NHS England, ICBs, and UKHSA to give evidence on childhood vaccinations

On Monday, the House of Lords Childhood Vaccinations Committee will be hearing from a further two panels of witnesses as it continues its inquiry into childhood vaccination coverage in England.  

The first session with NHS England and the NHS Alliance will cover progress on delivering the 2023 NHS vaccination strategy and what is being done to strengthen responsibility for childhood vaccinations and mitigate risks, in the context of ongoing NHS reforms.  

The second session will focus on the UKHSA's approach to increasing childhood vaccination coverage and reducing disparities. This session will address the extent to which commissioners and providers follow UKHSA guidance on good practice, and how responsibility and accountability could be strengthened.

Giving evidence at 2:15pm will be: 

• Caroline Temmink, Director of Vaccination, NHS England  

• Ian Perrin, Assistant Director, ICB Network, NHS Alliance 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• What progress has been made against the 2023 NHS vaccination strategy? How is progress measured and monitored? 

• What are NHS England and ICBs doing to mitigate the risks and realise benefits of reforms to the NHS? 

• What are NHS England and ICBs doing to ensure all staff involved in childhood vaccination have the training and support they need to answer questions from parents and build trust?  

• How do NHS England and ICBs support GPs and School Aged Immunisation Services to help reduce inequalities in uptake? 

• What support and incentives will there be for ICBs to prioritise, commission and fund sustainable, evidence-based outreach? 

• How has individual-level, timely data for some vaccination programmes changed the way services are planned and delivered? 

Giving evidence at 3:15pm will be:  

• Dr Mary Ramsay, Director, Public Health Programmes, UKHSA  

• Dr Julie Yates, Deputy Director for Immunisation Programmes, UKHSA 

Questions the committee is likely to ask include: 

• What progress has been made against the UKHSA's 2025 Immunisation Equity Strategy? How is that progress measured? 

• How effective is public health system leadership and accountability for childhood vaccinations? In the context of NHS reforms, how could national, regional and local leadership and accountability be strengthened? 

• How consistently do commissioners and healthcare providers follow UKHSA quality criteria for an effective immunisation programme and NICE guidelines for improving childhood vaccination uptake? 

• How consistently do commissioners and providers use UKHSA resources for community engagement and outreach on childhood vaccination? 

• How consistently are UKHSA minimum standards for vaccination training for healthcare practitioners met, including recommendations for staff to be kept updated on the childhood vaccination programme as it evolves? 

• What has UKHSA done to improve access to timely, granular childhood vaccination data? How much influence does UKHSA have over what data is collected and shared, and how could this be strengthened? 

The sessions will take place on Monday 29 June 2026 and can be followed live on Parliament TV.