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, whether the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received the final post-authorisation safety study report for the BNT162b2 covid-19 vaccine.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A post-authorisation safety study is a study that is carried out after a medicine has been authorised to obtain further information on a medicine's safety, or to measure the effectiveness of risk-management measures.
A total of 22 clinical studies are included, or were previously included, as additional pharmacovigilance activities in the Risk Management Plan (RMP) for the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine. Of these studies, nine are reported as phase one, two, or three studies. Of the remaining studies, 10 are safety studies and three are vaccine effectiveness studies. Seven studies are ongoing, and 15 have been completed.
Milestones for these studies, including the due date of the submission of the final clinical study reports, are outlined in the RMP. The final study report for the clinical study Post Conditional Approval Active Surveillance Study Among Individuals in Europe Receiving the Pfizer BioNTech Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccine is due to be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency by 30 September 2025.
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, 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.
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, for what reason Primodos was not within the terms of reference of the Hughes Report: options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is hugely sympathetic to the families who believe that they or their children have suffered following the use of hormone pregnancy tests.
The previous administration did not ask the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Henrietta Hughes, to look at redress for hormone pregnancy tests as part of the Hughes Report, because a causal link between hormone pregnancy tests and adverse outcomes in pregnancy has not been demonstrated. An Expert Working Group of the independent Commission on Human Medicines reviewed the available scientific evidence in 2017 and concluded that it does not support a causal association. This position was reaffirmed in its most recent review in November 2024. However, we are committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence that comes to light.
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, with reference to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority case rulings with reference (a) AUTH/3815/8/23 and (b) 3886/3/24 on Moderna’s NextCOVE trial in children, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of those rulings on the nature of his Department's future work with that company on mRNA (i) research and (ii) development.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Health Research Authority, and the Research Ethics Committee (REC) review and approve clinical trials on the basis of the benefits and risks, in line with the UK Clinical Trials regulatory (UK CTR) framework.
The safety of those participating in clinical trials is the MHRA’s first priority, and our oversight of trial conduct is informed by the trial’s sponsor efficiently notifying us of safety issues during the conduct of their trial.
Sponsors and investigators involved in the conduct of clinical trials are expected to have robust processes to ensure compliance with The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations, which includes compliance with the provision and use of documentation that has been approved for use by a REC.
Where doubts about the safety, conduct, or scientific validity of a clinical trial are identified, the MHRA may take action, in line with the UK CTR, which could include requiring changes to be made to the trial protocol, or suspension or termination of a trial.
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, with reference to paragraph 3.7 of the minutes of the Covid-19 Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group held on 18 November 2020, if he will publish the risk-based evaluation for the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reactogenicity of vaccines refers to their capacity to produce common or “expected” adverse reactions following vaccination such as fever, tiredness, and a sore arm at the vaccination site. These reactions, and the frequency with which they occur, are listed in section four of the vaccine package leaflet, which states what possible side effects people may experience. Regarding the reference to reactogenicity in paragraph 3.19 of the minutes of the COVID-19 Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group held on 18 November 2020, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published information for the recipients of the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine, as well as for healthcare professionals. These documents detail the reactogenic nature of the vaccines, and are available, respectively, at the following two links:
The MHRA also regularly published coronavirus vaccine summaries of Yellow Card reporting throughout the pandemic. Amongst many other matters regarding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, the reactogenic nature of the vaccines was regularly discussed in these communications, which are available at the following link:
Regarding paragraph 3.7 of these same minutes, the MHRA published product information for the COVID-19 vaccines on the GOV.UK website when regulatory approval was given, starting from 2 December 2020 when the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world to be approved. On this day, the risk-based evaluation for the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine referenced in this paragraph of the minutes was published as part of a summary of the public assessment report for the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech, which is available at the following link:
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, with reference to paragraph 3.19 of the minutes of the Covid-19 Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group held on 18 November 2020, if he will publish the communications undertaken to inform recipients of the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine about its highly reactogenic nature.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The reactogenicity of vaccines refers to their capacity to produce common or “expected” adverse reactions following vaccination such as fever, tiredness, and a sore arm at the vaccination site. These reactions, and the frequency with which they occur, are listed in section four of the vaccine package leaflet, which states what possible side effects people may experience. Regarding the reference to reactogenicity in paragraph 3.19 of the minutes of the COVID-19 Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group held on 18 November 2020, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published information for the recipients of the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine, as well as for healthcare professionals. These documents detail the reactogenic nature of the vaccines, and are available, respectively, at the following two links:
The MHRA also regularly published coronavirus vaccine summaries of Yellow Card reporting throughout the pandemic. Amongst many other matters regarding the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, the reactogenic nature of the vaccines was regularly discussed in these communications, which are available at the following link:
Regarding paragraph 3.7 of these same minutes, the MHRA published product information for the COVID-19 vaccines on the GOV.UK website when regulatory approval was given, starting from 2 December 2020 when the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine was the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world to be approved. On this day, the risk-based evaluation for the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine referenced in this paragraph of the minutes was published as part of a summary of the public assessment report for the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech, which is available at the following link:
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, 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.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to increase the powers of the Child Maintenance Service to obtain accurate data on self-employed parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
For self-employed paying parents, the gross income used in a maintenance calculation is provided by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.
Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given. The FIU uses its extensive investigative powers to ensure that families receive child maintenance appropriately and in accordance with the paying parent’s whole income.
If necessary, criminal charges relating to information offences linked to the calculation, will be brought against those who persistently and deliberately evade their responsibility to provide financially for their children.
The department is conducting a programme of work to review the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. The review is wide-ranging and includes consideration of a range of issues including bringing the treatment of unearned income and assets within the calculation automatically. Proposed changes which emerge from the review will be subject to consultation.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of (a) how often family court proceedings are delayed on the day of the hearing and (b) the reason for those delays.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service does not currently hold this data but a pilot of digital reforms in the family court is due to be rolled out later this year for private law proceedings and data on delays to court hearings will then be available.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the number of public sector projects contracted by his Department that have had cost overruns due to mandatory net zero requirements since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.