Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Request

You asked us:

‘This request is in part a follow-up of the FOI-01637.

If this information exists : the mean or average time to reach a decision for a Covid-19 claim ’

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 19 August 2025.

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

Our response

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

Reasonably accessible information

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.

The NHSBSA actively publishes information on claims made to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) on the Open Data Portal for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 claims.

You can find the Open Data Portal at:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Where information is being withheld under this exemption, you will see this link in our response below.

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

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 information is exempt under section 40(2) of the FOIA (personal information).

Section 40(2) is an absolute, prejudice-based exemption and therefore is exempt if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. In order 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.

As we do not have the consent of the data subject(s), the NHSBSA is therefore required to conduct a balancing exercise between legitimate interest of the applicant in disclosure against the rights and freedoms of the data subject(s).

The NHSBSA acknowledges that you have a legitimate interest in disclosure of the information in order to provide the full picture of the requested data held by the NHSBSA; however, we have concluded that disclosure of the requested information would cause unwarranted harm and therefore, section 40(2) is engaged. This is because there is a reasonable expectation that patient data processed by the NHSBSA remains confidential.

Please see the following link to view the section 40 exemption in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/40

Question 1 - number of claims received since the start of the program (1979)

Please be aware that I am unable to provide a figure for the claims which fall under this category because the figure has increased by fewer than five since our previous disclosure of FOI 03024.

You can view FOI-03024 using the following link: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03024

Question 2 - number of compensated claims awarded since the start of the program (1979)

Please be aware that I am unable to provide a figure for the claims which fall under this category because the figure has increased by fewer than five since our previous disclosure of FOI 03024.

You can view FOI-03024 using the following link: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03024

Question 3 - number of claims denied since the start of the program (1979)

Please be aware that I am unable to provide a figure for the claims which fall under this category because the figure has increased by fewer than five since our previous disclosure of FOI 03024.

You can view FOI-03024 using the following link: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-03024

Question 4 - number of claims received for the Covid-19 vaccines

You can find this information published on the Open Data Portal at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Question 5 - number of compensated claims awarded for the Covid-19 vaccines

You can find this information published on the Open Data Portal at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Question 6 - number of claims denied for the Covid-19 vaccines

You can find this information published on the Open Data Portal at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Question 7 - number of remaining claims to be processed for the Covid-19 vaccines

You can find this information published on the Open Data Portal at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/vdps-covid-19

Question 8 - If this information exists: the mean or average time to reach a decision for a Covid-19 claim

Between 1 November 2021 and 31 July 2025, the average number of days between receiving a claim and communicating a decision in relation to COVID-19 vaccine claims was 278 days.

It can take significant time for some healthcare providers to send us medical records and this can affect the length of time it takes to progress a claim to the medical assessment stage.

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 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.