Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what measures the Government is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause in the workplace.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We know that support in the workplace during the menopause can be crucial. That is why we will require large employers to detail the steps they are taking to support their staff during the menopause as part of an action plan. These will be introduced on a voluntary basis from April 2026, before becoming mandatory in spring 2027.
Furthermore, we will publish guidance for small and medium employers on the measures they should consider to enable women to better manage their symptoms, including: uniform and temperature; flexible working; and, recording menopause-related leave and absence.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the database of AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine side effects was last updated.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for monitoring all authorised medicines and vaccines in the United Kingdom, including the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, on an ongoing basis to ensure their benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This monitoring strategy is continuous, proactive, and based on a wide range of information sources, including reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the Yellow Card Database. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine no longer has an active market authorisation in the UK, since 2024. Consequently, no additional research activities have been undertaken beyond the ongoing monitoring of reported suspected adverse events through the Yellow Card Scheme. The most recent data extraction of spontaneous suspected adverse reactions reported via the Yellow Card Scheme was conducted on 20 September 2025. Further information is available at the following link:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps/CHADOX1%20NCOV-19
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how often the database of AstraZeneca covid vaccine side effects has been updated in each year since 2020.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for monitoring all authorised medicines and vaccines in the United Kingdom, including the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, on an ongoing basis to ensure their benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This monitoring strategy is continuous, proactive, and based on a wide range of information sources, including reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the Yellow Card Database. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine no longer has an active market authorisation in the UK, since 2024. Consequently, no additional research activities have been undertaken beyond the ongoing monitoring of reported suspected adverse events through the Yellow Card Scheme. The most recent data extraction of spontaneous suspected adverse reactions reported via the Yellow Card Scheme was conducted on 20 September 2025. Further information is available at the following link:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps/CHADOX1%20NCOV-19
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make (a) apheresis and (b) immunoabsorption treatments available for vaccine damage patients when doctors feel it would be beneficial.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and treatment will be managed by National Health Service local specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice, with any treatment dependent on the individual’s clinical needs.
The Government remains committed to research to improve the diagnosis and treatment in those rare cases where individuals may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Since the start of the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR, to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) approve and (b) fund specialist treatments for AstraZeneca vaccine damage.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and treatment will be managed by National Health Service local specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice, with any treatment dependent on the individual’s clinical needs.
The Government remains committed to research to improve the diagnosis and treatment in those rare cases where individuals may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Since the start of the pandemic, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR, to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the rate for (a) approval of claims, (b) claims overturned at review and (c) payout has been for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme since March 2022.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979.
As of 12 November 2025, data from NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA), the administrators of the VDPS, shows that since March 2022 there have been (a) 249 successful claims made through the scheme. Of these 249 successful claims, (b) 31 were as a result of the decision being overturned after review. The 249 successful claims amounted to a total of (c) £29,880,000 in payments.
Information on COVID-19 claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is published on a quarterly basis by NHSBSA. Further information is available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the potential impact of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority estate's voluntary exit scheme on the (a) delivery of objectives and (b) trends in the level of operating costs at the former Trawsfynydd nuclear power station.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) remains focused on delivering its statutory mission to keep former nuclear sites safe and secure while progressing decommissioning and managing waste. To achieve this efficiently, the NDA has introduced voluntary exit schemes as part of wider organisational restructuring and cost management measures. These schemes are designed to ensure resources are directed to front-line hazard reduction and decommissioning, while maintaining safe operations at all sites, including Trawsfynydd.
The NDA continues to monitor delivery against objectives and operating costs as part of its normal governance processes, alongside its commitment to supporting people and communities through investment in skills and economic diversification.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he had with the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the implementation of that organisation's voluntary exit scheme before it was introduced; and whether he approved the implementation of the voluntary exit scheme.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
As part of this approach, the NDA has introduced voluntary exit schemes across its group to support organisational restructuring and create efficiencies. All NDA MAVE schemes received the appropriate Government approval.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the medical experience requirements are for caseworkers handling vaccine damage payment claims.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Caseworkers supporting the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) are administrative staff who are not involved in the assessment of claims. Their role is to provide claimants with a consistent point of contact, manage the administrative progress of claims, communicate updates, and ensure all necessary documentation is gathered. No medical experience is required for this supportive administrative function.
All clinical assessments under the VDPS are conducted solely by medical assessors. Medical assessors are General Medical Council registered doctors who have licences to practise and at least five years' experience and must have undertaken specialised training in vaccine damage and disability assessment.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department is undertaking into side affects of the AstraZenica covid vaccine; through what process his Department are recognising emerging side effects; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaccines are only authorised once they have met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The monitoring of vaccine safety does not stop once a vaccine has been approved. The MHRA continuously monitors safety data from a range of sources to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh any risks. This includes reports of adverse events and rare side effects retrieved from the MHRA’s Yellow Card Database, interim and final study reports for clinical trials, post-authorisation safety studies, and data from scientific literature. A dedicated team of assessors reviews this information on a weekly basis to look for safety issues or unexpected, rare events.
The Department also commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including for vaccine side effects.
Since the start of the pandemic, the NIHR has allocated more than £110 million of funding for COVID-19 vaccine research, including consideration of issues around vaccine safety. As part of this, the Department commissioned a £1.6 million programme of work through the NIHR to understand the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia syndrome, a rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination for COVID-19. This research was published in July 2025 and is available in the NIHR Journals Library.