Welfare Reform Green Paper

My Lords, I anticipated that the noble Countess might raise that question with me—she has been doing so for quite a long time now. I understand the issue. This is a Green Paper and I would welcome her contribution to the consultation on it. It is very important—this was the general thrust of my response to my noble friend Lady Hollis—that we do not categorise certain conditions and then say that all people with a certain condition must be dealt with in the same way. The emphasis here must be on individual capacity. The noble Countess also raised the question of fluctuating conditions. That is a matter that I well understand and it is an issue for both the individual and the employer. The Green Paper recognises the issue of fluctuating conditions. It points out that health conditions can vary widely and in intensity, and the system that we develop must be flexible in dealing with claimants’ current conditions. I would welcome the noble Countess’s comments on the specifics in the Green Paper on that.