Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) reviewing and (b) increasing the level of payment provided under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

I would like to reiterate my deepest sympathies to all those individuals who have experienced harm following vaccination, and to their families.

I recognise many of the concerns that campaigners have raised regarding the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS). Their input will shape our ongoing consideration of reforms to the scheme.

In parallel, the Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the VDPS, to take further steps to improve the scheme, including through processing claims at a faster rate.

I will keep Parliament updated, as appropriate.