Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to encourage parents in London to vaccinate their children against polio.

Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the National Health Service is offering a polio vaccine booster all children in London aged one to nine years old. All eligible children are being invited for a dose as soon as possible and reminders will be sent to those who have not yet taken up the offer.

The Department is working with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to encourage high uptake of this booster dose, including in under-served communities and in groups with historically lower vaccination rates. This has included social media campaigns, press releases in national and local media, paid press and billboard ads, digital screens in pharmacies and newsletters.