Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Request

Please can you provide answers to the following questions:

All questions are In relation to claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme involving vaccines since April 2021.

1, How many mandatory reconsideration requests have the NHSBSA received for claims that have been rejected for injuries or deaths claimed to be caused by a vaccine?

2, how many of those claims have been provided with an outcome?

a, how many rejected?

b, how many rejections were reversed?

c, how many still waiting for an outcome?

d, Please provide a breakdown of average length of time taken to receive an outcome from the date the MR request was received by the VDPS to the date the outcome was provided to the claimant?

Less than 3 months? - 3 -6 months? - 6 - 9 months? - 9- 12 months? - 12 - 18 months? - Over 18 months?

3, please provide the average time mandatory reconsideration requests take from the date of submitting the MR claim to the VDPS to reaching the start of the assessment stage with the independent assessors?

a, please provide the average time mandatory reconsideration requests take from the date the claim reaches the independent assessment stage to the claimant receiving an outcome?

4, Are mandatory reconsideration requests always sent to a different assessor / medical professional than the original assessor on that particular claim?

5, Do mandatory reconsideration requests go to a separate department/assessment team dealing with mandatory reconsideration only?

a, Or are mandatory reconsideration requests treated as a new claim, do they join the queue with ALL other claims?

b, Is it quicker for mandatory reconsideration requests to receive an outcome than a first time claim?

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 24 July 2024.

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

Our response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

All data as of 29 July 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. Data relates to all eligible vaccines under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

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

Question 1

If a claimant disagrees with the independent medical assessor’s decision and they want to challenge it, they can submit a mandatory reversal. This means an independent medical assessor will reassess their claim.

1,107 requests for a mandatory reversal have been received by the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS).

Question 2

533 claimants have been notified of an outcome in relation to their mandatory reversal.

507 mandatory reversals have been rejected. Of these, 26 claimants have been notified they are entitled to a Vaccine Damage Payment.

584 mandatory reversals have not yet reached an outcome.

Between 1 November 2021 and 29 July 2024, the average number of days it took from receipt of a mandatory reversal from a claimant to communicating an outcome was 233.

Of the assessed mandatory reversals:

• 30 mandatory reversals reached an outcome within 0 to– 3 months.

• 122 mandatory reversals reached an outcome within 3 to 6 months

• 232 reached an outcome within 6 to 9 months

• 109 reached an outcome within 9 to 12 months

• 40 reached an outcome within 12 months or more

Question 3

Between 1 November 2021 and 29 July 2024, the average number of days it took from receipt of a mandatory reversal from a claimant to sharing their claim with an independent medical assessor was 156.

At the mandatory reversal stage, new supporting evidence can be added to the claim. This sometimes involves requesting additional medical records and it can take time for the claimant’s healthcare providers to gather and securely supply a copy of these medical records.

Between 1 November 2021 and 29 July 2024, the average number of days it took from sharing the claim with an independent medical assessor to communicating an outcome was 77.

Question 4

We do not hold this information. We have a contract with a third-party supplier to carry out medical assessments for all claims. Claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The third-party supplier is responsible for assigning claims to individual independent medical assessors.

All medical assessors are General Medical Council (GMC) registered doctors with a license to practise and at least five years’ experience.

Question 5

All claims and mandatory reversal requests are progressed to an independent medical assessor by our VDPS team. They are progressed to the medical assessment stage based on the date we received them. This ensures a consistent and fair process for all claimants. In some cases a mandatory reversal request will require further medical records to be obtained from the healthcare providers listed on the claim form and this can take time, which can lead to some claimants waiting longer than others for an outcome from the independent medical assessor.

Between 1 November 2021 and 29 July 2024, the average number of days it took from receipt of an initial claim from a claimant to communicating an outcome was 291.

Between 1 November 2021 and 29 July 2024, the average number of days it took from receipt of a mandatory reversal from a claimant to communicating an outcome was 233.

Publishing this response

Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02112

Your personal details will be removed from the published response.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing, the data please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

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 2024” 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.