Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of schools in promoting and administering vaccinations for children.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
School-based vaccination delivery is a key component of the National Immunisation Programme. Currently, vaccines offered in schools include: human papillomavirus; meningococcal A, C, W, Y; tetanus, diphtheria, and polio; measles, mumps, and rubella; and the seasonal influenza vaccine.
Educational settings play a vital role in supporting the routine immunisation programme by sharing accurate and timely information with parents and caregivers. To assist with this, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a wide range of educational resources designed to raise awareness of vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of immunisation, and how vaccines protect individuals and communities. These resources include:
School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) providers are commissioned by NHS England to deliver the school-based immunisation programmes. Children who are home-schooled or not in mainstream education are also included. The success of school-based immunisation programmes depends on close working relationships between the schools, school nurses, and SAIS providers. Therefore, schools also play a vital role in facilitating SAIS providers to deliver vaccinations within school settings and in supporting the delivery of routine and seasonal immunisation programmes through the sharing of information with parents and caregivers at key points. Schools support the immunisation process by:
The UKHSA publishes regularly updated guidance for schools on how to support immunisation activities effectively, with further information available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
Recognising the need to improve the vaccine uptake of our school-aged programme, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with NHS England, the UKHSA, and the Department for Education to better understand the barriers and facilitators to effective delivery of school-based immunisation programmes, and approaches to supporting increased vaccination uptake among school-aged children. This work is to ensure a more comprehensive and focused support offer is made available to schools to deliver their role effectively and support improvements in vaccine uptake.
Alongside this work, NHS England also continues to work with all key stakeholders at a regional level, and is involved in the delivery of school-aged vaccinations to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models of vaccination delivery.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of social media to promote vaccinations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regularly assesses both the social media landscape and its own digital content, to ensure we are identifying the right opportunities to promote vaccine uptake and are responding to mis and disinformation where possible and appropriate.
The UKHSA regularly delivers vaccine communications through social media and other channels to support national immunisation programmes. In collaboration with NHS England and the Department, the UKHSA delivers vaccine campaigns that combine paid marketing, public relations, stakeholder engagement, and operational communications to patients and health care professionals. Social media activity has been instrumental in directing users to key resources, including the National Booking System for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The UKHSA produces a range of static and video content for use during cultural events, seasonal holidays, and vaccination campaigns. These assets are shared with stakeholders for use on their own platforms, while the UKHSA’s blog provides regularly updated vaccine information.
Content is tailored to reach diverse audiences, including parents, pregnant women, and individuals with long-term health conditions. Social media channels are used to share the latest news, research, and statistics on United Kingdom vaccination efforts. They also play a vital role in disseminating public health advice during infectious disease outbreaks, with the UKHSA developing targeted vaccination content for both its own platforms and for the platforms of its partners.
As more people turn to social media for news, the UKHSA’s posts continue to generate significant engagement across platforms. Daily social listening enables the agency to identify misinformation and respond to public concerns, helping to shape accurate, timely, and audience-informed vaccine messaging.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people who are obese; what estimate they have made of the costs of obesity to the economy and society; and what action they are taking to combat obesity and reduce the number of obese people.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Using the latest Health Survey for England estimates from 2022, and the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) population estimates for England, we estimate that in 2022, approximately 13.5 million adults, or 28.9% of England’s population, were living with obesity. In addition, using the latest National Child Measurement Program estimates from 2023/24, and the latest ONS population estimates for England, we estimate that in the 2023/24 school year, there were approximately 1.4 million children living with obesity.
In 2023, Frontier Economics estimated that the total cost to society of obesity was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom. This estimate encompasses reduced quality of life, sickness absence, and National Health Service and social care costs, due to a higher probability of hospitalisation and/or death.
In relation to the NHS, in 2023 Frontier Economics found that the annual cost to the NHS of obesity related ill-health is £11.4 billion, which is the equivalent to approximately 7% of the NHS’ 2023/24 budget. Frontier Economics also found that higher body mass index increases the likelihood of requiring social care for long-term illness, with a total social care cost of £5.9 billion. The total social care cost is composed of informal social care, at approximately £5.5 billion, and formal social care, at approximately £400 million.
Finally, estimates from Frontier Economics in 2023 found that increased sickness absence and early death reduces workforce productivity, with a total economic cost of £8.9 billion per year. Individuals living with obesity take more sick days, reducing productivity across the workforce.
