FOI2026/00904 - Private healthcare cover
Published 12 August 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vmd-foieir-requests-may-2026/foi202600904-private-healthcare-cover
1. Your request
This is an information request relating to private health insurance for staff. Please provide me with the following information for the 2025-26 financial year:
1. The total amount spent by your organisation on funding or subsidising private healthcare/medical insurance for your staff during the 2025-26 financial year.
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A summary or copy of the private healthcare policy/policies currently available to your staff. Please include details regarding the level of cover provided and the eligibility criteria for staff to access this benefit (e.g., whether it is available to all staff, or restricted to certain pay grades or roles).
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The total number of staff members who were enrolled in or successfully claimed from this private healthcare scheme during the 2025-26 financial year.
2. Our reply
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It does not have a separate legal identity from Defra and forms part of the Department.
Accordingly, VMD staff are civil servants employed by Defra. Responsibility for employment matters, including terms and conditions, rests with Defra and is applied to VMD staff in line with departmental and wider Civil Service policies.
You may therefore wish to contact Defra directly to request this information. Their contact details are: InformationRequests@defra.gov.uk. If you would prefer, please let us know and we would be happy to transfer your request to Defra on your behalf.