Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of claims have been submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for (a) fatalities and (b) illnesses for Covid 19 vaccines.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 31 March 2025, 19,895 claims had been submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme relating to COVID-19 vaccination. 18,724, or 94% of these claims, were submitted for illnesses relating to COVID-19 vaccination and 1,171, or 6% of these claims, were submitted for fatalities relating to COVID-19 vaccination.

As of 31 March 2025, 958 claims had been submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme relating to vaccinations other than COVID-19 vaccination. 903, or 94% of these claims, were submitted for illnesses relating to vaccinations other than COVID-19 vaccinations and 55, or 6% of these claims, were submitted for fatalities relating to vaccinations other than COVID-19 vaccination.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason applicants seeking mandatory reversal of decisions made by the NHSBSA on vaccine damage claims are required as a precondition to adduce fresh evidence without which no mandatory reversal is possible; and whether there is statutory provision for such a restriction.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

If a claimant to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) wants to challenge a decision about their claim, they can ask for the decision to be reviewed. This is known as a ‘mandatory reversal’.

In accordance with the legislation which governs the VDPS, when applying for a mandatory reversal, claimants must provide an explanation of why they think that the original decision is wrong, and they may provide further evidence to support their request. They can also ask the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the VDPS, to request additional medical records from healthcare providers.

However, providing further evidence to support their request for a mandatory reversal is not a legal or operational requirement. The answer given by the Department to PQ39388 incorrectly stated that claimants must provide additional evidence to their claim before a mandatory reversal is undertaken. This response has been corrected.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the (a) maximum and (b) minimum time between Crawford & Co completing a medical review of applications for vaccine damage payments and the applicant being informed of the decision in in the period January 2024 – December 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Between January and December 2024, the maximum time between Crawford & Co completing a medical assessment of an application to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme and the applicant being informed by the NHS Business Services Authority of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s decision as to whether they are entitled to a payment under the scheme was 518 days. The minimum time was zero days, with the claimants informed of the outcome on the same day that the medical assessment was completed.

Over the same period, the average time between Crawford & Co completing a medical assessment of an application and the applicant being informed of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s decision was 14 days.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 41384, what the (a) maximum and (b) minimum time was between a Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme application being made to the NHS Business Services Authority and being submitted to Crawford & Co for review.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The submission of applications to Crawford & Co is dependent on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) receiving the relevant medical records from healthcare providers.

As of 3 April 2025, the maximum time between an application being made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme and that application being submitted to Crawford & Co for review was 1,339 days. The minimum time was 14 days, and the average time was 199 days.

The NHSBSA is working with healthcare providers to speed up the rate at which these medical records are shared.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39387 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, if he will make an estimate of the number of assessments that have missed the 95 per cent target; how many of those have been delayed by more than (a) one, (b) six and (c) 12 months; and whether penalties have been imposed on Crawford & Company for missed deadlines.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Between January 2024 and December 2024, the percentage of medical assessment reports returned within 15 working days of receipt of a fully completed medical record was 99.8%. In the same period, 10 medical assessment reports were not returned within the 15-day timeframe. Of these, nine reports were returned within a month, with one report delayed by more than a month. No medical assessment reports were delayed either by more than six or 12 months.

The supplier has previously had service credits applied as a result of not returning medical assessment reports to the NHS Business Services Authority within 15 working days. As the supplier has achieved above 95% in relation to this target since August 2023, no service credits have been applied since 2023.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March to Question 39386 on NHS Business Services Authority: Crawford & Company, how much of the budget of £38.6m is set aside for the payment of VDPS claims; and what the forecast is for the number of applications to the VDPS to be processed by Crawford & Co for 2025-26.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

For the 2025/26 financial year, the budget allocated for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is £38.6 million. The forecasted amount within this budget for vaccine damage payments is approximately £9 million. The budget for the 2025/26 financial year is based on estimates that approximately 8,500 assessments, including mandatory reversals, will be carried out in 2025/26.

The budget allocated for payments has no bearing on the outcomes of individual assessments. The NHS Business Services Authority will request additional funding from the Department to process additional claims if needed, for example if the number of claims received is more than forecasted.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's contract entitled Medical Assessments: Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, procurement reference, CF-0724900D0O000000rwimUAA, whether Crawford & Company are required to respond to Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims within a specified time period; and whether they receive rewards on account of the speed of assessments.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The length of time it takes to process a Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claim varies from case to case. This is because medical records will often be gathered from claimants’ healthcare providers before a claim undergoes medical assessment, and receiving a claimant’s records can take time.

