Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what tribunal decisions have been used by the NHS Business Services Authority to assess claims relating to Covid-19 vaccinations under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since taking over administration of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme on 1 November 2021, all decisions taken by the NHS Business Services Authority that have been appealed to tribunal have been upheld.
Decisions in first tier tribunals do not set a precedent for other cases. All claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme 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.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 assessment of the the adequacy of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) continues to process a significant number of claims, with 11,251 claims related to COVID-19, adult flu, and other diseases processed between 1 November 2021 and 13 December 2024.
The Department is working with the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the scheme, to take steps to improve the VDPS by modernising operations, improving claimants’ experiences, and processing claims at a faster rate.
Ministers have also met with the families of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination, many of whom raised the need for reform of the VDPS. Whilst any changes to the VDPS may need to be a cross-Government decision, ministers have agreed to look closely at the issues raised.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 18 November 2024 to Question 13773 on the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, how much his Department spent on legal fees defending against appeals.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Between 1 November 2021 and 1 December 2024, the total spent by the NHS Business Services Authority on behalf of the Department on legal fees to defend against appeals within the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was £50,608.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
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.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time period is for issuing payments via the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
Between November 2021 and January 2025, the average time period for issuing payments following confirmation of a successful claim was 46 calendar days.
A payment can only be made once bank details and identification verification has been received from the claimant. Once received, the NHS Business Services Authority operates a 10-working day service level agreement for the payment to be processed.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) claims and (b) mandatory reversal claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme on Covid-19 vaccinations have been outstanding for more than (i) six months, (ii) 12 months and (iii) 18 months.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
As of 17 January 2025, 3,714 claims and 201 mandatory reversal claims have been outstanding for more than six months. Of those, 1,041 claims and 82 mandatory reversals have been outstanding for more than 12 months, and of those, 517 claims and 32 mandatory reversals have been outstanding for more than 18 months.