Speeches by Leadbeater.

“I can confirm that the chief medical officer for Wales was invited to give evidence. I do not know the circumstances of why he did not. If it is helpful for me or other colleagues to meet him, the offer is definitely open.”

“I welcome this important debate about the impact of this potential legislation on Wales. I thank the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd for her valuable contributions. I also welcome the Minister’s commitment to meet the right hon. Lady and me for discussions with parliamentary counsel and the relevant authoritie…”

“Hopefully the Minister and other colleagues are reassured that, if the Committee agrees to the introduction of the voluntary assisted dying commission, monitoring will be very intense and reporting will be very robust. That might allay some of the fears that have been raised today.”

“I beg to move amendment 187, in clause 5, page 3, line 24, leave out subsection (4). This amendment is consequential on NC8, which contains a single duty to consult before making regulations under various provisions of the Bill.”

“This group of amendments is consequential on new clause 8, which would create a single duty for the Secretary of State to consult before making regulations under various provisions of the Bill. It would consolidate the previous requirements to consult in relation to clauses 5, 8 and 19 and expand the duty to cover addi…”

“I have nothing further to add in this debate.”

“I apologise, but I thought my hon. Friend said that they did not have capacity.”

“I am indeed happy to accept amendment 21 as well.”

“This service, like many others, will be delivered through a range of providers, as alluded to by the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire. I understand the keenness to have this debate now, but we will come on to it further down the line. The hon. Member for East Wiltshire is right that this is really important.”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“It will be.”

“I will not test the patience of the Committee by repeating the Minister’s comments on amendments 197 and 198, but he is absolutely right that they relate to the duty imposed on the Secretary of State to make regulations about the training, qualifications and experience required to act as the independent doctor. I hope …”

“I understand the hon. Gentleman’s keenness to get to the debate on clause 32, on the provision of the service—we will come to that in due course—but this conversation is about the amendment. To be clear, there is no expectation that assisted dying would be set up as a private enterprise or service. It would be delivere…”

“To clarify, I think it is clear that the panel would include a psychiatrist and a social worker. I hope that reassures my hon. Friend.”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on tabling amendment 1 on the amendment paper—a lot has happened since he tabled that amendment, it is fair to say. I get the impression from the Committee that we will all be voting in favour of making it compulsory to refer to a psychiatrist when one of the doctors feels there is a need …”

“I have nothing to add, Mrs Harris.”

“As I said earlier, I have no doubt that these amendments are coming from a good place and from somebody with huge experience in this particular area. There is absolute consensus on the Committee that the last thing we want is for anybody with a mental health condition and terminal illness to end up going down a path th…”

“My hon. Friend is making an important speech. Is he, like me, reassured that it is not just about capacity, but about someone’s clear, settled and informed wish? If someone is suffering from a mental health condition, there is a very strong chance that they will not meet the criteria. Also, my amendment 423 will streng…”

“Well, that is the purpose of clause 4: the doctor has to lay out the options available to the patient as long as all the criteria are met. We can see from the guidance that currently exists that doctors take a very sensitive and patient-centred approach to end-of-life conversations. If the law were to change, that appr…”

“I agree that, under the provisions of the Bill, the doctor will have a duty to lay out options available to the patient, if they meet the eligibility criteria—absolutely. That is the whole purpose of the Bill.”