Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for trends in the number of reported cases of measles in children; and what advice his Department has provided to parents whose children contract measles.

Coverage for all routine childhood immunisations, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, has fallen in England over the last decade. National uptake of MMR1 in two-year-olds is currently 88.8%, and uptake of MMR1 and MMR2 in five-year-olds is 92.4% and 82.5% respectively. This is below the 95% needed to prevent measles outbreaks as recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Falling vaccination rates have led to an increase of measles cases in England, with 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases in 2024. In response, a national MMR catch-up campaign was launched, which contributed to a downward trend in case numbers from mid-July, although small, localised outbreaks continued in some regions.

The UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and the Department will launch a new ‘always on’ vaccination campaign this summer to drive increased uptake of the routine maternal, childhood, and seasonal flu vaccinations. The MMR vaccine is a particular focus, with parents and carers of zero- to five-year-olds and pregnant women being two of the priority audiences for campaign activity.

NHS England has provided detailed information for parents whose children have contracted measles, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/

The Department for Education also provides advice to parents, which is available at the following link:

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/what-to-do-if-you-think-your-child-has-measles-and-when-to-keep-them-off-school/