Welfare Reform Bill

I, too, having already moved amendments on training, support the noble Baronesses’ amendment. I have a horrible suspicion that the Minister will say, "We do not like shopping lists", but I make a plea. The noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, was very persuasive about people with severe but fluctuating mental health problems. People with some illnesses, such as ME, fibromyalgia and the noble Baroness’s own illness, start off looking well, as do people who are mentally ill, and they might be tracked into the wrong ESA; they might be tracked into the work-related ESA when they should be in the support ESA system. JCPs need to be able to differentiate between the two. I know that they are not medically trained. I also recognise that a lot of these conditions are still disputed by the medical profession. Some people will give a diagnosis of ME, for example, and others will not; they will say that it is a mental illness. However, I repeat, again, that the World Health Organisation and the Department of Health say that ME is a physical, not a mental, condition. I very much support the noble Baronesses’ amendment.