Speeches by Francis.

“Thank you for letting me speak, Mr Dowd. I will be brief. As we reach the end of our debate on clause 4, I regret some of the decisions that we have made. I welcome the fact that in due course we will discuss amendment 418, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, which also relates to the preliminary …”

“I echo the points that have been made about the importance of the initial conversations, particularly for those who do not have English as their first language. I made a commitment to my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich that in his absence I would press amendments 414 and 415 to a Division, as he requested. I support…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I note that my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley has said that she is minded to accept amendment 341. I will, however, still briefly speak to amendment 338 and new clause 13, which stand in my name. The British Medical Association has said that it strongl…”

“I hear that. There are different decisions, whether it is buying a coffee or seeking an assisted death. Would my hon. Friend concur that, for some individuals in those scenarios who may be by themselves because of the circumstances of their lives and about whose capacity there may be doubt, the doctor must presume in t…”

“I beg to move amendment 322, in clause 3, page 2, line 13, at end insert— “except that— (a) for the purposes of an assessment of capacity under this Act, a person must be assumed not to have capacity unless it is established they do have capacity, and (b) section 1(3) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 shall not apply.” T…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. Of the three amendments in my name, I come first to amendments 319 and 320. Clause 1 outlines that the legislation relates to a terminally ill person who “is aged 18 or over at the time the person makes a first declaration”. It does not, however, refer to the …”

“I will not speak for long. I spoke in great depth about my amendment and other amendments this morning. Over the past few weeks, hon. Members will have heard, long and hard, about where I come from on the clause stand part issue. This has been one of my greatest difficulties. It drove me to oppose the Bill on Second Re…”

“I will read paragraph 4.50 of the mental capacity code of practice: “For certain kinds of complex decisions (for example, making a will)”— and the others I have just mentioned— “there are specific legal tests…in addition to the two-stage test for capacity.” It already exists within our law; for other tests, there is an…”

“The Mental Capacity Act code of practice outlines that following a court judgment, there is a separate capacity test for making a will or a gift, entering into a contract, litigating and entering into a marriage. It outlines, in paragraph 4.50, specific legal tests on top of the mental capacity assessment. Will the Min…”

“In the evidence from Mencap and in large swathes of the written evidence, we have heard grave concerns from communities representing people with learning disabilities about how this legislation was enacted during covid, particularly with “do not resuscitate” notices. Evidence shows that people with learning disabilitie…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I accept that we had a long debate on issues relating to mental capacity in respect of the amendments tabled by the hon. Member for Richmond Park, but we heard in oral evidence significant representations and concerns regarding how the Mental Capacity Act 2005…”

“I will return to that. I understand what amendment 11 seeks to do, but I think we should have a hybrid, because I do not think either amendment would completely achieve what we want. I will seek the Minister’s advice in due course. I understand the legal advice to my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley on this matte…”

“Referring back to Dr Cox, she said: “We need to make sure that the 75% to 90% of people who are dying and need palliative care are getting it. We need to make sure that there is not inequity in palliative care, so that you do not have to be white and rich and have cancer to get good palliative care. We need to make sur…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that those with early-stage dementia or Alzheimer’s could pass the mental capacity test in the Mental Capacity Act 2005?”

“I hear that point but, looking at my postbag, the people who berate me for not supporting the Bill often talk about their loved ones with motor neurone disease or Parkinson’s, which I understand from oral evidence will be exempt. We need to make it clear which disabilities and conditions will be eligible, and I am not …”

“The amendments before us have left me in a significant quandary, as some Members are aware. I am concerned that while their proposers are genuinely seeking to improve the Bill, legal loopholes may remain. Prior to Second Reading, the Equality and Human Rights Commission produced a briefing note on the Bill. It included…”

“To pick up the points made by the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire and the hon. Member for Reigate, my understanding of the discussion we had this morning and where we now are is that it would be an offence under the Suicide Act to encourage a loved one to commit suicide when they have nine months left to liv…”

“I want to bring us back to the points raised by the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire. I may have misread this, but I understand that, under the current law and under the law as it would stand if this legislation were introduced, it would remain an offence to encourage somebody to commit suicide with a 12-mont…”

“The one thing that covid taught me was what my hon. Friend is alluding to. Hon. Members heard yesterday a bit about my family situation. I have a child who will never walk, will always be in nappies, will always need to be fed, and will always need to be dressed. During that period, no carer was allowed in the house, a…”

“From what I understand from the promoter of the Bill, the argument is that we should put these measures in place to protect from coercion people who have less than six months to live, but we would not put those protections in place for people who have nine or 12 months to live. If we are putting the measures in place f…”