In short
- The UK’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost £83m to run between April 2022 and March 2026, more than double the £31.6m paid out in damages.
- The scheme has received 24,260 claims since November 2021, and 264 of them have been successful.
- Successful claimants receive a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 after an independent doctor confirms they meet the threshold of “severe disablement”.
- Medical assessment costs rose from £4.3m in 2022/23 to £19.3m in 2025/26.
- The scheme was set up in 1979 and has been administered by the NHS Business Services Authority since November 2021.
The UK government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost £83m to run between April 2022 and March 2026, more than double the £31.6m paid in damages to people harmed by vaccines, figures given in answer to a parliamentary question show.
How much has the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost to run?
Health minister Dame Diana Johnson said £83m was spent on staffing, administration and medical reviews between April 2022 and March 2026, in answer to a question from the backbench Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope. Medical assessment costs alone rose from £4.3m in 2022/23 to £19.3m in 2025/26, according to government data. The scheme had paid £31.6m in damages as of the latest available figures, which cover claims up to June 2026.
How many claims has the scheme received and approved?
The scheme has received 24,260 claims since November 2021, and 264 of them have been successful. Most applications are now linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine and other Covid jabs. Claimants must have their case reviewed by an independent doctor to check whether they meet the threshold of “severe disablement”, and those approved receive a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000. The process can take months or even years. The payment sits inside a wider UK system of disability support, where fewer than one in 10 Britons back disability benefit cuts, a separate survey has found.
What has the NHSBSA said about the costs?
The NHS Business Services Authority, which has run the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme on behalf of the government since November 2021, said the scheme’s administrative costs and medical assessor supplier costs “are driven by the number of claims received” and that claim numbers have risen significantly since it took over administration. The scheme dates to 1979, when it was created to support people harmed in rare cases by vaccines of any type. It runs within a health service that has been moving more care out of hospitals and GP surgeries: England added migraines and acne to the list of conditions treatable at pharmacies.
What do campaigners and the Taxpayers’ Alliance say?
Taxpayers’ Alliance chief executive John O’Connell said the public would be “stunned” that the running costs appeared “far more than has actually been paid out to those harmed”, and called for an urgent government review, cuts to “unnecessary bureaucracy” and a guarantee that “more of the money goes to those it was created to help”. Vaccine Injured and Bereaved UK representative Kate Scott, whose husband Jamie was left severely disabled by the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, said the scheme “offers too little, too late, to too few” and that the cost of running it showed how inefficient it was.
What happens next for the scheme?
Kate Scott called on the government to act on the recommendations of module four of the Covid public inquiry. The inquiry’s chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, recommended earlier this year increasing the payout and basing it on the degree of injury suffered. The Department for Health and Social Care said it is “carefully considering” the recommendations and “will respond shortly”, adding: “In the meantime, we are working to speed up claims and improve the experience for applicants.” The NHSBSA said it continued to work closely with the government on managing the costs of the scheme.
Frequently asked questions
How much has the UK Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme cost to run?
£83m was spent on staffing, administration and medical reviews between April 2022 and March 2026, compared with £31.6m paid in damages to claimants.
How many vaccine damage claims have been successful?
The scheme has received 24,260 claims since November 2021, and 264 of them have been successful.
How much does the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme pay?
Successful claimants receive a one-off, tax-free payment of £120,000 after an independent doctor confirms they meet the threshold of “severe disablement”.
What is the government doing about the scheme?
The Department for Health and Social Care says it is carefully considering the Covid inquiry’s recommendations on reform and will respond shortly, while working to speed up claims.
With reporting from BBC News.
Stock image, not from the events described. COVID-19 Vaccine vial and syringe – US Census — United States Census / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)