UK House of Lords/ House of Commons Questions

As part of the Welfare Reforms debate yesterday (30the June 2025), one MP raised the following point:

Photo of Calum MillerCalum Miller Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs)​

I recently met a support group in my constituency of those who suffer from ME, chronic fatigue syndrome or long covid. Their description of the devastating impact of those variable conditions was very affecting. If one of those people were to have an improvement in their condition, meaning that they were no longer eligible for PIP, and then to represent for assessment, would they be entitled to return to the PIP level they were on previously, or would they be treated as new applicants under the terms the Secretary of State has described today?

Photo of Liz KendallLiz Kendall The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions​

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, which is precisely what we want to look at in the PIP review, because it does not take into account fluctuating conditions. That is an important issue moving forward, and we will be absolutely determined to involve him, his constituents, and organisations that represent those with fluctuating conditions in the process of the review.

The full debate can be seen here: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2025-06-30a.23.0
 

Photo of Sarah GibsonSarah Gibson Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Business)​

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS services for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Photo of Sarah GibsonSarah Gibson Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Business)​

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to GPs to help improve the (a) early recognition and (b) management of ME in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) areas in Wiltshire with limited specialist services.

Photo of Ashley DaltonAshley Dalton The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care​

Earlier this year, NHS England completed a long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), stocktake to provide a national overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. The findings confirmed widely recognised challenges, as well as significant variation in care delivery across England, and a lack of comprehensive activity data.

The Department is working with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, including general practitioners in Wiltshire, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. Sessions one and two of the e-learning programme are now available at the following link:

https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288

The third session is currently being finalised and will be launched later in 2025.

The Medical Schools Council will promote the NHS England e-learning programme on ME/CFS to all United Kingdom medical schools, and will encourage those medical schools to provide undergraduates with direct patient experience of ME/CFS. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of medical schools, and it is important that education is reenforced at different stages of medical training. Royal colleges play an important role in this. The GMC has included ME/CFS in the content map for the new national exam, so all medical schools will need to teach it as a subject.

We are developing a final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish in due course. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease in Wiltshire and throughout England.
 
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