Welfare Reform Bill

We sympathise with the amendment proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, which raises the specific problem of those suffering from episodic, fluctuating conditions. Many examples have been given of conditions such as ME and rheumatoid arthritis, which seriously affect people’s ability to work who are otherwise very capable and willing and would not have any problem complying with the regime. It is our hope that the system now being put into place should be flexible enough to meet the requirements of those individuals. While the noble Baroness is correct to draw your Lordships’ attention to this issue, I question whether the amendment is, strictly speaking, necessary. New subsection (2)(a) in Clause 8 says that no direction may be given to a person to engage in work-related activity unless it is, ""reasonable, having regard to the person’s circumstances"." One very much hopes that, if circumstances include a fluctuating health condition, that will naturally be taken into account. Perhaps that is yet another area in which we must turn to the Minister to give us guidance on how he will ensure that any direction made under subsection (1) will take into account the needs of individuals who suffer from the conditions that the noble Baroness described.