House of Commons Hansard Debates for 11 Dec 1990

Mr. Skinner : The motion is comprehensive. It includes all the categories of people who would have to pass a test before they were elected to Parliament. Is it final? Does it include all the categories?

The Common Market is causing a number of ripples right across the political scene. Some people might have their eyes set on this place. Some people already want to wander in and out of the Common Market corridors ad nauseam. Who knows, they might want to take their seat here. Therefore, we must scrutinise this motion carefully. You, Mr. Deputy Speaker, were a Member of this House in 1974. I referred earlier to mistakes being made. In 1974, after the election of the Labour Government

Mr. John M. Taylor (Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household) : That was a mistake.

Mr. Skinner : It was not a mistake. The right hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath) caused it. He decided that he wanted a bigger majority than he had and he got belted.

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Mr. Peter Bottomley : The hon. Gentleman should remember that it was only after June 1975, perhaps following our change of leader, that the people started throwing out Labour Members of Parliament in the by- elections and the Labour Government had to make an alliance with Lord Jenkins and his party--

Mr. Deputy Speaker : Order. That has nothing to do with the motion before the House.

Mr. Skinner : I want to prevent mistakes being made, but I must answer the hon. Gentleman. It was not losing by-elections that caused the trouble. A fellow called Stonehouse was our majority, and he went missing. We were searching for him for 12 months. Our majority went on that beach. At least we thought it was on a beach. You, Mr. Deputy Speaker, were a Minister, and you were having to exist from night to night on the basis of finding Members of Parliament. Then we had the Social and Democratic party mob to contend with. At that time they were planning to leave, but we did not know exactly when they would. It was not just by-elections that caused the problem.

In 1974, not long after the election, I saw a pretty obscure title on the annunciator at 3.30 in the morning and I wondered what it was all about. The Leader of the House, Ted Short, was moving retrospective legislation. A Liberal, who is now Lord Winstanley, then the hon. Member for Hazel Grove, had been elected here despite being debarred because he was serving as a doctor on a medical appeals tribunal.

Both Front-Bench spokesmen--this is what happens in this place--made an agreement to sneak the change through in the early hours of the morning under an obscure title so that no one would notice and Mr. Winstanley could come back as a Member of Parliament without his leaving the building. They sent him out the Chamber, just in case. That is as far as he went. Hon. Members get thrown out of the Chamber for saying something out of place, but he was just asked to stand outside while the measure was slipped through. In the space of half an hour, after contributions from the Front- Bench spokesmen and myself, the Government managed to introduce retrospective legislation so that that hon. Member could keep his seat.

That brings me back to what the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) said. Little did I realise when I was opposing that motion that that Member's vote was needed later. It was not 1975. It was 1976, after the International Monetary Fund business when some of us had refused to support the various efforts of the Government at that time. I shall not go too far down that road, Mr. Deputy Speaker, because I know that your heart is aching for the past and those great moments when we lived from day to day with people being shunted into the Lobby after being brought here. It is an important matter. When people stand for election, they should make sure that they are qualified to do so. In my view, we do not have a comprehensive picture. Let us scour the Common Market to ensure that the people there who want to pinch places in this House cannot do so outside the limits of this place.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 be amended as follows :--

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Part II of Schedule-- 1 Additional entry 1. The following entry shall be inserted at the appropriate place :--

The Independent Commission for Police Complaints for Northern Ireland.

Entries omitted 2. The following entries shall be omitted :-- The General Practice Finance Corporation.

The entry beginning A Medical Appeal Tribunal'.

The New Towns Staff Commission.

The Police Complaints Board for Northern Ireland.

The Traffic Commissioners for any area (including the commissioner for the Metropolitan Traffic Area).

The Tribunal established under Part II of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949.

The University Grants Committee.

Other amendments 3.--(1) In the entry The National Development Team for Mentally Handicapped People', for Mentally Handicapped People' there shall be substituted People with a Mental Handicap'. (2) For the entry The Northern Ireland Electricity Service' there shall be substituted the following entry :--

Northern Ireland Electricity.

Part III of Schedule 1-- Additional entries 4. The following entries shall be inserted at the appropriate places :--

Additional Commissioner of the Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland.

Chairman of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Chairman of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.

Chairman of the Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council. Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Laganside Corporation. Chairman of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications. Chairman of the Public Health Laboratory Service Board. Chairman of a special health and social services agency established under Article 3 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Special Agencies) (Northern Ireland) Order 1990.

