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 increase the child vaccination rate for (a) MMR and (b) other dangerous diseases.

In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England and the Department and wider health system partners at the national regional and local levels to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.

Increasing uptake of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in order to achieve the World Health Organization target of 95% uptake by the time children reach five years old is a key priority for the National Health Service and a clear commitment in its Long Term Plan, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/

The first UKHSA Childhood Immunisation communication campaign, encouraging parents to ensure their child’s vaccinations were up to date, ran from 4 March until mid-April 2024. The current campaign is running from 26 August until 4 October 2024. To raise awareness of potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes, UKHSA also provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, including easy read, BSL and braille, and provides comprehensive clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals.