Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Request

You asked us:

Any guidance or assessment criteria used when reaching the decision.

The same details for any peer reviewer involved.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 6 March 2026.

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds some of the information you have requested.

The following response does not relate to a specific claim or claimant. This request is being answered on a general basis as requests under FOIA are requester-blind, therefore the identity of the requester is not taken into account when considering a request for information under FOIA.

Question 1 - Any guidance or assessment criteria used when reaching the decision.

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. Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21

All claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis by a medical assessor. Medical assessors use resources to support their assessment. A list of resources including the guidance and assessment criteria are available at:

• https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/vaccine-damage-payment-scheme-vdps-claim-process
• The Principles of Medical Assessment is available on our website (under guidance the medical assessor uses) at: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/vaccine-damage-payment-scheme-vdps-claim-process

The eligibility criteria and medical assessment process is the same for all eligible vaccines: https://www.gov.uk/vaccine-damage-payment/eligibility

The NHSBSA has also made available in our response to FOI 02581 training materials which it has provided to medical assessors based on the feedback it has provided during the IQA process.

You can view our response and this information by clicking the weblink below and scrolling down to the end of the page: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02581

Question 2 - Identification of the medical assessor

And

Question 3 - The name, professional registration number, specialty, and employer of the medical assessor who completed my assessment.

And

Question 4 - The same details for any peer reviewer involved.

I can confirm that the NHSBSA does not hold the requested information.

The NHSBSA contracts a third-party supplier to carry out medical assessments for the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS). As such the official job role or title of the medical assessors and the peer reviewer is held by the third-party supplier and not the NHSBSA.

Similarly, the NHSBSA does not hold the medical qualifications and experience of the medical assessor and the peer reviewer as they are the responsibility of the third-party medical assessment supplier. Our contract with the supplier does not require them to tell us this information. Additionally, the NHSBSA does not hold where the medical training was completed or obtained.

I hope, however, that the following information provides reassurance. 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.

The NHSBSA administers the VDPS on behalf of DHSC and contracts a third-party supplier for the provision of medical assessments under the scheme. The company who provides this is Crawford & Company.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk 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 communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. 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:
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.