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out the decisive action we will take on the obesity crisis.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 23 June (HL8243), what specific actions they are taking in response to the rise in whooping cough infections.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Significant efforts have been made to raise awareness of the importance of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, vaccination. These include targeted campaigns using social media, digital screen graphics, and community outreach. The National Health Service actively promotes vaccination for pregnant women to protect their newborns. NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency have launched a joint maternal vaccination campaign, supported by a comprehensive communications toolkit. This includes a maternal vaccine postcard translated into seven languages, which has been distributed to 200 general practices in areas with lower vaccine uptake.
To improve accessibility, community pharmacies in areas of high deprivation and low uptake are now commissioned to offer vaccinations, making it more convenient for individuals to get vaccinated.
Within the NHS, efforts are underway to enhance the recording and monitoring of vaccinations, ensuring accurate data collection to assess the programme’s effectiveness.
The NHS Public Health and Equalities team regularly produces articles that are shared through community and faith-based channels, including radio, podcasts, and local publications. Additionally, NHS England’s resources are disseminated through pregnancy and parenting forums such as Tommy’s and the National Childbirth Trust, as well as other community and faith organisations. These materials are used across websites, email newsletters, and social media platforms.
Recent data shows a consistent seven-month upward trend in maternal pertussis vaccination rates, rising from 59% in May 2024 to nearly 73% by March 2025.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 18 June (HL8163), what steps they are taking to ensure that Mastercard provides details of the compensation scheme in an effective and timely way.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In May, the Competition Appeal Tribunal approved a settlement which would allow consumers to claim compensation in relation to historical card fees. This is a settlement between those claimants that brought the case and Mastercard, in which government is not involved.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract people with skills in artificial intelligence from overseas to settle in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government is committed to making the UK a global hub for AI talent.
We recently announced over £115 million of investment to attract world-leading research talent to the UK, strengthening our position as an AI superpower. This includes the £54 million Global Talent Fund, the proposed expansion of ARIA and Pillar VC’s Encode fellowship, and the launch of a Global Talent Taskforce to identify and support top international researchers to work and settle in the UK.
These initiatives complement Turing AI ‘Global’ Fellowships and Spärck AI scholarships announced earlier this month, which will attract world-leading academics and students to the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to attract academics from overseas to settle in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Immigration White Paper reaffirms the government’s commitment to attracting top talent by simplifying the Global Talent visa and increasing the number of people arriving on high talent routes. The government has launched a new £54 million Global Talent Fund to bring around 10 leading researchers and their teams to the UK and invested £25 million in new Turing AI ‘Global’ fellowships. In addition, £150 million and £250 million endowment funding was allocated respectively in 2023/24 for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Green Future Fellowships and the Royal Society’s Faraday Discovery Fellowships.
A new Global Talent Taskforce has been announced to attract exceptional talent into our Industrial Strategy sectors.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of made of any increase in measles infections, and what is their response to such an increase.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024, England recorded 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases, the highest annual total since 2012. Approximately 60% of these cases were in children under 10 years old, highlighting a long-term decline in routine childhood vaccination rates.
To address this, a national measles, mumps, and rubella catch-up campaign was launched, delivering an extra 180,000 vaccine doses between September 2023 and April 2024.
Measles cases began to decline from mid-July 2024, although small outbreaks continued in some areas. Since 1 January 2025, 420 laboratory confirmed cases have been reported, with a noticeable rise in activity since April, especially in London.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to work with local and national partners, including NHS England and the Department, to manage outbreaks, improve vaccination coverage, and tailor services to under-vaccinated communities.
You can view the latest data on the Measles Dashboard, which is available in an online only format.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the continuing need for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation programmes. The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, leading to hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19.
The JCVI has advised that the available national data continues to demonstrate that older people and those who are immunosuppressed are at greatest risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19.
On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that for autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and the immunosuppressed aged six months old and over.
The Government will respond in due course to the JCVI’s COVID-19 vaccination advice for spring 2026.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for requiring alcohol producers to include clear and specific health warnings on products, and what action they propose in response to any such assessment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’, the Government has committed to strengthen and expand on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. A copy of the plan has been placed in the Library, due to the size of the document.
Currently, there is voluntary guidance on communicating the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officers' low risk drinking guideline, which recommends labels include info that to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, and to include a warning against drinking during pregnancy. The Department has commissioned a National Institute for Health and Care Research study on understanding the impact of alcohol calorie labelling on alcohol and calorie selection, purchasing, and consumption. This study is due to report in 2026.