Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of applications to the vaccine damage payment scheme since 2020 have been successful, by vaccine type.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), shows that 22,408 VDPS claims were received between 1 November 2021 and 4 July 2025. 1.1% of these have been successful, with a further 0.1% having been successful following an appeal, known as a mandatory reversal. Of the claims received:
These figures are based on total applications received. Some of these applications will not yet have been assessed or were invalid.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications have been made to the vaccine damage payment scheme since 2020, by vaccine type.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), shows that 22,408 VDPS claims were received between 1 November 2021 and 4 July 2025. 1.1% of these have been successful, with a further 0.1% having been successful following an appeal, known as a mandatory reversal. Of the claims received:
These figures are based on total applications received. Some of these applications will not yet have been assessed or were invalid.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to increase the uptake of measles vaccines.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working alongside its partners to increase vaccine uptake across all childhood vaccination programmes, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) programme.
In light of a surge in measles cases in the North West, the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service are working with local partners to monitor the situation, provide advice, and support local communities to be aware of action they can take to protect themselves, including getting vaccinated.
Building on the MMR coverage gains achieved in 2023/4, NHS England continues to deliver national and regional improvement plans that include activities to strengthen the routine vaccination offer and to address inequalities by supporting MMR catch up vaccination by school age vaccination services in schools and community settings. For example, summer ‘catch up’ immunisation clinics are being stood in some of the areas with the lowest MMR uptake including Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, and St Helens.
National childhood vaccination communication campaigns are planned in August and September 2025 for children returning to school. This will be a re-launch of the 2024 childhood vaccination campaign aimed at increasing the awareness of childhood vaccinations and encouraging parents to book catch-up appointments.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to, for themselves, their families, and wider society. The MMR vaccine is highly effective, safe, and is the best way to prevent measles.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the impact of (a) diamorphine assisted therapy, (b) safe consumption rooms and (c) needle and syringe exchange services on rates of skin and soft tissue infection.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not collect information on the impact of diamorphine assisted therapy (DAT), safe consumption rooms and needle and exchange services on rates of soft skin tissue infections (SSTI). The Department is aware of the dangers of SSTI to people who inject drugs and in 2021 issued guidance for commissioners and providers of drugs services on being ‘wound aware’. This recommends that a range of local services can help prevent SSTIs and stop them getting worse through early identification and treatment.
DAT is an option that remains open to local areas under the existing legal framework, where the relevant licences are obtained from the Home Office. There is good evidence that needle and syringe programmes alongside opioid substitution treatment are associated with reduced rates of HIV and hepatitis C infection in the target population. The review of the evidence is available at the following link:
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that publicly-funded medical trials (a) must be balanced by sex and (b) results must be sex-disaggregated.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Medical trials, wherever possible, should always be balanced by sex, however, certain clinical trials are designed to investigate conditions that are only specific to one sex, so enforcing a balance would not make sense on those occasions.
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). As outlined in the Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027, the NIHR is committed to exploring an approach which enables and encourages the research community to integrate sex and gender into their research design, including in the disaggregation of research findings. The Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027 is available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/about-us/who-we-are/research-inclusion/strategy-2022-27
On 10 March, the NIHR launched its sex and gender policy, which is expected to come into force later in 2025, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/integrating-sex-and-gender-health-and-care-research
Implementing such a policy will ensure that research accounts for sex and gender across every stage of the research cycle, thus facilitating both funding into topics that impact males and females, and a greater understanding of how they might be impacted differently by the same health condition.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of access to dental services for children with SEND.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that certain groups of patients such as people with disabilities may find it difficult to access dental care. We are committed to ensuring National Health Service dental services are available to all who need them.
Community dental services (CDS) are available to people whose additional needs may mean they are not able to be treated at high street dental practices. CDS provide specialised dental services to ensure that everyone can have access to the dental care they need. This may include treatments delivered in hospitals, specialist health centres and mobile clinics, as well as home visits or visits in nursing and care homes.
Integrated care boards are responsible for identifying areas of local need and determining the priorities for investment, including the commissioning of community dental services.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will conduct a review of surgical menopause care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will prioritise women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, ensuring that all women experiencing the menopause can access the care that they need. We have taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home, and the piloting of gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding.
Women’s health hubs also have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and improving the care women receive. Menopause assessment and treatment is a core service that all hubs are expected to provide. As of December 2024, 39 out of 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) reported to NHS England that they had at least one operational women’s health hub. We continue to engage with and encourage ICBs to use the learning from the women’s health hubs pilots to improve local delivery of services to women. At present there are no plans to conduct a review of surgical menopause care.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Understanding Menopause guidance by Menopause Support UK will be published.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Menopause Support UK is an independent organisation, and the Department cannot advise on when this guidance will be published. NHS England routinely considers how they signpost to other sources of healthcare guidance. For example, the National Health Service’s website page on menopause signposts users to further sources of information.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to launch a public health information campaign for menopause.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that more needs to be done to support women experiencing the menopause. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions.
It is important that all women experiencing the menopause have access to information and options to enable them to choose the best care to suit them.
NHS England has created a menopause self-care factsheet to help women understand and manage symptoms and know how to seek help. There is also a women’s health area on the NHS website which contains over 100 health topics, and provides information for women on a range of health issues including periods, gynaecological conditions, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy medicines.
In recent months the NHS has also used its Instagram channel to provide users with information on a range of reproductive health issues, including menopause.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that GPs have the necessary (a) equipment and (b) training to (i) support people experiencing the menopause and (ii) signpost the appropriate support for each patient.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A range of training, guidance, and resources are available to help primary care professionals to support women experiencing menopause symptoms.
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has a holistic curriculum of training that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including menopause. To support practicing GPs, the RCGP has developed a Women’s Health Library drawing together educational resources and guidelines on women’s health so primary healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date information. This includes a specific section on menopause. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published their updated guideline in November 2024, which recommends more treatment choices for menopause symptoms.
There are also a range of resources and support that GPs can signpost patients to, for example the National Health Service’s website and the NHS menopause factsheet.