Yvette Cooper has accepted the case for reforming the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in the Government's response to the Covid-19 Inquiry's Module 4 report.
The inquiry recommended increasing the current £120,000 payment at least in line with inflation, applying annual uprating and introducing different payment levels reflecting the degree of injury suffered.
The Government has not yet committed to those specific changes or set a timetable. It said it would review the scheme, work with vaccine-injured people and bereaved families, and publish further detail through future inquiry implementation updates.
Ministers also plan to establish an industry stakeholder advisory group on pandemic pharmaceuticals. The body will bring together technical, scientific, manufacturing and commercial expertise, while responsibility for preparedness and strategy remains with government.
The response backs stronger links between health records across the four nations so regulators can identify vaccine and medicine safety signals more quickly. It says any new framework will require strong privacy safeguards and could need sustained investment.
Cooper also set out work to improve vaccine uptake through more flexible services, clearer public information and joined-up digital records. The Government said it broadly agreed with the inquiry's five recommendations, while modifying some of the proposed delivery arrangements.
The Module 4 report was published in April and examined vaccine development, procurement, regulation, deployment, unequal uptake, safety monitoring and financial redress. The new response turns its recommendations into a programme of further policy work rather than completing every reform immediately.
