Improve Vaccine Uptake Monitoring and Evaluation

The government agrees that effective monitoring and evaluation of vaccination uptake, confidence and delivery is essential to improving health outcomes for all vaccine-preventable diseases.

There are inequalities in coverage across our vaccination programmes. Additionally, childhood vaccination coverage has gradually declined over the past decade, and the government is clear that this trend must be reversed. We are maintaining close oversight of uptake and delivery, using data and evaluation to better understand the drivers and act to improve uptake.

As set out in our response to recommendation 2, a significant amount of work is being taken to improve vaccination uptake. In England, our action is co-ordinated across 4 areas:

making it easier for families to access vaccination services. This includes:

incentivising general practice to improve uptake in areas where rates are low

undertaking a multi-pronged programme of work to improve school-age delivery, overseen by our ministerial taskforce

evaluating new delivery models to improve access to vaccinations, such as through community pharmacies and health visitors

reforming the NHS so that it is best set up to improve vaccination uptake. This includes delegating the commissioning of vaccination services to ICBs so that they can:

tailor vaccination services to the needs of local communities

work to improve uptake. The performance of ICBs to improve uptake will be assessed through the NHS Outcomes Framework

giving parents and families more information about vaccination. As set out above, this includes:

provision of accessible resources to support informed consent through a bespoke web resource

delivering evidence-led, targeted national communications (across TV, radio and social media)

supporting healthcare professionals to have confident conversations with families about vaccination

counteracting misinformation and disinformation

investing in modern digital systems for vaccination to improve uptake. This includes:

giving patients and families access to a single vaccination record (viewable in the NHS App in the future)

making sure all relevant healthcare professionals can check vaccination records and record vaccinations

giving the NHS the data it needs to understand and improve vaccination uptake

Across the UK, all 4 nations regularly assess uptake against measurable standards and monitor public attitudes towards vaccination. Governments and public health agencies also review evidence on interventions that support uptake and evaluate delivery approaches to inform future policy and operational decisions.

In England, vaccination coverage data is routinely published to enable national, regional and local trends to be identified, including differences in uptake between population groups. This data helps national and local partners to target interventions where inequalities persist, and assess the impact of efforts to improve access and uptake.

Alongside this, UKHSA, NHS England and local partners undertake research, service evaluation and evidence reviews to:

better understand public attitudes towards vaccination

identify barriers to uptake

assess which approaches are most effective

Moving forward, the government agrees with the Inquiry that lessons should continue to be identified from both routine vaccination programmes and the COVID-19 vaccination programme. While the circumstances of the pandemic were unique, there remains valuable learning on community engagement, communication, delivery models and reducing inequalities in uptake. This evidence will continue to contribute to future vaccination policy and planning.

Health is a devolved matter and approaches to monitoring and evaluation vary across the 4 nations. The government is committed to strengthening collaboration where this supports better outcomes. This includes recently implemented arrangements to share information across the 4 nations on:

how vaccination uptake data is gathered and reported

where we can share intelligence and learn from one another to support improvements in clinical practice and operational delivery

The government is also acting to further align the way data on public attitudes towards vaccination are collected and reported across the 4 nations, building on the findings of the Childhood vaccines: parental attitudes survey 2025, which covered the whole of the UK for the first time.

These actions will help the UK continue to revise and reshape its approach to improving uptake. Addressing declining vaccination coverage is a complex problem and requires us to work together to solve it.

Improving vaccine uptake requires a combination of approaches that reflect the characteristics of different vaccine programmes, communities and local areas. Evidence highlights the value of adapting delivery engagement strategies to local needs. This can include:

vaccination delivery using different types of health services

using tailored approaches to communicating information on disease risks and the benefits of vaccination

Decisions should therefore continue to be guided by the best available evidence and local intelligence.

Taken together, these actions will:

improve the evidence base for vaccination policy

improve understanding of what works to increase uptake

support more effective responses to inequalities in vaccination coverage across the UK

No formal government response published. The Welsh Government had not published a response to the Module 4 report of 16 April 2026 when its page of responses to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry module reports on GOV.WALES was checked on 25 September 2026.

No formal government response published. The Scottish Government had not published a response to the Module 4 report of 16 April 2026 when its collection of responses to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on gov.scot was checked on 25 September 2026.

No formal government response published. The Northern Ireland Executive had not published a response to the Module 4 report of 16 April 2026 when the Executive Office's publications list was checked on 25 September 2026.

No statement on delivery from UK Health Security Agency has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.