Minister challenged over vaccination ‘crisis’

The Government has insisted that childhood vaccination remains a “priority” amid low uptake of jabs that protect against a range of potentially deadly diseases.

Health minister Ashley Dalton was quizzed about a vaccination “crisis” when she appeared before MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee.

Ms Dalton was also warned to expect lobbying against plans to improve the nutrition in baby foods.

Labour MP Ben Coleman said that a “huge” baby food firm had made moves to launch a “rapid influence campaign” after the Government gave baby food manufacturers 18 months to cut sugar and salt in their products.

It comes as the Committee quizzed health and education officials on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.

Labour MP Danny Beales challenged Ms Dalton on vaccination rates after the latest data for England revealed that one in five children have started primary school without full protection against a number of serious diseases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that at least 95% of children should receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity.

However, none of the main childhood vaccines in England reached this target in 2024/25, according to UK Health Security Agency figures.

“What we have identified, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise, is that whilst we’ve got the rates reasonably stable at the moment, we are still some way off the World Health Organisation targets,” Ms Dalton told MPs.

She said that a “lack of access” was preventing people from taking up the offer of a jab, which is why health visitors will be able to deliver the jabs from 2026 in pilot schemes.

Ms Dalton also highlighted incentives for GPs to deliver vaccines and said that parents can be asked about them during other routine GP appointments.

Mr Beales asked if initiatives to drive up vaccination rates “reflect the scale of the problem” adding: “We’ve got a major problem with vaccination rates – we’re having outbreaks of measles in Merseyside, a child died of whooping cough in the last few days.”

Ms Dalton said: “Vaccination remains a real priority for the Department, and we are working to increase uptake.

“And in order to do that, we have to understand what the barriers are, and we’ve been doing an awful lot of work to do that.”

Mr Beales added: “I personally say that we’re in a vaccination crisis in this country amongst children and pregnant women, which is leading to some of the tragic instances that we’re seeing.

“In light of this, was it a good idea to remove the WHO 95% vaccine coverage target from NHS planning guidance?”

Ms Dalton said: “That remains a target, and we remain signed up to delivering that target – it’s not specifically in that guidance, but not being specifically in the guidance does not mean that that is not an expectation.”

Meanwhile, she was also quizzed about plans to improve the nutritional quality of baby food and crack down on “misleading” marketing of such products.

Ms Dalton said: “We’ve issued new guidance, not only on sugar and salt, but on marketing and labelling.

“If the industry does not take adequate steps to meet those guidelines, we reserve the right to put to review and then put in place mandatory guidelines if necessary.”

This “may” include legislation, she said.

Mr Coleman said: “I’ve been told by friends that one huge baby food producer who I could name, but I won’t name today, has just contacted a number of public affairs firms to bid on what they call a ‘rapid influence campaign’ to influence the development of healthy food standards.

“So you can expect some lobbying coming your way, serious, even more than you’ve had already.

“Can you commit over the next 18 months to ensuring that all meetings between ministers and civil servants – whether they’re in the Department of Health or public health people or in other Departments – and the food industry – whether it’s the food industry producers themselves, or it’s their public affairs consultants – are properly, transparently recorded and published?”

Ms Dalton replied: “They always are. I never have a meeting with anyone without an official in the room, and without the notes of that meeting being recorded.”

Asked whether MPs who “stand up and make interventions on or make representations to the Government” on behalf of industry should also have a record of their meetings, she replied: “That’s a matter for the Speaker and the Parliamentary Standards Committee.”