The rule that could see 34,000 Merseyside kids banned from school

Proposed new rules on vaccinations could result in thousands of Liverpool children being barred from school.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Conservative Party conference this week that the government was seriously considering banning children who had not had their full vaccine programme.

It comes as rising numbers of children don't get all vaccines recommended by the NHS and cases of measles have begun to rise.

Analysis of Public Health England figures last year suggests more than 16,000 school age children in Merseyside and Halton born between 2000 and 2016 have not had the first MMR jab.

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As many as 33,766 children in the same age group may not have had
the second dose by the time they turned five.

Speaking earlier this week, Mr Hancock said there was a 'very strong argument' for making some vaccines compulsory for children attending school.

According to the Mirror, the health secretary said:  “I’ve said before that we should be open minded.

“And frankly what I’d say is that when we, the state, provide services to people then it’s a two-way street - you’ve got to take your responsibilities too.

Health experts have called for parents to make sure their children get all necessary vaccinations. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“So I think there’s a very strong argument for having compulsory vaccinations for children for when they go to school.

“Because otherwise they’re putting other children at risk.

“Now you’ve got to make sure the system would work, because some children can’t be vaccinated and some may hold very strong religious convictions that you want to take into account.

“But frankly, the proportion of people in either of those two categories is tiny compared to the 7 or 8% now who don’t get vaccinated.

Vaccination rates have been falling in recent years. (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

“And then I’d want to make it very easy if the children do arrive at school not vaccinated, simply to get vaccinated, and make it the norm.

“I think there’s a very strong argument for moving to compulsory vaccination and I think the public would back us.”

Children in the UK are recommended to get vaccinated against a variety of illnesses including measles, polio and tetanus.

In recent years a series of small outbreaks of measles and mumps have hit the UK, with young people particularly affected.

Although overall vaccination rates have fallen in recent years MMR in particularly has lagged behind others because of a now discredited study published in the 1990s erroneously linking the vaccine with autism.

There have been no specific plans released by the government of how the proposed rules would work.