Contributions
303 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)I think my hon. Friend just said that the amendments would allow the Official Solicitor to act on behalf of the applicant. Why would that strengthen the process?11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty First sitting)Has my hon. Friend had the opportunity to consider the functioning of mental health tribunals, which operate as panels in a very similar way to this proposal: chaired by a legal…11 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)As I am sure the hon. Lady knows, there are gradients of mental health issues, from low mood to suicidality and so on. We should not prevent anyone from accessing an option merely…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)Indeed, and that is why I support amendment 6, which we have just debated, to mandate referral for psychiatric assessment in cases where there is any doubt whatever. I think we…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I take the hon. Lady’s point, and I was about to come to that. The Mental Capacity Act already explicitly states that “a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I welcome the hon. Lady’s speech, which she made with her customary dignity and force. I feel we are repeating some of the discussions we had on earlier clauses regarding…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s reading. The amendment talks about the co-ordinating doctor, as in the first independent assessor, and that is the case in the provisions we…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)Thank you, Mrs Harris—you really are giving the Minister some exercise during these long sittings. Amendment 14 likens assisted dying to organ donation. I understand that an organ…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. There are clearly further safeguards in those provisions, and also in the training provisions that we have already discussed. When the…05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Nineteeth sitting)rose—05 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I do not disagree with my hon. Friend. I gently say that the GMC guidance specifically references that Act, so that is what I was referring to. I am pleased to see amendment 341,…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)I will be brief, as I am conscious that the Committee needs to make progress. I will speak briefly to amendment 275 in my name, which, as others have said, amends the current…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I accept that that is a risk factor, but it is by no means determinative. Therefore, that risk factor has to be considered in the round with other risk factors such as levels of…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I will be brief. I am pleased to hear my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley confirm that she is minded to support amendment 341. It is incumbent on all of us, but perhaps…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I rise to speak against the amendment; there are significant issues with it both in practice and in principle. In terms of practice, I draw Members’ attention to the fact that the…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)The holistic assessment is already set out elsewhere in the Bill, so the amendment is not required. Amendment 275, which we made to clause 4, requires “all appropriate”…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)With reference to amendment 8, and further to the intervention from the hon. Member for East Wiltshire, can my hon. Friend reflect on the provisions as set out in clause 4(1) and…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)No, I am going to make some progress because I am conscious of the time, and we want to get through these provisions. I want to speak in favour of amendments 108 and 183. Those…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)Does my hon. Friend agree that the provision of a further independent doctor assessment—both one and two—in addition to the doctor conducting the initial discussion, would provide…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point. For the reasons that I have outlined, I will not support amendment 50. However, I would hate for any of us who do so to be…26 Feb 2025