Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current eligibility criteria for the MenB catch up vaccination programme; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility to all unvaccinated young people born before the introduction of the routine MenB infant programme in 2015.

On 12 June 2026, I announced a one-off, time-limited meningococcal group B (MenB) immunisation programme to protect those at highest immediate risk of MenB disease this autumn.

People currently in the Year 13 age group in England and Wales, those born from 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008, will be eligible for vaccination, as well as people under 25 years of age attending higher education or living at some residential further education settings for the first time in the 2026/27 academic year.

Data on invasive meningococcal disease over the last five years has shown that after infancy, the highest number of cases are seen in 18- to 19-year-olds. Students in their first year of university have a risk that is about seven times higher than young people of a similar age who do not go to university.

The aim of this one-off programme is to protect those at greatest immediate risk from MenB, which is why these age-based cohorts have been selected.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which provides expert independent advice on our vaccination programmes, is updating its assessment of the appropriate eligibility for routine MenB vaccination, which will be provided to ministers in due course. I will consider that advice before making any longer-term decisions regarding MenB vaccination.