Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that reforms to Statutory Sick Pay take account of (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other fluctuating conditions.

No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.

Paying SSP for all days of work missed because of sickness will help support employees who have fluctuating conditions who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition, such as multiple sclerosis.