FOI-02972

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

<strong>Request</strong>

‘The name or position of the medical assessor’

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 3 July 2025.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

<strong>Our response</strong>

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested.

<strong>Name(s) of the medical assessor</strong>

Regarding the name of the assessor(s), I can confirm that this information is held by the NHSBSA as it is included in the medical report received from the medical assessment supplier. All medical assessors are UK based. The name and location of the medical assessor is redacted before this report is disclosed to the claimant or their representative.

Please note that this response does not relate to any specific claim(s) or claimant as under FOIA the identity of the individual requesting this information is unknown. The identity of the requester is also not taken into account when considering a request for information under FOIA.
 
We consider the name to be personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018. Disclosure of any individual’s name would result in their identification.

Please be aware that I have decided not to release the names of the medical assessors as this information falls under the exemption (section 40 subsections 2 and 3(A)(a)) of the FOIA.

As the requested information would allow an independent medical assessor to be identified, I consider this information is exempt. 
This is because it would breach the first data protection principle as:
 
a)	it is not fair to disclose medical assessors’ personal details due to the potential 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 medical assessor 

The requested information is exempt if disclosure contravenes any of the data protection principles. For disclosure to comply with the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle, we either need the consent of the data subject(s) or there must be a legitimate interest in disclosure. In addition, the disclosure must be necessary to meet the legitimate interest and finally, the disclosure must not cause unwarranted harm.  
 
This means that the NHSBSA is therefore required to conduct a balancing exercise between the legitimate interest of the applicant in disclosure against the rights and freedoms of the medical assessor.  
 
While I acknowledge that you have a legitimate interest in disclosure of the information, the disclosure of the requested information would cause unwarranted harm.  

The expectation of the medical assessors is that they will remain anonymous and will therefore not be subject to contact or pressure from claimants or campaigning groups.  

Given the certainty that releasing the name of a medical assessor would identify them, there is a reasonable expectation that this information will not be disclosed under the FOIA. In addition, the medical assessor has not consented to this disclosure. Disclosing this information would be unfair and as such would breach the UK General Data Protection Regulation first data protection principle.

Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full: 
 
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40

<strong>Position of the medical assessor</strong>

I can confirm that the NHSBSA does not hold the requested information. 

The NHSBSA contracts a third-party supplier, Crawford and Company, to carry out medical assessments for the VDPS. The job role or position of the medical assessors is performed by Crawford and Company and not the NHSBSA.

I hope, however, that the following information provides reassurance on this point. All claims are assessed by the independent medical assessment company with a consistent approach. Each case is considered on its own merits by an experienced medical assessor. 
 
The contract requires all assessments carried out are to be undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced Registered Medical Practitioners. This includes being registered on the UK General Medical Council with a licence to practise and meet or exceed the following requirements: 
 
•	They are a Registered Medical Practitioner with at least five years’ post graduate experience, and  
•	They have experience of the performance of the medical and/or disability assessment, addressing questions of causation and impact in the context of legislative or policy requirements to assist the decision maker.  

<strong>Data Queries</strong>

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.

<strong>Reusing the data and copyright</strong>

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 2025” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:
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, VDPS, Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log