Contributions
1,851 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I have made it clear throughout the debate that I am not offering a Government view on the merits of amendments. My remarks are focused much more on the legal and practical…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)The amendments would make changes to the discussion between the medical practitioner and the patient. They are largely focused on clause 4, on the initial discussions, but several…04 Mar 2025HANSARDEarly Support HubsThe Minister for Patient Safety, Women’s Health and Mental Health, my noble Friend Baroness Merron, has made the following written statement: Nothing says more about the state of…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)This group of amendments focuses on language and literacy barriers, including discussion of the use of interpreters and translations. If amendment 414 is agreed to, a registered…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. As I have stated previously, my remarks on behalf of the Government on these amendments will provide a factual…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)The challenge is the dissonance in how the guidance under the Down Syndrome Act, which is currently very close to publication, is directed towards authorities such as trusts, but…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)I am happy to have conversations with the hon. Lady and other hon. Members, but as things stand it is not clear to the Department or to me how the proposal would work in practice.04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)Extensive consultations have taken place with all the key groups and advocacy organisations on Down’s syndrome in the drafting of the guidance. The guidance is very close to…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)As I have set out, officials have looked at amendment 297 and raised a couple of flags or questions about it. One is what we have discussed about the transcript. The other is that…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)This series of amendments relates to the various discussions and assessments that registered medical practitioners, co-ordinating doctors and independent doctors will have with…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)The challenge we found with amendment 297 is that it is not entirely clear what would happen if the person were to say expressly that they did not want a written record. That…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Sixteenth sitting)I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that clarification and apologise for my misunderstanding; I thought he was referring to the guidance that we are currently working on under…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I will speak to this group of provisions as one, given that amendments 71 to 80 are consequential on new clause 4. The purpose of these provisions is to create a new statutory…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)Thank you, Mr Dowd. I have answered the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley and am happy to take another intervention.04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that clarification, because I had heard he was withdrawing but I thought perhaps he meant he would not push him amendments to a vote.04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I will therefore speak to amendment 208, which provides “that the form of a statement by the coordinating doctor following the making of the second declaration is to be set out in…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)Although it is for Parliament to decide whether to progress the Bill, this Government remain committed to ensuring the legal robustness and workability of all legislation. For…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I agree with my hon. Friend on that point. As I stated at the start of my comments, officials have worked with her on new clause 19, which I think goes a long way to clearing up…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)I think it reflects the fact that, as the Committee has agreed, we are in uncharted territory on a whole range of issues here. I think it is best to think through the implications…04 Mar 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Seventeenth sitting)As my hon. Friend knows, there will be an impact assessment on the Bill once it has cleared Committee. The Government’s impact assessment would be based on the Bill as it cleared…04 Mar 2025