Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme: Covid-19

Philippa Whitford Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2022 Westminster Hall

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

We are here to discuss the vaccine damage payment scheme of 1979. My interest is as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on vaccinations for all, so it is clear that I am absolutely and utterly pro-vaccination.

We can be grateful for just how rare significant side effects or damage are when it comes to vaccines as a whole. However, as the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam (Sir Jeremy Wright) has said, if we are to maintain confidence not only in vaccination in principle but in further covid-19 vaccines, it is important that people feel secure and supported and that they are not hearing horror stories of people who have been hurt in some way by the vaccine and then just left stranded. It is vital that we do that, or we will see a rise in vaccine scepticism and vaccine hesitancy, and that will be manipulated exactly as we have seen over the last couple of years.

[Alicia Kearns]

As a former civil servant, I believe that the case load is so small that it is not unfair to expect Ministers to look at each case individually. They have the capacity and are capable. The purpose of vaccination is to protect not just ourselves but others around us, and many who have had negative consequences acted in the national interest and to protect their loved ones. They deserve the bare minimum of a Minister looking individually, case by case, to see what support they need and whether they deserve the vaccine payment or some exceptional support. Does the hon. Lady agree?

[Dr Whitford]

I totally agree. The Government’s response to the petition talks of 174 cases. When I was a breast cancer surgeon and there was the scandal about PIP implants, which I knew we had never used, I still had to go through every single breast reconstruction I had done in a period of 17 years in order to absolutely verify that that was not the implant. It is absolutely possible with such numbers.

At the moment, only 11 cases have been settled. Only 2% in recent years have been successful. Whenever any kind of scheme has only that kind of return, it has to be looked at. As has been said, it is a long wait and people are left not able to work or they have family pressures and receive no support. Who is deciding the 60% disablement? As has been said, it is an absolute cut-off. Even the maximum payment has not been reviewed since 2010 and it would not cover anyone for 20 or 25 years of lost earnings and ability.

The Government say it is not compensation. I think that a no-fault scheme is absolutely right. I raised this issue with the right hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi) when he was Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment, in December 2020, and said that if the Government were removing liability from pharmaceutical firms, they had to step in and replace them. I would like to see the VDPS improved for all vaccine users, but the covid-19 vaccine is a specific case where urgent action is needed and where it is even more important to get financial support.

We heard about cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and how catastrophic, but thankfully rare, it is. People have also had micro-thrombosis and an array of autoimmune responses to the vaccines. My constituent, who does not want to be named, suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is now recognised and mentioned in association with the vaccines. It is a neurological condition that has caused him to have partial facial paralysis and problems with balance. That may sound minor, but he worked at heights in a majorly physical job and has not been able to work since spring 2020. He, and people like him, are terrified of the 60% disablement. He imagines that when he walks into a room, regardless of his facial appearance or his balance, people will think, “Well, you’re not really that bad”, but he cannot do the job he was doing before.

It is vital that we take these cases out of the VDPS, deal with them quickly to ensure confidence in the covid-19 vaccine, and take the time to change the VDPS to make it responsive, quick and something that the public believe in. In total, there are currently only just over 2,000 cases, which is not an overwhelming number to work through if it means that we maintain confidence in vaccines and the benefits they bring to all age groups, throughout our lives, against multiple diseases.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

It certainly is. Things are never straightforward and there are complex issues. However, today our request is quite simply on behalf of those who have contacted the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire and each and every one of us. We have them in Northern Ireland as well; some of my constituents have been impacted. I think it is really important that we do that.

[Dr Whitford]

It is not just a matter of who they sue—whether it is a pharmaceutical company or the Government. As with contaminated blood, is the point not that people injured by vaccines—or damaged in some way through healthcare—should not struggle with some long court battle? Look at how long the contaminated blood scandal has been running—surely we do not want to put people through litigation if it can be settled more fairly.

[Jim Shannon]

As always the hon. Lady gives us a focused way forward. Since I was elected as an MP in 2010, the contaminated blood scandal has been at forefront of my mind, as it has been for the right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Dame Diana Johnson), who is the Opposition spokesperson for that issue. People have waited all that time for compensation, but there is some hope now of it coming.

However, many people in the compensation chain for the contaminated blood scandal have not yet got satisfaction. The hon. Member for Central Ayrshire is absolutely right: litigation, by its nature, is traumatic and it adds to the problems for those who are already distressed because of their physical health, and experience anxiety, depression and all sorts of other issues. If there is a way of doing it—and the right hon. and learned Member for Kenilworth and Southam has referred to what that is—then let us do it.

