Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to require NHS staff organising covid-19 vaccination appointments to ask patients for proof of residence in the UK.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status. Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the UK. A person who can show they have taken up ordinary residence in the UK can access all NHS services immediately, including COVID-19 vaccinations, based on clinical need. No immigration checks are needed to receive these services and the NHS is not required to report undocumented migrants to the Home Office.

A NHS number is not needed to make a booking for a COVID-19 vaccine or when attending a vaccination appointment. If individuals are registered with a general practitioner (GP), then their GP will contact them in due course. We understand that not everyone is registered with a GP, including those experiencing homelessness, people who may not live in a fixed location, refugees and those seeking asylum or simply because an individual chooses not to.

If they are not registered with a GP, NHS regional teams, working with various appropriate local systems will contact unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine. The General Practice COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21 Enhanced Service Specification enables practices working within their Primary Care Network groupings from shared vaccination sites to vaccinate unregistered patients provided they are eligible for a vaccination.