§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will review the ill health retirement guidelines for ME sufferers who are members of the Local government Pension Scheme; and if he will make a statement. [114380]
§ Ms Armstrong[holding answer 13 March 2000]: There are no medical guidelines on ill-health retirement for Local Government Pension Scheme members suffering from ME published by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. Decisions on whether or not to retire an employee on medical grounds are for individual local authority employers to take within their available powers.