Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The Welsh Government says MMR vaccine uptake remains "relatively stable"

Compulsory vaccination is not being considered in Wales, the Welsh Government has said.

The health secretary for England, Matt Hancock, has said he is "looking very seriously" at making vaccines compulsory for all children.

Some experts believe it may be necessary to tackle a surge in diseases like measles.

But the Welsh Government said uptake of the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella remained "relatively stable".

It stood slightly below the target of 95% for two-year-olds from April to June.

Mr Hancock told an event at the Conservative conference he had taken legal advice on how to go about making vaccines compulsory.

In England, the proportion of children receiving both doses of the MMR jab by their fifth birthday had fallen over the last four years to 87.2%.

This is below the 95% rate said to provide "herd immunity", the level considered by experts to protect a population from a disease.

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: "This is not something we are considering in Wales.

"In Wales, uptake of the first dose of MMR vaccine in two-year-old children has remained relatively stable at around 95%."

She added: "Vaccination is the most effective means of protection and we would urge people to ensure they and their dependants are fully vaccinated from preventable diseases."

Wales' chief medical officer Frank Atherton has warned of the threat from anti-vaccination campaigners.

He said people needed to be made aware of the benefits of vaccines.

There were 82,500 measles cases in Europe in 2017-2018, the highest in a decade and three times that reported in 2017.