To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals to tackle ME.

Both the Government and the NHS recognise myalgic encephalomyelitis as a debilitating and distressing condition. Unfortunately its causes are not yet fully understood, nor is there a generally agreed method of treatment. Consensus on a case definition is under discussion and some epidemiological studies are under way. The Department of Health and the Medical Research Council remain willing to consider funding well-founded research proposals on ME, as on other medical conditions.