95% of the assessments that are shared with an independent medical assessor should be returned to the VDPS administrators, the NHS Business Service Authority, within 15 working days. Sometimes this can take longer because medical assessments are complex, and these medical assessors will review individual medical records, which can be thousands of pages.

No rewards are provided within the contract.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what services the NHSBSA paid Crawford & Co; and what the budget for expenditure on the services of Crawford & Co is for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for 2025-26.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Crawford & Company currently provides a medical assessment service for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS). The VDPS budget for 2025/26, including payments to claimants, the budget for Crawford & Company, and the budget for the operation of the scheme by the NHS Business Services Authority, is £38.6 million. Final expenditure by Crawford & Company will depend on a number of variables, including the number of claims received.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme claims on Covid-19 vaccinations which have been accepted following mandatory reversal based upon (a) additional evidence provided and (b) existing evidence.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Claimants to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) can ask for a reassessment, known as a mandatory reversal, if they disagree with the decision on the eligibility of their claim. Additional evidence can be added before it is reassessed, and this can include medical records.

Between 1 November 2021, when the NHS Business Services Authority took over administration of the VDPS, and 20 March 2025, 25 claims have been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment following a mandatory reversal. Additional evidence was provided for all of these claims.

Claims without additional evidence are received and reassessed through the mandatory reversal process. However, no claims without additional evidence have been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the information on the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) claim process, published by the NHS Business Services Authority, if he will publish the past tribunal decisions and case law used to assess applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) appeals are heard by the First-tier Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. The tribunal does not publish these decisions as they are non-binding and contain personal information.

First-tier tribunal decisions do not set a precedent for other cases. All claims to the VDPS are assessed on a case-by-case basis, using the latest available medical evidence. Medical assessors will consider: the claim form; medical records from the vaccinated person’s healthcare providers; clinical research; epidemiological evidence; and the current consensus of expert medical opinion.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications were made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in 2024; and how many and what proportion of those applications were unsuccessful.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

9,554 applications were submitted to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in 2024. 4,593 of these applications have now concluded, with 4,589, or 99.9% of, claims rejected.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training medical assessors of applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme relating to covid-19 vaccinations receive; what qualifications are needed to become such an assessor; what continuing professional development requirements must such assessors meet; whether such assessors are required to work in-person and not remotely; and to what supervision are such assessors subject.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Medical assessments are carried out by an independent, third-party supplier. The supplier manages the medical assessors' training and work arrangements, organises for each medical assessment to be peer reviewed by another medical assessor, and is responsible for ensuring that medical assessors continue their professional development.

All medical assessors are General Medical Council (GMC) registered doctors with a license to practise and a minimum of five years' post graduate experience. They are held to strict professional standards set by the GMC and, in addition to their five years’ post graduate experience, assessors must have experience of undertaking a medical and/or disability assessment, and of addressing questions of causation and impact in the context of legislative or policy requirements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) medical assessors are in post; and how many assessors have left since the roll-out of the VDPS to covid-19 vaccinations.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The number of medical assessors is managed by a third-party supplier and varies depending on the volume of claims received, as well as the volume of medical records received from healthcare providers. Since COVID-19 was added to the Vaccine Damage Payment Act 1979, the number of medical assessors assessing claims has significantly increased.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme relating to covid-19 vaccinations have been subject to a request for mandatory reversal; how many and what proportion of such requests (a) were rejected and (b) have been outstanding for more than (i) three, (ii) six and (iii) 12 months; and how many and what proportion of rejected requests were referred to the First-Tier Tribunal.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 27 February 2025, 1,657 applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme relating to COVID-19 vaccinations have been subject to a request for mandatory reversal. Re-assessment has been completed for 1,073 of these applications, with 21, or 2% of, decisions reversed. A reversal does not mean that the original decision was incorrect, as claimants provide additional information during the mandatory reversal process which can alter the outcome of the assessment.

Of the outstanding claims, 333, or 20% of the total mandatory reversal applications, have been outstanding for more than three months. Of those, 200, or 12%, have been outstanding for more than six months, and of those 81, or 5%, have been outstanding for more than 12 months. 69, or 7% of, rejected mandatory reversals have been referred to the First-Tier Tribunal.

Found: ................................................................................ 2 1.3 Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Found: ................................................................................ 2 1.3 Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme