
| Accessibly | 9% | 8% | 15% | 19% | 6.4 | 6.1 |
| Effectively | 15% | 11% | 13% | 14% | 5.9 | 5.4 |
| Efficiently | 20% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| Independent of the government | 20% | 13% | 10% | 15% | 5.1 | 5.1 |
| Quickly | 34% | 17% | 7% | 8% | 4.6 | 3.7 |