Contributions
1,851 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTerminally 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 (Fifteenth sitting)Without knowing the exact implications for the number of people who the hon. Member mentioned, it is difficult to answer her question, but fundamentally the Government’s position…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)The Government are neutral on the Bill—the Government do not take a view on the substantial philosophical, ethical and moral policy considerations—but we do advise, and are…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)The Bill has a two-year commencement date. Within that two-year period, the Secretary of State will make regulations to determine precisely the kind of training and capacity…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)Indeed: common law, jurisprudence and whatever a professional body might take as a steer for delivery. It is then about the professional judgment of the professional body.26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)I think the right hon. Member has outlined what I was saying, in slightly sketchier terms, about legislation, regulation, training, capacity building and delivery. What he has…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)I thank the hon. Member for the last intervention that he will ever make on me. The Government’s analysis of this group of amendments is that, to varying degrees, they would not…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)That goes back to what I was saying earlier, which is that this is fundamentally a judgment call: do we make the system more robust, resilient and effective by adding more…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)I see the point that my hon. Friend is making, but the amendments, as the Government understand them, would risk creating a parallel legal framework and increasing levels of…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)What we are saying is that we have the Mental Capacity Act as the legal basis for the questions we are addressing in the Bill. Cleary, on top of that regulations will be brought…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. Fundamentally, the balance of judgment of risk is based on whether, if we add additional words, phrases and amendments to a piece of…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)What we are talking about today with this Bill—and the job of this Bill Committee is to improve the Bill—is a number of safeguards that ensure that the patient is absolutely…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)My hon. Friend makes an important point, and did so more eloquently than I could. The withdrawal of treatment is an important part of this conversation. I would also say that…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)It is the Government’s view that, even though the Bill is introducing something new, introducing new and potentially parallel legal frameworks would not improve its clarity or…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)It is the view of the Government that this is a new piece of legislation that introduces a new type of engagement between somebody who meets the conditions and criteria set out in…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. As usual, my remarks will focus on the legal and practical impact of amendments, to assist Members in their…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Fifteenth sitting)We are talking about the holistic nature of the engagement between patients and medical specialists. In some cases that is for treatment, and in others it is for the withdrawal of…26 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Thirteenth sitting)I have some brief comments to make. Amendments 12 and 13 seek to further define a terminal illness for the purpose of the Bill; I will set out some details about their effect. The…25 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Thirteenth sitting)As usual, I will make brief remarks on the legal and practical impact of amendments, while emphasising that the Government continue to remain neutral on the Bill and on assisted…25 Feb 2025HANSARDTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Thirteenth sitting)My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. She brings us back to the fundamental point made in the Bill, which is that it has to be “an inevitably progressive illness”. Eating…25 Feb 2025