Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of the decline in uptake of vaccinations.

To assess the causes of the decline in uptake of vaccinations, Public Health England (PHE) undertakes annual surveys of parents and adolescents to understand how knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety and disease severity influence vaccine uptake decision-making.

PHE believes that the causes of the decline in vaccine include access to services and inconsistencies in reminder communications from healthcare professionals. More information on the survey can be found in the attached National Audit Office report, Investigation into pre-school vaccinations.

The Government is committed to improving the uptake of vaccinations which is why we will shortly be publishing a vaccine strategy.