Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of levels of vaccine hesitancy among parents of children aged (a) five to 11 and (b) 12 to 15.

Vaccinations help to increase protection against COVID-19. Being vaccinated minimises the need for children and young people to have time off from school or college, and helps them to continue to carry out their hobbies, attend social events and live their lives to the full.

As of 19 February 2022, the UK COVID-19 dashboard reports that 55.9% of 12 to 15 year olds have received the vaccination since September, and we continue to see vaccination rates increase.

To support the COVID-19 vaccination programme for young people, the NHS, Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education are working together to make it more efficient and increase the scale and pace of delivery. We are also working to target communications to parents, young people and the public to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme. The department is continually working to support the NHS to better engage with parents and understand their needs and concerns regarding the vaccination programme. This includes identifying the preferred communication approaches, channels and content for parents to access reliable, impartial information and make informed decisions.

The NHS will prepare to extend the non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus. In all instances, the offer of vaccination will be accompanied by appropriate information to enable children, and those with parental responsibility, to provide informed consent prior to vaccination and encourage children to discuss the decision with their parents.