The Second Reading of the Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Bill is scheduled for the end of October. I would like to hear that we must do well by our constituents across the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland who fell victim to this particular problem. We know that the 1979 Act does not apply to many other vaccines, and we have heard so much anti-vax rumour and speculation. I, for one, am willing to put my faith in healthcare professionals to ascertain why someone has been impacted in a certain way by the covid vaccines. The hon. Member for Central Ayrshire, who spoke before me, is not here as a healthcare professional; she is here as an MP, but she still has the expertise, knowledge and understanding of that, as do many outside. I previously added my name to present the private Member’s Bill earlier in the year, and I am very happy to do so again.

To conclude, we must stand by those who have stood by us in doing their civic duty to be vaccinated. I call on the Minister and Government, beseechingly, to engage with Health Ministers in the devolved nations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to collectively work to ensure that the Bill can be passed with the support of others. They must ensure that those impacted by the covid vaccines have something to ease burdens past and future. Along with other Members here today, I hope that the Government will address those issues with compassion and understanding, and do so now.

--- Later in debate ---

[Maggie Throup]

Yes, we will definitely look into that on my right hon. and learned Friend’s behalf.

The VDPS payment amount has significantly increased since the original VDPS payment of £10,000 set in 1979. It has been revised several times and, as the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) said, the current level was set in 2007. This will be kept under review as part of business-as-usual policy work. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam is aware, a successful claim to VDPS does not preclude an individual from bringing a claim for damages through the courts.

[Dr Whitford]

Will the Minister give way?

[Maggie Throup]

I am getting a bit short of time. Lots of points have been raised and I want to make sure that I cover them all, so I will continue.

In line with the pre-action protocol should a claim be brought, where the Government are party to any claim, they will consider whether alternative dispute resolution might enable the settlement of the claim without the need to commence proceedings. The form of any ADR would depend on the details of claims that are made.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam also raised concerns about the 60% disability threshold. That threshold was lowered from the initial 80% to 60% in 2002, and it remains aligned with the definition of severe disablement set out under the DWP’s industrial injuries disablement benefit, a widely accepted test of disability. There is no evidence at present that the current level is a significant barrier; in 2019 and 2020, just one claim out of 70 was rejected due to the disability threshold not being met. We will review the latest data as covid cases are processed, but at present, evidence does not support lowering the threshold.

Working alongside NHSBSA, our focus is now on improving the service offered by VDPS by scaling up operations and improving the underlying processes. Since taking over operational responsibility in November 2021, NHSBSA has transformed the administration of the VDPS, which was previously a paper-based system. It has significantly increased its capacity to meet the demands placed on the scheme, expanding from four to 40 caseworkers and additional support staff, with further recruitment under way. This means claims can be processed more quickly, with personalised engagement with applicants through the allocation of named caseworkers.

NHSBSA awarded a new contract to an independent third-party supplier in March 2022 to provide additional medical assessment capacity to process covid-19-related claims. That has allowed for the conclusion of the first of those claims. NHSBSA is working to digitise applications and medical records, streamlining the process. A wider modernisation project is also being taken forward to digitise the application form, to create a simpler and swifter process and allow caseworkers to manage claims more efficiently. To allow more rapid assessments and processing, NHSBSA is setting time limits for the provision of medical records, with a call-back process in place. Further approaches are being looked at to secure relevant medical documents faster, as this has been a key limiting factor in processing rates.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam raised concerns about the rate of progress of VDPS. I am sure that he will appreciate, from what I have just indicated, that there have been vast improvements over recent months. As an update, NHSBSA has 2,458 live cases, of which 1,203 claims are awaiting returns on requested medical records, 181 claims are with medical assessors, and 261 claims are awaiting requests for medical records. The average claim takes around six months to investigate and process from the date NHSBSA requests the claimant’s medical records. The timeframe varies from case to case. NHSBSA has scaled up a dedicated team of caseworkers, as I have indicated, to move claims forward and update claimants on the progress of their claims.

My right hon. and learned Friend raised an interesting question about establishing a bespoke compensation scheme for covid-19 vaccines. Establishing a dedicated, stand-alone compensation scheme would risk favouring those potentially damaged by covid-19 vaccines over those damaged by other vaccines. That could create an inequality between vaccines, which could be detrimental to other vaccination programmes.

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend again for securing this important debate. Everyone has made really sensible contributions, and we will take everything that has been said into consideration. I am pleased that a number of covid-19 VDPS claims have now been concluded, offering outcomes to claimants, with further cases being progressed. Now is not the right time to review the VDPS: our focus must be on improving and scaling up its operations and continuing to process claims. We will continue to further improve the service so that outcomes can be provided sooner, giving additional support to those who qualify.