Request

1)How many claims have been made to the VDPS due to an adverse reaction to a covid vaccine to date?

2)How many claimants have been notified of an outcome?

3)How many claims have been successful? Please provide a breakdown of which vaccine were used in the claims awarded.

4)How many claims have been rejected / unsuccessful?

5)What are the reasons for claims being rejected (causation, not meeting 60% threshold, ineligible to claim.) Please provide numbers? Please provide a breakdown of which vaccine was used in the claims when causation was accepted.

6) Is it possible to give the conditions that have met the criteria e.g VITT, GBS?.’

7) How many claims have been waiting over 12 months, 18 months for a decision?

8) How many of the successful claims involved a fatality? 

9) How many requests for a mandatory reconsideration have been received?

How many have been determined? Of those determined how many have been allowed/ refused?

10) How many appeals to the tribunal have been filed? What are the outcomes?

11) How many claims not involving a Covid vaccine have been received since the NHSBSA took over administering the scheme Nov 21? How many have been awarded, and how many have been rejected on failing the 60% disability criteria?

Response

All data as of 3 January 2024. All data relates to claims received by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) and those transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 1 November 2021. All figures provided for questions 1 to 11 relate to COVID-19 vaccines. 

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. This is because the individuals could be identified, when combined with other information that may be in the public domain or reasonably available. This information falls under the exemption in section 40 subsections 2 and 3 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 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 click the below web link to see the exemption in full.   

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 Freedom of Information Act.  

Please click the below web link to see the exemption in full.  

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/41

Please note that following disclosure of FOI-01448, FOI-01491 and FOI-01559, we are unable to provide several of the figures requested. This is because of the small changes in figures. For example, a figure might have increased by fewer than five. This is likely to happen because of the frequency of requests for the same information – once a month or more. Links to previous FOI responses can be found at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01448

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01491

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01559

We advise you that we would be less likely to need to apply exemptions if requests were submitted every three or six months.

Question 1

8,754 claims have been received by the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS).

Question 2

4,393 claimants have been notified of an outcome.

Question 3

Please be advised following the disclosure of FOI 01559, whereby the figure was 157, this figure has increased by fewer than five at the time your request was received. Therefore, as detailed above in accordance with section 40 (2) and section 41 of FOIA, we are unable to provide an updated breakdown by vaccine manufacturer.

Question 4

4,393 claims have been rejected, and a further 301 did not meet the criteria for medical assessment.

Question 5

3,941 claims were unsuccessful because the independent medical assessor recommended that, on the balance of probabilities, the vaccine did not cause the disability in question (causation).

293 claims were unsuccessful because, although the claims met the criteria for causation, the independent medical assessor recommended that the vaccine has not caused severe disablement.

Under the VDPS, severe disablement means at least 60% disabled, based on Schedule 2 of The Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982.

Of the 293 claims, 195 relate to AstraZeneca, 75 relate to Pfizer and 20 relate to Moderna. The remaining claims relate to more than one COVID-19 vaccine and therefore we are unable to categorise them. For example, where a claim relates to an initial vaccine from one manufacturer and a booster from another. Breakdown by disability level of claims where causation has been accepted, but the threshold for severe disablement has not been met:

Disability level 0-19% = 148 claims

Disability level 20% to 39% = 100

Disability level 40% to 59% = 45 claims

Each claimant is provided with a clinical assessment report, explaining how the independent medical assessor reached their decision. In the independent medical assessor's report, the level of disability is sometimes reported as a range. Where the independent medical assessor has reported the vaccinated person’s disability as a range, we've used the upper number reported to categorise the claim, as you requested when we sought clarification from you on 1 September 2023. For example, a claim with a disability range reported as 20% to 40% falls into the 40% to 59% category for the purpose of this FOI request. This data must therefore be interpreted as a guide only, because it is not possible to determine the accurate number of claims in each category.

Question 6

At the medical assessment stage, the independent medical assessor provides a description of the assessed conditions they have been able to identify from the claimant's medical records. This can sometimes be a mixture of conditions.

Please be advised following disclosure of FOI-01448 there are fewer than five new conditions within the requested period. We have therefore decided not to disclose these conditions under section 40 (2) and section 41 of the FOIA. Details of these exemptions are outlined above.

Question 7

343 claims were received more than 12 months ago and have not yet reached an outcome. Of these 343 claims, 154 claims were received more than 18 months ago and have not yet reached an outcome.

As part of the process of the scheme, we need a full set of medical records for each claimant, and it can take time for the claimant’s healthcare providers to gather and securely supply copies of these records.

Once sent for assessment, the time it takes for the independent medical assessor to review a claim can vary from case to case depending on the individual circumstances of each claim.

Question 8

Please be advised following the disclosure of FOI 01448, whereby the figure was 55, this figure has increased by fewer than five at the time your request was received.

Therefore, as detailed above in accordance with section 40 (2) and section 41 of FOIA we are unable to provide an updated figure.

Question 9

652 requests for a mandatory reversal have been received. 220 mandatory reversals have been reassessed.

Please be advised following the disclosure of FOI 01491, where five claimants have been notified they are entitled to a Vaccine Damage Payment and the remaining have been rejected, this figure has increased by fewer than five at the time your request was received. Therefore, as detailed above in accordance with section 40 (2) and section 41 of FOIA we are unable to provide an updated figure.

Question 10

Please be advised following the disclosure of FOI 01559, whereby the figure was 6, this figure has increased by fewer than five at the time your request was received.

Therefore, as detailed above in accordance with section 40 (2) and section 41 of FOIA we are unable to provide an updated figure.

Question 11

345 claims not involving a COVID-19 vaccine have been received by the VDPS. Fewer than five of these claims have been awarded.

Fewer than five claims were unsuccessful because, although the claim met the criteria for causation, the independent medical assessor recommended that the vaccine has not caused severe disablement.

Under the VDPS severe disablement means at least 60% disabled, based on Schedule 2 of The Social Security (General Benefit) Regulations 1982.

Therefore, as detailed above in accordance with section 40 (2) and section 41 of FOIA we are unable to provide an updated figure.