The House of Lords Special Inquiry Committee into childhood vaccination rates
Children, young people and families ·
Consultations ·
Health protection ·
Public health funding
| 18 June 2026
In March 2026, the House of Lords Childhood Vaccinations Committee opened a call for evidence for its inquiry to examine childhood vaccination coverage in England.
The Committee wanted to understand:
- What the evidence is on routine childhood vaccination coverage in England.
- Why there has been a gradual decline in coverage over the past decade.
- What the Government should do to reverse this decline and reduce disparities in childhood vaccination coverage.
The inquiry was focusing on vaccinations in the routine immunisation schedule for infants, children, and young people up to the age of 18.
In our evidence, we emphasised that although there was a growing amount of vaccine mis/dis-information online, overall public confidence in immunisation remained relatively strong and that the real barriers to update included:
- access
- limited awareness
- confusion around eligibility
- safety concerns
- practical challenges (eg time taken to attend appointments)
