Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to increase infant and child vaccination levels in the north of England.

In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England, the Department and wider health system partners to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.

UKHSA’s first childhood immunisation communication campaign ran from 4 March until mid-April 2024 and encouraged parents to ensure their child’s vaccinations were up to date which. The current campaign is running from 26 August until 4 October 2024.

UKHSA also provides public facing resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, for example, easy read, BSL and braille, and clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals.

To address inequalities NHS England continues to work with national and local partners to deliver faith-based community health engagement with Orthodox Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and other communities in areas with low rates of childhood immunisation uptake. This includes promoting health seeking behaviors, such as general practitioner registration, and designing locally led community health events to raise awareness of the benefits of childhood immunisations and challenge misinformation.