Parliament
279 mentions of the inquiry in Parliament: debates, written questions and statements, oral questions and early day motions, from Hansard.
Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government accepts the recommendations of the Covid-19 Inquiry (Module 4) published on 16 April 2026 in relation to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
As set out by the Prime Minister in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 April responding to the publication of Module 4 of the COVID-19 Inquiry, the Government is carefully considering the findings of the inquiry, including the recommendations on reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), and will respond within six months of publication.
The Government is actively considering the recommendations of the inquiry on reform of the VDPS.
Read full answer →Coronavirus: Vaccination
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 20 of his Department's Opening Statement to Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, published 15 January 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) deaths, (b) infections and (c) hospitalisations that were prevented by the covid-19 vaccination programme since September 2021.
The estimated total averted hospitalisations, severe hospitalisations, and deaths for the spring and autumn 2023 boosters were:
- 1,654 hospitalisations, 108 severe, and 508 deaths for the spring 2023 booster program in those aged 75 years old and over; and
- 7,054 hospitalisations, 473 severe, and 1,862 deaths for the autumn 2023 booster program in those aged 65 years old and over.
This can be found in the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report week 29, which is available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669923b20808eaf43b50d1fd/Vaccine_surveillance_report_2024_week_29.pdf
In total, an estimated 14,400 hospitalisations were averted in adults aged 50 years old and older in England as a result of the vaccination from the autumn 2022 COVID-19 vaccine booster programme. This information is in the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report week 41, which is available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6527f0bfaea2d0000d219c69/vaccine-surveillance-report-2023-week-41.pdf
These are a direct effect calculation and do not include any additional cases prevented from herd immunity. They also do not include cases averted where COVID-19 exacerbated a non-respiratory condition that led to hospitalisation.
In total, an estimated 18,600 hospitalisations, based on cases reported through the Sari-Watch surveillance scheme, were averted in adults aged 50 years old and older in England as a result of vaccination from the autumn 2021 COVID-19 vaccine booster programme. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62c6c2168fa8f54e855dfe29/Vaccine-surveillance-report-week-27.pdf
This was also a direct effect calculation method.
Read full answer →Coronavirus: Vaccination
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 20 of his Department's written opening statement to Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry of 20 December 2024, INQ000474799, on what evidential basis his Department said that the covid-19 vaccine programme had prevented between 23.7 and 24.1 million infections.
The evidential basis refers to page four of the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report: Week 38, published by Public Health England on 23 September 2021. The report is available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/614c53a28fa8f56113bf6472/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_38.pdf
The report assessed the impact of the vaccination programme on the population by taking into account vaccine coverage, evidence on vaccine effectiveness, and the latest COVID-19 disease surveillance indicators. These figures were, at the time of the report, the latest estimates on the impact of the COVID-19 vaccination programme on mortality.
Read full answer →Coronavirus: Vaccination
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 20 of his Department's written opening statement to Module 4 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry of 20 December 2024, INQ000474799, on what evidential basis his Department said that the covid-19 vaccine programme had prevented (a) over 230,800 hospitalisations and (b) between 119,500 and 126,800 deaths by September 2021.
The evidential basis refers to page four of the COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report: Week 38, published by Public Health England on 23 September 2021. The report is available at the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/614c53a28fa8f56113bf6472/Vaccine_surveillance_report_-_week_38.pdf
The report assessed the impact of the vaccination programme on the population by taking into account vaccine coverage, evidence on vaccine effectiveness, and the latest COVID-19 disease surveillance indicators. These figures were, at the time of the report, the latest estimates on the impact of the COVID-19 vaccination programme on mortality.
Read full answer →Covid-19 Inquiry
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister's Written Statement of 18 July 2024 on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 1 Report, HCWS11, whether the Prime Minister's personal commitment to each and every family who lost loved ones includes those who lost loved ones as a result of a Covid-19 vaccine.
In the Prime Minister’s written ministerial statement to Parliament, he said that ensuring that the United Kingdom is prepared for a future pandemic is a “top priority” for his government and that the Government is determined to learn the lessons from this Inquiry.
Further to this, on the 19 July, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made an oral statement in the House of Commons in response to the Module 1 report where he said “this government’s first responsibility is to keep the public safe. We cannot rebuild our national resilience overnight. But we will learn the lessons from this Inquiry – from this Module and every Module that follows”.
The issue of Covid-19 vaccines will be discussed in Module 4 of the Covid-19 Inquiry, where the hearings are planned to start from 14 January 2025 to 30 January 2025.
Read full answer →Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Reviews
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the terms of reference are for her Department's review of the vaccine damage compensation scheme; which body is responsible for undertaking the review; and what estimate she has made of when the review will be completed.
All routine policy, including the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), is reviewed on a regular basis. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is currently looking into aspects of the scheme, following recent meetings with interested stakeholders.
Separately, work is underway with the scheme’s administrator, the NHS Business Service Authority, to review processes and make administrative changes, to improve the scheme within the current legislative framework. Formal consideration of whether any reforms to the VDPS are necessary will form part of Module 4 of the COVID-19 Inquiry, chaired by the Rt Hon Baroness Heather Carol Hallett DBE.
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