Public Urged to Join #SCCForME Campaign to End Harmful Reassessments

Today marks the launch of #SCCforME, a one-day national campaign calling for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (M.E./C.F.S.) to be recognised under the Severe Conditions Criteria (S.C.C.).

The S.C.C. is designed to protect people with lifelong, disabling conditions from repeated benefit reassessments. Yet despite overwhelming scientific and medical evidence that recovery from M.E./C.F.S. is rare, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not automatically recognise M.E./C.F.S. under S.C.C.

People with M.E./C.F.S. are currently forced into repeated reassessments to prove they remain disabled, even after being awarded Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA). These reassessments are:

• Harmful – triggering post-exertional malaise and worsening symptoms.
• Exhausting – draining for people already living with profound fatigue and cognitive dysfunction.
• Wasteful – taxpayer money is being spent on reassessing people with a condition that scientific and medical evidence shows is lifelong.

This campaign is not about expanding benefits or increasing eligibility. It is about efficiency, fairness, and compassion: stopping unnecessary reassessments for people with M.E./C.F.S. whose condition is permanent.

The #SCCforME campaign calls for:

• Automatic recognition of M.E./C.F.S. as a lifelong condition under the S.C.C.
• Clearer guidance to assessors that fluctuations do not equal recovery.
• An end to repeated reassessments for people with M.E./C.F.S. who have already been awarded LCWRA.

We are asking members of the public to join the M.E./C.F.S. community in taking part in this one-day campaign by:

• Sending a pre-written email to the DWP or their MP.
• Posting campaign messages on social media using #SCCforME
• Sharing campaign graphics to amplify visibility.

A surge of emails and posts on one day creates urgency and impact, making it harder for decision-makers to ignore.

Learn More

Full details, template emails, social media posts, and shareable graphics are available in the latest blog on stripylightbulb.org.

Quote from Campaign Organisers

“This is not about getting more people onto benefits. It is about stopping the waste of taxpayer money and ending harmful reassessments for people with M.E./C.F.S. Recovery is rare, in the absence of approved treatments or a cure, and reassessments only cause harm. The system must shift its focus from functionality to permanency.” - Sally Callow, Managing Director, Stripy Lightbulb CIC.

ENDS

Press Contact:
Sally Callow, Stripy Lightbulb CIC
info@stripylightbulb.com
07725 658199