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, whether the Department of Health and Social Care or NHS England made or commissioned a clinical or patient safety impact assessment of the duty in paragraph 11C(2) of Schedule 3 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015, inserted by SI 2026/532, before that instrument was laid before Parliament.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
The Department and NHS England considered the potential impacts of expanding Advice and Guidance (A&G) as part of the policy development process, including through clinical input, established governance arrangements, and equalities considerations. A&G is intended to support timely clinical decision‑making and ensure patients are directed to the most appropriate care. National guidance is in place to support its safe and consistent use, and the use of A&G does not change existing clinical accountability or patient safety arrangements.
The contract does not change the clinical threshold for referral to specialist care. General practitioner (GPs) should continue to make a clinical decision to refer for specialist care where that is in the patient’s best interests, and to request specialist advice where it is needed. GPs retain responsibility for referral decisions, and this model supports, and does not replace, clinical judgement.
The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the previous A&G enhanced service funding into core practice funding. Following near universal uptake of the A&G Enhanced Service in 2025/26, the focus for 2026/27 is on stability and simplicity. Embedding the specialist advice model within the core contract recognises its role in routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.
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 cataract operations were carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of the NHS in England in 2025; how many of those were by (i) NHS providers directly and (ii) private sector providers; and what the comparative costs and productivity rates were.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
In April 2026, for ophthalmology, performance against the standard for 92% of patients to start first treatment within 18 weeks of referral was 73.1%, 5.3% higher than a year earlier.
In most cases, contracts will have to comply with National Health Service unit prices, a set of prices and rules used by providers of NHS care and commissioners to deliver the most efficient, cost-effective care to patients. These unit prices are consistent across independent sector providers and NHS providers. Productivity rate information is not held centrally by the Department. Integrated care boards are the primary bodies responsible for commissioning care from healthcare providers and ensuring value for money is achieved.
The Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity dataset, published by NHS England, can be used to identify procedure types, including those undertaken as part of cataract operations. Data for the 2025/26 financial year is not yet currently published. This is currently due for publication in September 2026.
The following table shows a count of cataract operations in 2025, both those in an admitted setting, or Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs), and outpatient settings, split by NHS and non-NHS providers where there was any cataract procedure:
Provider type | Admitted (FCE) | Outpatient | Total |
Independent | 379,023 | 132,310 | 511,333 |
NHS | 278,478 | 4,700 | 283,178 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.
A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are typically counted against the year in which they end, which is the approach we have taken here. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Admitted outpatient appointments include first and follow-up attendances and telephone consultations, and excludes did not attends and cancellations. The below procedure codes are those which are considered under cataract operations:
C71: Extracapsular extraction of lens;
C72: Intracapsular extraction of lens;
C73: Incision of capsule of lens;
C74: Other extraction of lens;
C75: Prosthesis of lens; and
C77: Other operations on lens.
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 15 June to Question 6319 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, how much were the (a) assessment, (b) staff and (c) non-staff costs in each of those years.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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, with reference to the Answer of 29 April 2026 to Question 119822 on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, for what reasons his Department was unable to answer the Question before 29 April 2026; and whether the information requested is now available.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
I would like to apologise for not being able to provide a substantive response to Question 119822 in the previous parliamentary session, which asked what the cost had been of assessing claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) in each of the last four years for which information is available.
The VDPS is administered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). In the last four years, data from NHSBSA shows that it has incurred the following costs to administer the scheme:
in the financial year 2022/23, the total cost of administering the scheme was £8,861,965.84;
in the financial year 2023/24, the total cost of administering the scheme was £16,170,563.53;
in the financial year 2024/25, the total cost of administering the scheme was £28,803,961.56; and
in the financial year 2025/26, the total cost of administering the scheme was £29,191,321.71.
These costs include assessment costs, and wider staff and non-staff costs. The primary reason for the increase in costs in the administration of the scheme is as a result of the increase in volume of VDPS applications received and the associated assessments required.
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 has been the cost to his Department of assessing claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in each of the last four years for which information is available.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
I would like to apologise for not being able to provide a substantive response to Question 119822 in the previous parliamentary session, which asked what the cost had been of assessing claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) in each of the last four years for which information is available.
The VDPS is administered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). In the last four years, data from NHSBSA shows that it has incurred the following costs to administer the scheme:
in the financial year 2022/23, the total cost of administering the scheme was £8,861,965.84;
in the financial year 2023/24, the total cost of administering the scheme was £16,170,563.53;
in the financial year 2024/25, the total cost of administering the scheme was £28,803,961.56; and
in the financial year 2025/26, the total cost of administering the scheme was £29,191,321.71.
These costs include assessment costs, and wider staff and non-staff costs. The primary reason for the increase in costs in the administration of the scheme is as a result of the increase in volume of VDPS applications received and the associated assessments required.
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, whether the Government accepts the recommendations of the Covid-19 Inquiry (Module 4) published on 16 April 2026 in relation to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
As set out by the Prime Minister in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 April responding to the publication of Module 4 of the COVID-19 Inquiry, the Government is carefully considering the findings of the inquiry, including the recommendations on reform of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), and will respond within six months of publication.
The Government is actively considering the recommendations of the inquiry on reform of the VDPS.
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 has been the cost to his Department of assessing claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in each of the last four years for which information is available.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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 patients died from hospital acquired pneumonia at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon in each of the first six months of 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) Healthcare-Associated Infection (HCAI) Data (public HCAI statistics) does not currently publish routine counts of hospital-acquired pneumonia deaths. Pneumonia is not one of the standard HCAIs in the UKHSA dashboard.
The Office of National Statistics is the official source of mortality statistics for England. More information is available at the following link:
The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (OHID) also provide details of mortality indicators that assess outcomes across a range of causes of death in England. These are available at the following link:
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 awards had been made under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for claims arising from Covid-19 vaccines as at 31 December 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
Data from the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), shows that as of 31 December 2025, 246 VDPS awards have been made for claims relating to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Information on COVID-19 claims to the VDPS is published on a quarterly basis by the NHS Business Service Authority. Further information is available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19
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, with reference to the meeting between the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention and the hon. Member for Christchurch on 5 November 2025, what progress has been made on possible reform to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for claims relating to Covid-19 vaccinations; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Budget on the affordability of proposals for change.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
I am grateful for the Hon. Member's continued focus on this important issue, and for meeting with me on 5 November 2025.
I continue to actively review options for the reform of the scheme, and the Department is engaging with other Government departments as part of this process. Discussions have taken place on limitation period for court claims, following the meeting on 5 November 2025.
Any reforms would need to be prioritised as part of future business planning processes.
I am meeting with vaccine bereaved families in the coming weeks to provide them with a further update on this work.