Final compensation payments to victims of the infected blood scandal will begin being made before the end of this year, the UK Government has promised.

The UK Government's Paymaster General, John Glen, has outlined plans for the scheme which he said will deliver "comprehensive compensation" for those infected with HIV or hepatitis by contaminated blood products used in the NHS during the 1970s and 1980s. 

Those "affected" by the scandal - such as parents, partners, siblings, children, and carers - will also be entitled to damages, which will be tax-free and non-means tested. 

Recipients will also be able to appeal if they believe the sums awarded are too low. 

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Mr Glen said that in some cases people will be eligible for "multiple awards" - for example, individuals who have been infected themselves, as well as bereaved by the loss of infected family members. 

Existing interim payments will also continue until March 2025 but will not be deducted from victims' final compensation package, said Mr Glen. 

Mr Glen also acknowledged that "time is of the essence" as he announced that "living infected beneficiaries" will be awarded additional interim payments of £210,000 within 90 days, ahead of the establishment of the final scheme, in recognition of the fact that some fear they may not survive long enough to see it. 

Where infected individuals die before receiving their full, or interim, payments, the total sums will be awarded to their estate instead so that it can be passed to their next of kin.

Mr Glen said: "Those who have been infected or affected as a result of this scandal will receive compensation.

"To be crystal clear, if you have been directly or indirectly infected by NHS blood, blood products or tissue contaminated with HIV or hepatitis C, or have developed a chronic infection from blood contaminated with hepatitis B, you will be eligible to claim compensation under the scheme.

"And where an infected person has died, but would have been eligible under these criteria, compensation will be paid to their estate.

"And this will include where a person was infected with hepatitis B and died during the acute period of infection."

The amounts awarded in each case will be decided through a "tariff-based" scheme, although this framework will be subject to consultation with the infected blood community over the coming weeks before being finalised, said Mr Glen. 

An arm's-length body, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, is being established to oversee the processing of compensation.

Sir Robert Francis KC has been announced as its interim chair.

Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney also apologised "unreservedly" to the victims of the blood scandal in a statement to the Scottish Parliament. 

Mr Swinney said it was a "disgrace" they had to wait so long for justice, adding: "The fact that they had to work so hard and for so long is an utter condemnation of those who have put obstacles in the way of the truth being revealed."

Mr Swinney paid tribute to one of those affected - his own constituent, Bill Wright - who contracted Hepatitis C from contaminated blood products and now has liver cancer.

Mr Swinney noted that Mr Swinney had been among the first to visit him at his constituency office when he was elected to Westminster in 1997.

Despite "intense" personal suffering, Mr Wright "has campaigned tirelessly for justice on behalf of Haemophilia Scotland to secure justice for those who have been affected", said the First Minister. 

He added that an "issue of culture" in the NHS had to be addressed to ensure that staff and patients feel able to raise safety concerns.