Lords committee stage eighth day. Clause 1 agreed to. Clause 2 under consideration.

Lords committee stage eighth day. Clause 1 agreed to. Clause 2 under consideration.

I realise that your Lordships wish to get on to the substance of the Bill, and the points I am about to raise are specifically on the Bill and will have an impact on the groupings we are about to debate. I notified the Chief Whip, the clerks and the...

I realise that your Lordships wish to get on to the substance of the Bill, and the points I am about to raise are specifically on the Bill and will have an impact on the groupings we are about to debate. I notified the Chief Whip, the clerks and the...

These questions relate to a detailed amendment to Clause 22 that I tabled yesterday, which provides for an independent advocate to help people who need assistance. I will read the questions the noble Baroness has given me—she did not give me notice of them, and I make no complaint about...

These questions relate to a detailed amendment to Clause 22 that I tabled yesterday, which provides for an independent advocate to help people who need assistance. I will read the questions the noble Baroness has given me—she did not give me notice of them, and I make no complaint about...

Moved by

Baroness Coffey

60: Clause 1, page 1, line 21, leave out “8, 10, 11 and 19” and insert “5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment broadens what activities must be done...

Moved by

Baroness Coffey

60: Clause 1, page 1, line 21, leave out “8, 10, 11 and 19” and insert “5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29 and 30”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment broadens what activities must be done...

I am grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Harper and Lord Empey, for signing this amendment. I will also speak to my Amendment 65 and consider an amendment put forward by the shadow Front Bench.

It is disappointing that the Justice Minister is not in her place on the Front Bench...

I am grateful to the noble Lords, Lord Harper and Lord Empey, for signing this amendment. I will also speak to my Amendment 65 and consider an amendment put forward by the shadow Front Bench.

It is disappointing that the Justice Minister is not in her place on the Front Bench...

My Lords, I have put my name to some of these amendments. In the spirit of what the Chief Whip said, I will not repeat what the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, said, but I gently remind the Committee that this Private Member’s Bill is not normal, in so far as...

My Lords, I have put my name to some of these amendments. In the spirit of what the Chief Whip said, I will not repeat what the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, said, but I gently remind the Committee that this Private Member’s Bill is not normal, in so far as...

My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 376. It is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Empey. Last Friday, like many of your Lordships, I sat here all day and did not say a word. My amendment was in the following group, but sadly we did not...

My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 376. It is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Empey. Last Friday, like many of your Lordships, I sat here all day and did not say a word. My amendment was in the following group, but sadly we did not...

My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 320B and three others in my name in this group. The first clinical gateway in this Bill is the

most important moment any of us will ever legislate for: the moment a doctor begins the process that can lead to a life...

My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 320B and three others in my name in this group. The first clinical gateway in this Bill is the

most important moment any of us will ever legislate for: the moment a doctor begins the process that can lead to a life...

My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, that this issue will never be a routine tick-box exercise. Being in Tenerife rather than Torbay is the choice of the patient. If they want to spend that time there before they return to the UK and die, it is not...

My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, that this issue will never be a routine tick-box exercise. Being in Tenerife rather than Torbay is the choice of the patient. If they want to spend that time there before they return to the UK and die, it is not...

My Lords, for the reasons given, mainly by the noble Lord, Lord Empey, and despite what the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, has just said, it seems to me highly desirable that there should be face-to-face contact if such an enormously important decision is being made. I therefore support face-to-face contact...

My Lords, for the reasons given, mainly by the noble Lord, Lord Empey, and despite what the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, has just said, it seems to me highly desirable that there should be face-to-face contact if such an enormously important decision is being made. I therefore support face-to-face contact...

My Lords, taken together, the amendments in this group highlight the importance of contact with people at the hardest time in their lives—a time when we must be most vulnerable, clinically and personally. This must not be a process in which anyone is made to feel rushed or that can...

My Lords, taken together, the amendments in this group highlight the importance of contact with people at the hardest time in their lives—a time when we must be most vulnerable, clinically and personally. This must not be a process in which anyone is made to feel rushed or that can...

My Lords, I added my name in support of the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Rainow, for in-person assessment by the assisting doctor—the first assessment and the second. As has been said, how on earth can any doctor judge the mind—the physical and mental condition—of the person...

My Lords, I added my name in support of the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Rainow, for in-person assessment by the assisting doctor—the first assessment and the second. As has been said, how on earth can any doctor judge the mind—the physical and mental condition—of the person...

My Lords, I wonder whether the House will listen to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, which is that she is probably the only person in the House—and certainly the only person who has spoken this morning—who has had practical experience of assessing people. She spoke very...

My Lords, I wonder whether the House will listen to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, which is that she is probably the only person in the House—and certainly the only person who has spoken this morning—who has had practical experience of assessing people. She spoke very...

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, just asked us to consider the circumstances of those who are seeking an assisted death, but I would like to give a salutary lesson—I am sorry to disagree with the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada.

My father was taken ill during the Covid pandemic. He...

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Jay, just asked us to consider the circumstances of those who are seeking an assisted death, but I would like to give a salutary lesson—I am sorry to disagree with the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada.

My father was taken ill during the Covid pandemic. He...

My Lords, I will speak on face-to-face consultation; my Amendment 483 on this is in a later group.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was briefly made possible for the making of a will to be witnessed by videolink rather than in person. This change could have been made permanent, but instead...

My Lords, I will speak on face-to-face consultation; my Amendment 483 on this is in a later group.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, it was briefly made possible for the making of a will to be witnessed by videolink rather than in person. This change could have been made permanent, but instead...

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, has already alluded to the issue of wills, so I will not go to that, but there is another legal precedent, Devon Partnership NHS Trust v the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2021, when the High Court ruled that...

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, has already alluded to the issue of wills, so I will not go to that, but there is another legal precedent, Devon Partnership NHS Trust v the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2021, when the High Court ruled that...

My Lords, it is essential that, as we debate this group of amendments, we keep in mind the fact that the systems that we are creating are for people in the last six months of their lives. We must balance the demands that we place on them at this very...

My Lords, it is essential that, as we debate this group of amendments, we keep in mind the fact that the systems that we are creating are for people in the last six months of their lives. We must balance the demands that we place on them at this very...

Will the noble Baroness give way?

Will the noble Baroness give way?

I am coming to the end of my speech; I do not think I have to take an intervention, so I would like to finish my point.

It seems to me that this is about making the choice of an assisted death difficult or impossible. We need to think carefully about...

I am coming to the end of my speech; I do not think I have to take an intervention, so I would like to finish my point.

It seems to me that this is about making the choice of an assisted death difficult or impossible. We need to think carefully about...

My Lords, we should thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Gerada and Lady Pidgeon, for raising important counters to a lot of these contributions, because it is important that we do not fetishise face-to-face communication as infallible. It offers no guarantee that comprehension happens, that people listen and that there is...

My Lords, we should thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Gerada and Lady Pidgeon, for raising important counters to a lot of these contributions, because it is important that we do not fetishise face-to-face communication as infallible. It offers no guarantee that comprehension happens, that people listen and that there is...