To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department has made on reaching an agreement with the European Commission in relation to developing a form suited to the exchange of medical information for benefit purposes; and if he will make a statement.

The EU Administrative Commission on the Coordination of Social Security Systems has established an expert ad-hoc group to examine the format of forms to exchange medical information for benefit purposes. An expert from this Department represents the United Kingdom on that group to ensure that our concerns are addressed in the design of new forms, and that these will be suitable for the transmission of medical information for UK benefits. The group is expected to report to the Administrative Commission by the end of the year.