Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Roll out of the COVID:19 vaccine programme

Status: Closed Opened: 26 Jan 2022 Closed: 8 Nov 2022 23 recommendations 9 conclusions 1 report

This inquiry follows on from our February 2021 report on the development and rollout of the first vaccines in the UK The Committee will question senior officials at DHSC, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency on how well placed the government is to meet its full objectives for the COVID-19 vaccine programme , … Show more

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Eleventh Report - The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine progr… HC 258 13 Jul 2022 32 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

4 items
1 Conclusion Eleventh Report - The rollout of the CO… Not Addressed

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHS England), the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) and the … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government response merely repeats the committee's introductory statement about the report's origins and scope, without providing any substantive comment or action.
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HM Treasury
13 Conclusion Eleventh Report - The rollout of the CO… Not Addressed

However, effective targeting is now essential because those who are not fully vaccinated are concentrated...

However, effective targeting is now essential because those who are not fully vaccinated are concentrated in particular social groups. According to NHS England, many unvaccinated people are young city-dwellers, with just five cities accounting for a quarter of the total number of unvaccinated people.30 Data confirm that young people are … Read more

Government response AI summary
The government disagreed with the committee's recommendation to reduce the overall number of unvaccinated adults to 2.5 million and achieve an 80% uptake for first boosters among adults within four months. They stated they continue to focus on reaching out to the unvaccinated and not …
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HM Treasury
16 Conclusion Eleventh Report - The rollout of the CO… Not Addressed

Additionally, Mencap raised concerns with us about specific difficulties in identifying and prioritising people with...

Additionally, Mencap raised concerns with us about specific difficulties in identifying and prioritising people with severe and profound learning disabilities.38 It said there was a need for more accessible communications for this group and to tackle needle phobia, which had not always been consistently or effectively addressed to date.39 Read more

Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation that NHS England and UKHSA should urgently evaluate which approaches are most effective for increasing vaccine uptake, communicate again with local areas about what works, and provide support to them to deploy the most effective approaches, but focuses …
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HM Treasury
32 Conclusion Eleventh Report - The rollout of the CO…

Finally, we note that in setting up the vaccine programme the Department provided indemnities to...

Finally, we note that in setting up the vaccine programme the Department provided indemnities to vaccine manufacturers, which gave cover for future claims against producers for any adverse effects of their vaccines. These indemnities may add to the costs of the programme in the long term.80 We heard from one … Read more

HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
28 Mar 2022 Amanda Pritchard · NHS England, Dame Dr Emily Lawson · NHS England and NHS Improvement, Dr Jenny Harries OBE · UK Health Security Agency, Madelaine McTernan · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Shona Dunn · Home Office View ↗

Who gave evidence

5 witnesses
WitnessOrganisationSessions
Amanda Pritchard · Chief Executive Officer NHS England 1
Dame Dr Emily Lawson · National Director Vaccine Deployment NHS England and NHS Improvement 1
Dr Jenny Harries OBE · Chief Executive UK Health Security Agency 1
Madelaine McTernan · Director General Vaccines Taskforce Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 1
Shona Dunn · Second Permanent Secretary Home Office 1

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
8 Nov 2022 Correspondence from Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive, NHS England, re House of…
12 May 2022 Correspondence from Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive, NHS, re Follow up to the…