Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide additional UK-wide support to improve MMR vaccination coverage in areas where rates have fallen below the 95% herd immunity threshold.

Whilst vaccine delivery is devolved to Scotland, we collaborate closely with our Scottish counterparts to maximise vaccine coverage across the United Kingdom.

Work is continuing to consistently and comprehensively implement the UK Measles and Rubella Elimination Strategy, which is specifically designed for achieving and maintaining measles elimination status, in line with the World Health Organization’s guidance and recommendations.

The Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and NHS England work closely with the devolved administrations and other partners to consistently implement the strategy. As part of this, the UKHSA facilitates the Measles and Rubella Elimination Strategy implementation Board (MAREB) on behalf of these organisations.

MAREB facilitates information sharing with the devolved administrations, including Scotland. MAREB members collectively monitor progress towards achieving key measles surveillance indicators and MMR/MMRV programme indicators for the UK.

From 1 January 2026, we brought forward the second dose of MMRV vaccine from three years and four months to a new routine appointment for all children at 18 months of age, based on evidence that this earlier appointment could improve uptake and provide earlier protection against measles. The facilitation of this change included close communication with the devolved administrations to enable information sharing and planning alignment where possible.

The Department continues to support joint efforts to improve measles vaccination uptake and reduce the risk of outbreaks across the UK.