Written question asked by Countess of Mar (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Freud (Conservative) on Monday, 16 May 2011.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children and young people up to and including age 16 who have been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) have also been referred to social services for a child protection (section 47) investigation; and, of all the children referred to social services for a child protection investigation, how many have been diagnosed with ME/CFS either before the start of the investigation, or subsequently in the past 10 years.

Answer: The requested information is not available. Neither DWP nor DH nor DfE collects the information.

Secondary information