Speeches by Francis.

“As my hon. Friend knows, having been on the Bill Committee with me, I had the same advice from Ministers: they disagreed with the wording of some of my amendments, yet they were accepted by the Bill’s promoter and the Committee and are now in the wording of the Bill. The position of the promoter and the position put to…”

“The hon. Gentleman, like me, sat on the Bill Committee. He heard, as I did, that if somebody had a learning disability, they were five times more likely to have a “do not resuscitate” order placed on them during the pandemic. Did he hear that evidence? Why does he not agree with it?”

“I will not, because of time constraints; I am sorry. Like a small number of other Members in this House, I know the daily concerns of being a parent of a child with complex disabilities, including a learning disability. That concern lives with you every single day of your life: that concern about what will happen to yo…”

“I rise to speak to amendment 24 in my name, and I will start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) for inviting me to be a member of the Bill Committee. I accept the principle that somebody given the devastating news that they have six months left to live should be able to choose the mo…”

“In 2022, the previous Government cut a significant number of Southeastern services that my constituents in Bexleyheath and Crayford rely on. My constituents continue to raise concerns that direct services from London Charing Cross to Barnehurst and Bexleyheath should be reinstated during the evenings and weekends. Coul…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for what was a very distressing statement. How might the plans for safeguarding DWP claimants apply to current Government policies?”

“As the parent of a child with cerebral palsy and complex disabilities, I know what it is like to be a carer—I am a carer every day and I will be a carer until my dying day. It is therefore incumbent on me to speak on behalf of carers in this debate. I am now privileged because of the income I earn, but I have been ther…”

“It is a privilege to speak in this debate to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. I am proud to serve as the Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford and to represent a constituency that is home to around 2,000 veterans. My constituency is in proximity to the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in the south-east…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) for securing the debate. My constituents at Vickers Green in Crayford have experienced similar problems to other constituents. The Conservative council granted their Barratt Homes development, consisting…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor) for securing this important debate. Like all of us here today, I have been contacted by dozens of constituents who have been affected by problems with Thames Water’s service and, of course, the recent i…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for securing this important debate. I pay tribute to my constituents Paula and Gillian, who have experienced the impact of pelvic mesh. I raised Paula’s experience in a debate o…”

“Like thousands of others, I carried out my caring responsibilities this morning before I came to this place. I have first-hand experience of worrying about paying the bills every month due to caring responsibilities—something I no longer have to worry about. Will the Minister consider whether we need a plan across Gove…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I need to say at the outset that my wife is employed as a SEND co-ordinator in the London borough of Bexley. I was a councillor in Bexley for 20 years, including 10 years under the last Labour Government. I hear what the hon. Member for Bromley and Biggin Hill …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. This has been a long process, and we are nearly at the end of it now. Members will recall that at the start of the process, I was very insistent that Mencap should give oral evidence. When it did so, Dan Scorer said: “Clause 35 is about the review of the Act. T…”

“My hon. Friend the Member for Luton South and South Bedfordshire referred to IVF. My wife and I have been through IVF, and what exists is exactly what the hon. Member for Richmond Park described. There is an annual show at Olympia where it has been commercialised and it is put to people, “Why not go down this route? Wh…”

“I wish to speak to my new clause 28, which was suggested by Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end-of-life charity. The new clause is more substantive than my two amendments in the previous group. It would require an additional assessment within 12 months of the Bill being passed, with the Secretary of State required to und…”

“I wish to press the amendment to a vote. Question put, That the amendment be made.”

“Amendment 454 stands in my name, in relation to the clause on disqualification from being witness or proxy. Clause 36(2) outlines the reasons why an individual cannot be a witness or proxy: if they are a relative of the person; if it is believed they are a beneficiary of the will; if they may otherwise benefit financia…”

“I beg to move amendment 454, in clause 36, page 22, line 26, at end insert— “(e) any person who would not have capacity to request assistance to end their own life under this Act.””

“That new clause was tabled within the last week. Has my hon. Friend sought advice from the Clerks? The only way that we could amend this now is through a manuscript amendment, and I presume that now, at the eleventh hour, that would not be allowable. I just want to clarify the position.”