Chairman of the Special Hospitals Service Authority.

Chairman of the Training, Enterprise and Education Advisory Group for Wales.

Chief executive of the Simpler Trade Procedures Board.

Director of Caledonian MacBrayne Limited.

Director of Citybus Limited.

Director of Flexibus Limited.

Director of Northern Ireland Airports Limited.

Director of Northern Ireland Railways Company Limited.

Director of Nuclear Electric p.l.c.

Director of Scottish Nuclear Limited.

Director of Ulsterbus Limited.

Member of a Medical Appeal Tribunal appointed under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 12 to the Social Security Act 1975.

Member of a Medical Appeal Tribunal for Northern Ireland appointed under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 12 to the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975.

Member of the panel of chairmen for Social Security Appeal Tribunals for Northern Ireland appointed under section 97(2D)(a) of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975, or of the panel of chairmen for Medical Appeal Tribunals for Northern Ireland appointed under paragraph 2(4)(a) of Schedule 12 to that Act.

Member of the staff of the Northern Ireland Audit Office. Person appointed under section 3(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to carry out functions relating to the political restriction of posts under local authorities, within the meaning of Part

Column 924

I of that Act.

Social fund Commissioner.

Traffic commissioner for any area constituted for the purposes of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981.

Entries omitted 5. The following entries shall be omitted :-- The entry beginning Chairman of any of the Consultative Councils'.

The entry beginning Chairman of either of the Consultative Councils'.

Chairman of the Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas. Chairman in receipt of remuneration of the Electricity Consumers' Council.

Chairman of the Manpower Services Committee for Scotland. Chairman of the Manpower Services Committee for Wales.

Chairman of the Board of the National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education.

Chairman of the National Seed Development Organisation Limited. Chairman of the Northern Ireland Staffs Council for the Health and Social Services.

Chairman or Chief Executive of the Simplification of International Trade Procedures Board.

Chairman of the Staff Commission for Education and Library Boards in Northern Ireland.

The entry beginning The Commissioner appointed'.

Director of the British Petroleum Company p.l.c. nominated by a Minister of the Crown or government department.

Director of Harland and Wolff p.l.c.

Director of Royal Ordnance p.l.c.

Director of S. B. (Realisations) p.l.c. nominated or appointed by a Minister of the Crown or government department.

Director of Short Brothers p.l.c.

Director of the successor company (within the meaning of the Airports Act 1986) being a director nominated or appointed by a Minister of the Crown or by a person acting on behalf of the Crown. Director of the successor company (within the meaning of the Gas Act 1986), being a director nominated or appointed by a Minister of the Crown or by a person acting on behalf of the Crown.

General Manager or Secretary of the Scottish Special Housing Association.

Member of a panel appointed under section 97(2D)(a) of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975 of persons eligible to act as chairmen of Social Security Appeal Tribunals for Northern Ireland. Member of the Trinity House Lighthouse Board nominated by the Secretary of State.

Other amendments 6.--(1) In the entry beginning Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Dental Estimates Board', for Estimates' there shall be substituted Practice'.

(2) In the entry beginning Chairman of the Scottish Dental Estimates Board', for Estimates' there shall be substituted Practice'.

(3) In the entry Chairman of the tribunal constituted under section 463 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970', for 463' and 1970' there shall be substituted 706' and 1988' respectively. (4) In the entry beginning Chairman of the United Kingdom Central Council', the words from if appointed' onwards shall be omitted. (5) In the entry Director of British Nuclear Fuels Limited', for Limited' there shall be substituted p.l.c.'.

(6) In the entry beginning Director of any company in receipt of financial assistance', the words from the Distribution of Industry Act 1945' to 1967,' shall be omitted.

(7) For the entry Member of a Wages Council or Central Co-ordinating Committee appointed under paragraph 1(a) of Schedule 2 to the Wages Councils (Northern Ireland) Order 1982' there shall be substituted the following entry :--

Member of a Wages Council appointed under paragraph 1(b) of Schedule 2 to the Wages (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.

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Part IV of Schedule 1-- 7. In the first column, for the entry Her Majesty's Commissioner of Lieutenancy in the City of London' there shall be substituted the following entry :--

Member of Her Majesty's Commission of Lieutenancy for the City of London.

SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE

Ordered ,

That--

(1) this House do meet on Thursday 20th December at half-past Nine o'clock ;

(2) notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of Standing Order No. 17 (Questions to Members), no Questions shall be taken, provided that at Eleven o'clock Mr. Speaker may interrupt the proceedings in order to permit questions to be asked which are in his opinion of an urgent character and relate either to matters of public importance or to the arrangement of business, statements to be made by Ministers, or personal explanations to be made by Members ; and (3) at Three o'clock Mr. Speaker do adjourn the House without putting any Question, provided that this House shall not adjourn until Mr. Speaker shall have reported the Royal Assent to any Acts agreed upon by both Houses.-- [Mr. Greg Knight.]

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

Ordered , That the provisions of paragraph (4) and (5) of the Order of 8th November relating to Business of the House shall have effect with the following modifications :

Private Members' Notices of Motions shall have precedence over Government business on 8th and 15th March, 10th and 17th May, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th June, and ballots for these Notices shall be held after Questions on 20th and 27th February, 24th April, 1st, 15th and 22nd May, 5th and 12th June.

On Monday 4th February and Monday 22nd April, Private Members' Notices of Motions shall have precedence over Government business until Seven o'clock and ballots for these Notices shall be held after Questions on Thursday 17th January and Wednesday 27th March.-- [Mr. Greg Knight.]

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Narcolepsy (Attendance Allowance)

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.-- [Mr. Greg Knight.]

11.55 pm

Mr. Kenneth Hind (Lancashire, West) : I welcome this opportunity to initiate the Adjournment debate in my name, and to raise the problems faced by sufferers from narcolepsy who want to obtain an attendance allowance.

There are 20,000 narcolepsy sufferers in the United Kingdom, many of whom experience great difficulty in securing an attendance allowance, mainly because of the failure of the medical profession in certain quarters to identify their problem. Narcolepsy is a lifelong disorder that may entail serious disablement. No cure is known, and the cause is suspected to be a central nervous system defect--though the exact mechanism is not clearly understood. There is no evidence of a psychological cause.

The symptoms usually appear independently of one another. They are typically rather mild to start with, but gradually increase in severity over a period of years. The development and severity of the symptoms are very variable in different individuals. The condition often leads in later life to an inability to work and to early retirement.

The two primary symptoms of narcolepsy are excessive daytime sleeping and cataplexy. In severe cases, either can result in severe disability. The other symptoms appear less frequently, and usually present no really major problems--though one of them, hallucinations, is common in many cases.

Excessive daytime sleepiness is usually the first symptom to be noticed. It obviously affects the individual's ability to work, and where he or she is employed in work that demands deep concentration their performance is greatly affected. That can lead to employment problems. Pathological sleepiness is evident every day, though its intensity varies. The sufferer may find only the more severe episodes troublesome. Over 24 hours, the total time spent sleeping is usually no more than normal. The abnormality lies in the individual's continuous susceptability to sleepiness or to falling asleep, and the circumstances in which that occurs.

Cataplexy, the other primary symptom, is a brief but sudden loss of voluntary muscle control, usually triggered by emotions such as those associated with laughter, anger, elation, or surprise. The severity and extent of a cataplectic attack can vary from a fleeting sensation of weakness extending more or less throughout the body to the noticeable involvement of several muscle groups or to a state of absolute powerlessness involving almost all the voluntary muscles. During an attack, vision may become blurred, and speech difficult or impossible. Sagging of the jaw and tilting of the head are common, and are frequently accompanied by a slight buckling of the knees. Sometimes an attack will be marked by convulsive jerking, caused by the muscles alternating rapidly between limpness and partial control. It is not unusual for a sufferer--for example, a woman out shopping--to collapse in a heap on the floor. The length of these attacks varies from a few seconds to half an hour.

Upon first appearance, cataplectic attacks are mild and infrequent. They increase in severity and frequency up to a level which varies from person to person. Some people

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suffer only one or two attacks a year, whereas others have hundreds a day and a typical attack may last for up to 30 minutes. It is the people who suffer very seriously from this unfortunate disability about whom I am most concerned. Many of them cannot be left on their own. They often need attention day and night. When making applications for attendance allowance, they have come up against problems put forward by the medical profession.

The Narcolepsy Association (United Kingdom), UKAN, feels that the common factor in the problems facing many sufferers who try to obtain attendance allowance is the ignorance of many general practitioners. In most cases the GP's first reaction to the applicant's statement is "Narcolepsy--what on earth is that?". As the practitioners consulted by the Department of Social Security are often not familiar with the syndrome, they do not realise that a patient, who appears to have impaired physical and mental functions, suffers from the disorder and can be severely handicapped.

