What is the Skipton Fund?

The Skipton Fund is a UK-wide ex gratia payment scheme established on 25 March 2004 to make payments to certain people who were infected with Hepatitis C through NHS blood or blood products prior to September 1991 and other persons eligible for payment in accordance with the scheme's provisions. The Skipton Fund was established by the Department of Health (England), acting for and on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, the Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland) (together "the UK health administrations"), to administer the scheme and make payments to relevant claimants on behalf of each of the UK health administrations.

Scottish Ministers have adopted the Skipton Fund as a scheme under section 28 (Infection with hepatitis C as a result of NHS treatment etc) of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.

A first stage payment of £20,000 is available to those who are eligible for payment under the scheme. For successful recipients of the first stage payment whose Hepatitis C infection has led to advanced liver disease there is a second stage payment payable of £25,000.

If you feel you may be eligible for a payment please view the basic payment form and guidance notes, the link to which can be found at the top of the page.

We continue to receive registrations every day and to send application forms to those new registrants. In case you have any questions, we have produced a short 'Frequently Asked Questions' section below. If you have a query that is not covered on this website, please Contact Us and we will do our best to help.

Skipton Fund Limited Annual Accounts

The Skipton Fund is administered by Skipton Fund Limited, a company limited by guarantee. The company has published its directors’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2006. These show that, by the end of that year, the company had made 3,467 Stage 1 payments from the Fund and 482 Stage 2 payments; it also shows that 314 claims for Stage 1 had been rejected as not falling within the terms of the scheme. A small proportion of those claimants have appealed against the rejection of their claims.

Appeal Panel Established

The NHS Appointments Commission has announced the appointments of the Chair and members of the Skipton Fund Ltd Appeal Panel for the period from 1 September 2006 until 31 August 2009. (click here for the full press release)

The Appeal Panel has started to review cases in the order they were received and panel members will continue to meet regularly until the backlog has been cleared. If you have already registered your wish to appeal you will be notified in writing a few weeks before your case is due for review. In considering the evidence the Appeal Panel will look solely at the written evidence and will not seek personal attendance. If there is any further information you would like added to your file please address it to Skipton Fund Appeals at the usual address.

Skipton Fund Alteration to Scheme. Change to Guidelines in Part 3 (g)

Previous wording:
No payments will be made in respect of those who have died before 29 August 2003 or to people who have cleared the virus spontaneously in the acute phase of the disease. In the case of eligible people who die between 29 August 2003 and July 2004 the payments will be made to their estate. Where eligible persons die after 5th July 2004 payments will only be made to their estate if the eligible person had applied to The Skipton Fund whilst they were still alive.

Current wording:
No payments will be made in respect of those who have died before 29 August 2003 or to people who have cleared the virus spontaneously in the acute phase of the disease. In the case of eligible people who die after 29 August 2003 payments will be made to their estate.

For claims emanating from Scotland only:

Claims emanating from Scotland must meet the following further criteria in order to qualify for the making of a payment:

When the claim for the payment is made or, in the case of a claim made in respect of a dead person, when the person died either:

(i) the person's sole or main residence is or was in Scotland; or
(ii) the person's sole or main residence is or was outside the United Kingdom but, immediately before acquiring such sole or main residence, the person's sole or main residence is or was in Scotland.

Frequently Asked Questions:

If my application is successful, how will I be paid?
The Skipton Fund will only pay successful claims directly into a bank account in the claimants name. Please note: Certain "Simple" bank accounts offered at post offices and at certain banks and building societies permit a maximum figure for credits of £10,000. Please check with your bank/building society that your account can accept credits forwarded through the BACS system for £20,000 or £25,000 (dependant on whether the claim is for stage one or two). If it cannot, please open a fresh account with this capability prior to submitting your claim in order to avoid a payment delay. Note: We cannot issue cheques, or pay by any other means than directly into a bank account.

How do I get an application form?
Formal application forms for the Stage 1 (Basic) Payment are available from The Skipton Fund. To obtain an application form, you first need to register with us. To do this, we require that you submit either paper or online versions of the Registration Form. This will ensure your details are registered on The Skipton Fund database so that an application form can be issued to you. To view a sample (read-only) application form, and guidance notes on how the formal application form for the Stage 1 (Basic) Payment works, please see our Basic Payment page.

So where do I get a Registration Form?
You can either fill out the online form on our Register page, or you can Contact Us for a paper form which we will send to you by post.

Who can complete my application form?
Any UK doctor who has access to your records can complete the form, however, if you are registered with a centre/consultant we would recommend that you approach them first to complete the form as they will have access to test results and other information that may not be with your GP.

How can I prove that the blood or blood product I received was the source of my infection?
Applications will be dealt with on the balance of probabilities where there is evidence of an applicant receiving blood or blood products contained within their medical notes but not necessarily that the batch was contaminated with the hepatitis C virus. The Skipton Fund are aware that in many cases it would be very difficult to confirm whether or not a particular batch of blood was contaminated so many years after it was administered.

How long will it take until I get my money?
Once the Fund has the form back from your doctor it will take on average 28 working days to process. All possible efforts will be made to reduce this time but it is dependant on the volumes of applications being received and the standard of form completion.

Why is my application taking longer than 28 days?
This is usually because we require more information before we can make a decision on your application. This can be for a variety of reasons, but is most commonly due to incomplete information from your doctor. In many circumstances this situation can be avoided by having your consultant fill out your application form (where possible), as opposed to your GP or another doctor who does not know you very well, or may not have access to your complete medical records.

Is there a time limit to claim through the Skipton Fund?
There is no time limit in place to make an application for either the stage 1 or stage 2 payments.

What happens to my details?
All of your details are held on our database until such time as they are no longer needed. We will only use your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Statement.

Am I eligible to apply to the Skipton Fund as a secondary infectee?
A list of the people who are eligible to make an application to the Skipton Fund as a secondary infectee can be found by clicking here. In all cases a successful 1st stage claim must have been made by the party who you feel was the source of your infection before you are able to apply. Determining if a party was the source of infection will also be dealt with on the balance of probabilities.

Can I apply on behalf of someone who has already died?
Yes, provided the date of death was after 29th August 2003.

What's happening about the Stage 2 (Additional) Payment?
The application form for the second stage payment of £25,000, for which those who have developed advanced liver disease can apply, is now ready, and applications are being processed. Please note, however, that a requirement of this payment is that applicants must already have had their Stage 1 (Basic) Payment processed and paid to them.

How do I apply for the Stage 2 (Additional) Payment?
If you believe that you already qualify for this payment, please see our Additional Payment page where you will find a viewable PDF version of the second stage form, along with its accompanying guidance notes. Please review these notes to help you to decide whether or not you might be eligible. If you believe you are, please go to our Contact Us page for an appropriate means of notifying The Skipton Fund of your wish to receive an application form (you can contact us by either phone, post or email). NOTE: It is vitally important that you quote your original Basic Payment Registration Number when you do so. A form will then be sent to you as soon as possible.