Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 49 of the minutes of the meeting of 4 June 2014 of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), when his Department indicated to the JCVI that it would like the JCVI to confirm or revise its conclusions regarding the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine of choice for the UK; how his Department indicated its wish to the JCVI; whether he is satisfied that the JCVI has complied with his Department's request; and if he will make a statement.

The request from the Department to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) regarding the use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the United Kingdom was conveyed by Departmental officials via the JCVI secretariat within Public Health England in early 2014.

At its meeting on 4 June 2014, the minutes of which are available on GOV.UK, the JCVI concluded that PCV13 should remain the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine of choice for the United Kingdom at this time. We have accepted this advice.