Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for people adversely affected by Covid-19 vaccinations.

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

The long-standing Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) provides a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 to claimants who have been found, in rare cases and on the balance of probabilities, to have been severely disabled by certain vaccines for a disease listed in the Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979. The VDPS is not designed to be a compensation scheme and does not prejudice the right of the individual to pursue a claim for damages through the courts.

The Government recognises that concerns have been raised regarding the VDPS, including by some of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination. Ministers continue to consider options for reforming the scheme.