Welfare Reform Bill

moved Amendment No. 14: 14: Clause 2 , page 3, line 2, at end insert ““, or ( ) he is undergoing or recovering from treatment for a serious or life-threatening illness or is terminally ill as prescribed through regulations.”” The noble Lord said: The amendment stands in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, who is unfortunately not able to be here. It was inspired by Macmillan Cancer Support and addresses a series of deeply held concerns about people with cancer whose treatments make them incredibly ill, or even just feel bad, over fluctuating periods. The Minister in another place, Jim Murphy, said that he would not expect people in this condition to be considered to be available for work. It is only sensible that there is some form of guidance about people who are undergoing treatment. The matters raised here go far further than just cancer patients. This could apply to many other conditions that are treated over a period of time. A database will have to be compiled at some point involving interaction with the health service or expert charities to let you know exactly who will not be able to take part because they are undergoing certain forms of treatment. If the Minister could give us some indication of how that best practice of preparing such a database is going, I would be very grateful. Perhaps the process has already started. Not only cancer patients, but potentially others will be affected. I would be much happier if this could be brought forward to give us some idea of what is happening. The initial group may be cancer sufferers, but the situation will apply to many more people. With advances in medical practice, we hope that others will be able to receive treatment that, although perhaps not necessarily disabling in the short term, will certainly have side effects. I hope that the Minister will be able to give us an insight into the thinking on how they will provide for information to be stored and distilled through the people who are effectively on the coal face doing this interviewing. I beg to move.