Speeches by Leadbeater.

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. That was a very powerful point, if slightly long. There are people who face these really traumatic and difficult decisions every day, including Louise Shackleton, who I believe is also with us today.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I have not seen those comments, but it is absolutely right that whatever our views are on this issue, we must remain respectful. I also want to thank colleagues here in Parliament—MPs and indeed staff—who have shared their personal stories of loss with me over recent months…”

“Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will move on to the amendments. If I may, I want to acknowledge the work of the Bill Committee in relation to the amendments, because a huge amount of work was done by Members from all parties, with a range of views—”

“I do indeed, Mr Speaker; you are absolutely right. The amendments that we are discussing today build on some of the work of the Committee, and I think that is important. We took a lot of steps to strengthen the Bill in Committee, and I was pleased to work collaboratively with colleagues in that way. As I come on to the…”

“I will just make some progress, if I may. It is about not just patient choice but choice for professional people, too. We know there are a range of views on assisted dying across a range of professions. I have always been clear that no one who is uncomfortable taking part should have to, and nor should there be any det…”

“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention. The civil servants are clearly neutral on the issue. They certainly have not expressed any opinions on the content of the Bill. They have merely provided the technical advice and expertise, and they have done so brilliantly in that regard. New clause 10, amendment…”

“I refer my hon. Friend to my previous comments that the Bill and these clauses and schedules have been drafted with the highest level of legal expertise. It is not something I anticipate being a problem.”

“I reject the assertion that patients will shop around. Bearing in mind that we are talking about dying people, they are not in a position to start shopping around for services, but I also agree that the Bill is strict in that regard. There are very strict protocols that doctors will have to follow.”

“I will.”

“There is absolutely nothing in the Bill that has any suggestion that any funding would be impacted by whatever decisions organisations make around assisted dying. I will make some progress. New clause 10(1) states clearly: “No person is under any duty to participate in the provision of assistance in accordance with thi…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I agree that we must be respectful, but we must also be honest with each other. Amendment (a) to new clause 10 was tabled by the hon. Member for Reigate (Rebecca Paul), who I thank for her work on the Bill Committee. I understand the thinking behind the amendment, but I…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We keep coming back to the word “choice”. It is about choice for patients and terminally ill people, but it is also about choice for medical professionals and others. Because of the unintended consequences, I cannot support amendment (a), but I am confident that new clause 10 and new…”

“The patient could request information, but so could doctors and other healthcare professionals. It would be wrong if people were not allowed to share that information if it was requested, even if their employer did not want them to do it. I turn now to new clause 11 and consequential amendments 64 and 65, which will en…”

“I will make a little more progress, if I may, because a lot of people want to speak. New clause 12 ensures that there is thorough reporting of instances where the co-ordinating doctor concludes that the patient does not meet the strict eligibility criteria set out in the Bill. It is very important that this data is rec…”

“That would not be an issue, because copies of the report would be given to the patent, the co-ordinating doctor if they are not in the patient’s GP’s practice, and the commissioner, so that information would be recorded, and it is very important that it is. The report must set out the reasons—”

“I will make some progress, if I may. I am trying to be very open to interventions, but I do need to crack on. The report must set out why the co-ordinating doctor is not satisfied and must contain an explanation of why the patient cannot proceed with the assisted dying process. The co-ordinating doctor must give a copy…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. Given her background, she knows what she is talking about. Regulations will set out the level of expertise required by the doctor, but there will also be training for every single doctor taking part in the assisted dying process. That is done well around the world, so there i…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The Royal College of Psychiatrists has a neutral position on the issue of assisted dying. If we refer to the impact—[Interruption.] Yes, it does.”

“I will just finish this point. If we refer to the impact assessment, the number of people who will access assisted dying in the first few years will be very small. I think there are around 4,500 psychiatrists in the country, but there is also a period of time of a number of years to do the training required for psychia…”

“I will keep going, if I may, because I think I have been fairly fair. Amendment 78 ensures that all three members of the panel must agree before a certificate of eligibility is issued, so abstentions cannot result in approval. The amendment came about as a result of discussions in Committee. It is really important to c…”