FOI-03610

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>Thank you for your response to FOI-03530. To avoid small number disclosure issues, I would like to request the following aggregated information relating to COVID-19 VDPS claims for claimants aged 0–19 (as of 31 December 2025):

1.	The total number of claims in this age group that have: <br>
o	Been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment<br>
o	Been rejected<br>
2.	Of the claims that have received an outcome, how many met the 60% severe disablement threshold?
3.	The median (rather than mean) number of days from claim receipt to outcome.
4.	Confirmation of the number of death claims submitted in total (processed and unprocessed combined), without age breakdown.
5.	In your response you stated that you excluded claims “where the child is claimed to be disabled after the mother’s vaccination. I would be grateful if you could provide the total number of such excluded claims received during the same reporting period (up to 31 December 2025), regardless of outcome status. Please also confirm how many of those claims have:<br>
o	Received an outcome<br>
o	Been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment<br>
o	Been rejected<br>
o	Remain awaiting an outcome</i>

Which you have subsequently clarified to be:

<i>The purpose of the request is to ascertain the total number of VDPS claims received in the 0-19 age group for injury and death regardless of who submitted the claim.

I’m assuming that most of these claims were submitted by parents and guardians because of the age group, however it is important to include any submitted by the claimants themselves if they fall into this age group.

Could you clarify the number of claims submitted by the claimants themselves and whether or not they were included in the original response. If not included in the original response can you provide details.

For the purposes of this update I need figures relating to ALL claims to the VDPS in the 0-19 age group regardless of who submitted them.</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 16 February 2026 and your clarified response on 2 March 2026. 

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

##Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested. All data is as of 31 December 2025 and relates to COVID-19 vaccine claims only.

Please note:
<ul>
<li>we have excluded claims where the child is claimed to be disabled after the mother's vaccination
<li>we have provided data for children who were up to 19 years and 364 days old to cover the requested “0 to 19 year old age range”
<li>we have used the child’s age at the time the claim was received, not at the time the vaccine was administered.</ul>

##Question 1 - The total number of claims in this age group that have:

<ul>
<li>been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment 
<li>been rejected
</ul>
I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.  

Under Section 21 of the FOIA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

The information you requested is available in our response to FOI-03530.

Please refer to the following link to view our response to FOI-03530 in full: <br>
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03530 

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 

##Question 2 - Of the claims that have received an outcome, how many met the 60% severe disablement threshold?

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.  

Under Section 21 of the FOIA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

The information you requested is available in our response to FOI-03530.

Please refer to the following link to view our response to FOI-03530 in full: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03530 

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 

##Question 3 - The median (rather than mean) number of days from claim receipt to outcome. 

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.

Please note that the answer only refers to claims processed to an outcome by NHSBSA. The NHSBSA took over administration of the VDPS from the Department for Work and Pensions on 1 November 2021.

The length of time it takes to progress a claim to the medical assessment stage depends on how long it takes for the healthcare providers listed on the claim form to send medical records to us. We’re working with healthcare providers to speed up their response times to requests for medical records.

Between 1 November 2021 to 31 December 2025, the median average time from receiving a claim to a medical assessor outcome being communicated was 248 days. This covers all awarded and rejected claims.

##Question 4 - Confirmation of the number of death claims submitted in total (processed and unprocessed combined), without age breakdown. 

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.  

Under Section 21 of the FOIA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

The information you requested is available in our response to FOI-03530.

Please refer to the following link to view our response to FOI-03530 in full: 
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03530 

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21

##Question 5 - In your response you stated that you excluded claims “where the child is claimed to be disabled after the mother’s vaccination I would be grateful if you could provide the total number of such excluded claims received during the same reporting period (up to 31 December 2025), regardless of outcome status. Please also confirm how many of those claims have:
<ul>
<li>Received an outcome 
<li>Been awarded a Vaccine Damage Payment 
<li>Been rejected 
<li>Remain awaiting an outcome</ul> 
 
I can confirm that we do hold the requested information, however this information is exempt under section 40(1) and section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information) which I have explained below. 

##Fewer than five

Please be aware that I have decided not to release the full details where the total number of individuals falls below five or has increased by fewer than five since we last answered this request. This is because the information is exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information).

This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as:

a) it is not fair to disclose individual’s personal details to the world and is likely to cause damage or distress
b) these details are not of sufficient interest to the public to warrant an intrusion into the privacy of the individual

Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40 

##Breach of Confidentiality

Please note that the identification of individuals is also a breach of the common law duty of confidence. An individual who has been identified could make a claim against the NHSBSA for the disclosure of the confidential information.

The information requested is therefore being withheld as it falls under the exemption in section 41(1) ‘Information provided in confidence’ of the FOIA.

Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41

##Could you clarify the number of claims submitted by the claimants themselves and whether or not they were included in the original response. If not included in the original response can you provide details

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested.

138 claims were submitted by the vaccinated person themselves and were included in the original response to FOI-03530.

Please refer to the following link to view our response to FOI-03530 in full: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03530 

##Data Queries

Please contact <a href=mailto:foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>  ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

##Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact <a href=mailto:communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk>communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2026” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:<br>
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.



Tags: NHSBSA corporate, Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, nhsbsa, vdps
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log