I refer the House to the views of David Parkes, professor of clinical neurology at King's College hospital. In an article in The Guardian on 21 September 1990, he said :

" The condition is really disabling, maybe even more so than epilepsy. It is a lifelong chronic problem. Patients are sleeping their life away. Attacks of cataplexy--sudden muscular weakness triggered by excitement such as anger or laughter--which also occur can result in broken bones and self injury."

I am aware of a number of cases in which there have been personal injuries to the sufferer.

Employers, faced with an applicant who is not only in his late forties, but who also falls asleep, suffers from cataplectic fits in the office and displays automatic behaviour, are naturally extremely reluctant to engage him. In practical terms, the narcoleptic, in full possession of his innate mental and physical powers, is often unemployable.

On account of a lack of knowledge, many narcoleptics try unsuccessfully for years to have their disorder diagnosed. I know of many cases, details of which I can pass to my hon. Friend the Minister, which have been diagnosed by a number of doctors. It is only by good fortune, or with the help of the Narcolepsy Association, that they have managed to consult a doctor who understands the problem.

GPs often made comments such as, "This is what I call Billy Bunter syndrome" ; "All you have to do is to pull yourself together" ; or even, "There is only one thing I can prescribe for that"--usually psychotropic medication--"and I do not believe in it." Often the lack of knowledge extends to consultant neurologists of which there are no more than half a dozen in the United Kingdom whose names can be given to a patient's GP with any confidence.

The worst outcome is referral to a psychiatrist, who will assume that the patient's disorder is mental and not neurological and give quite unsuitable treatment. It is not uncommon for narcoleptics to be prescribed tranquillisers and sleeping pills. Such medication, and the more extreme forms of therapy such as electric shock treatment, make the condition worse. Unfortunately, I am aware of examples in which a drug called Ritalin, which helps narcoleptics, has been prescribed and, because the patient's level of activity has been raised so high, they have

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then been prescribed Mogadon in the evening, which has the opposite effect. That leaves them on a sort of rollercoaster that does not help the condition.

The major problem facing a narcolepsy sufferer in securing a diagnosis is general practitioners' lack of knowledge. The case that came to my attention was that of Mrs. Lloyd. She is a constituent of mine and her case is typical of the problems faced by narcolepsy sufferers. She first applied for attendance allowance in 1987 and I first wrote to my right hon. Friend the Minister in December 1987 requesting that he assist me in speeding up the process. Since then it has been subject to one appeal after another. It has now arrived on the doorstep of the social security commissioner who has recently made a decision.

Mrs. Lloyd is a severe sufferer. Her husband, John, has been to see me on a number of occasions. He is a dedicated man who has suffered a heart attack and who, in his old age, is looking after his 65-year-old wife. He is alert to every nuance of his wife's breathing. A slight jerk of her body has him tearing out of bed to be at her side. He lies at night, dozing, just watching her in case she suffers an attack. She suffers from sleep attacks in which she stops breathing and he has to be on hand to ensure that she is revived. He lives with that from day to day. Naturally, the anxiety that it is causing him is terrific.

According to the Attendance Allowance Board, that lady, who is suffering from such a debilitating problem, does not qualify for day or night attendance allowance. As a consequence, the family manages as best it can without something that many of us would regard as essential.

Recently, Mr. Rice, the social security commissioner, said that two questions should be asked in relation to each sufferer from narcolepsy and attendance allowances generally. First, one should ask whether there is any danger to the applicant ; and, secondly, whether that danger could be averted by supervision. In Mrs. Lloyd's case, Mr. Rice has directed that the case should go back to the Attendance Allowance Board to be reconsidered, but this is nearly three and a half years after the original application. As far as I can see in Mrs. Lloyd's case, the answer to both Mr. Rice's questions is, yes. I could go on at length about a number of cases and I appreciate that my hon. Friend the Minister will be aware of many of them. They have come to my attention from all over the country. All I can say to my hon. Friend is that there are many people suffering from narcolepsy who need day and night attendance from relatives to help to keep them alive. The main problem against which we are fighting is ignorance in the medical profession and, often, doctors' unwillingness to diagnose what is an important problem.

I trust that by bringing this problem to the House's attention I will widen awareness of it and, I hope, help sufferers such as Mrs. Lloyd and many others.

11.9 pm

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