Speeches by Kinnock.

“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 advising, the Committee on the implications for the legislative framework of amendments that have been tabled. In a sense, we are not neutral in re…”

“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.”

“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 described falls under what I would broadly refer to as regulations, but within that there are a multitude of interventions, which could include …”

“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 add clarity; they would add more complexity, partly because they would either create a parallel legal framework or put new elements into the m…”

“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 complexity and bringing in a new and parallel legislative framework, or is it best to work with a legislative framework that is well established and…”

“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 uncertainty, and the more that we increase levels of uncertainty, the greater the risk of the system not working properly. Clearly, the situation …”

“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 forward by the Secretary of State to ensure that medical practitioners have adequate training and that capacity-building takes place, so that …”

“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 legislation, it would have the result of decreasing the risk we are trying to address, or of increasing that risk. The Government’s view is t…”

“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 consulted and positively and constructively engaged every step of the way. In that sense this is different from the situation my hon. Friend descr…”

“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 although we totally understand that Members want to address through primary legislation certain risks that they see arising from this legislation…”

“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 clause 1, and medical practitioners and other experts, as set out in the Bill. I am not quite sure what the hon. Gentleman is driving at. I …”

“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 treatment. The answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that what we are talking about here—the two distinct legal frameworks— relates bot…”

“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 consideration. This set of amendments seeks to change the way in which capacity is determined. As drafted, the Bill requires that a terminally ill perso…”

“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 amendments would add a requirement that a list of a terminal illnesses for which people are eligible to seek assistance under the Bill be sp…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I am just talking about the amendment to reduce the time from six months to one month. I will come on to the issue of eating and drinking in a second. As amendment 282 would reduce the time within which the person is expected to die from six months to one month, it would als…”

“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 dying more broadly. This series of amendments, which I will take in turn, seeks to change the definition of “terminally ill”, either widening …”

“The right hon. Member makes an excellent point. I think it goes back to our basic view that there are some amazing health professionals in our healthcare system who do fantastic work. Eating disorders are a truly tragic condition and, of course, there is all sorts of support in place. It is not always perfect or exactl…”

“My understanding is that amendment 181 is clear that the qualification for accessing assisted dying has to be based on the definitions in the main body of the Bill. If passed by the Committee, the amendment will make it clear that an eating disorder does not qualify for access to that service. There has to be another, …”

“My answer to that question is yes. My understanding is that so long as the terminally ill, six-month criteria are met, that person would qualify for assistance under the Bill.”

“It is a well-made case; I am still reflecting on it, because of the somewhat complex nature of my role on this Committee, but I am inclined to support the hon. Member’s amendment. Amendment 11 also seeks to amend clause 2(3). Our assessment of the effect of this amendment is that a person who has a mental disorder and/…”