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 help improve influenza vaccination uptake in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

The Department works closely with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to improve vaccination uptake. In Leicester, NHS England has advised that flu vaccination uptake has increased compared with last winter, with notable improvement in school‑age flu vaccination.

Across the East Midlands, NHS England has advised that there has been an increase in uptake compared to this time last year for most cohorts, notably within two and three year olds and frontline healthcare worker cohorts, though lower uptake has been seen in over 65 year olds and care home cohorts.

This year, NHS England has introduced, for the first time, an expansion to the two to three-year-old flu offer with appointments available via community pharmacy sites to support easier access.

NHS England has been working closely with local integrated care boards (ICBs) and wider partners including acute and community hospitals, community pharmacies, and general practices, to take an integrated approach to improving influenza vaccination uptake across all eligible groups.

Local ICBs are working together with community leaders and local partners to ensure that information is shared within communities about how, when, and where people can get vaccinated.