Speeches by Olney.

“Can I come back to you on the point about the Treasury and its role? The report highlights that the Treasury feels that, because its formal involvement does not come until towards the end of the approval process, it is not always clear to it what steps have been taken further up the chain. Is there not value in involvi…”

“I want to make a couple of further points in response to some of the those raised by Members. First, I have looked at amendment 500, which the hon. Member for Spen Valley directed me to, and I thank the hon. Member for Reigate for showing it to me—her record keeping is much better than mine. I was going to say that ame…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for that useful intervention. As I say, socioeconomic status is not currently a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.”

“I expect the hon. Lady did, but since none of us in the room was a member of that Government—I think—or indeed Members of Parliament at the time, I do not know how hon. Members want me to respond to that. It remains the case, I believe, that socioeconomic status is not currently a protected characteristic under the Equ…”

“I know: the Barnes ward in my constituency is one of the most unequal wards in the country, so I fully appreciate the right hon. Gentleman’s point. As I say, that is the socioeconomic indicator that I have for now, thanks to the failings of our predecessors to include it in the Equality Act, but I am open to amendments…”

“I beg to move amendment 273, in clause 29, page 17, line 33, at end insert— “(1A) Regulations under subsection (1) must specify that the following information is collected for each assisted death— (a) the person’s age, (b) the person’s gender, (c) the person’s ethnicity, (d) the postcode of the person’s address at the …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. We have discussed throughout the course of the Committee the importance of collecting good information on the operation of assisted dying, and I know that hon. Members will agree that understanding the impact of legislation on society, for better or ill, he…”

“I have nothing to add. Amendment 408 agreed to. Amendments made: 210, in clause 19, page 13, line 22, at end insert— “(2A) Regulations under subsection (2)(b) may in particular provide that the required training, qualifications or experience is to be determined by a person specified in the regulations.” This amendment …”

“rose—”

“I hope the Minister can answer a question for me. I hear what he is saying about concerns with the amendments themselves, which makes a lot of sense, and the policy objectives of the hon. Member for Spen Valley. What I am concerned about is that in the Bill as drafted, notwithstanding that various amendments have been …”

“The Minister is talking about somebody making a medical judgment, which would obviously be the right thing to do in the normal course of events, but we are talking about a doctor being left in a position of not knowing whether to take a further step that would end somebody’s life or to take the step that would be natur…”

“I beg to move amendment 408, in clause 19, page 13, line 18, after “provided” insert “has been consulted and”. The amendment ensures the person has been consulted before they have given consent for another medical practitioner to be authorised to provide assistance.”

“Amendment 408 seeks clarity on a critical aspect of the legislation. Clause 19 allows a co-ordinating doctor to authorise another registered medical practitioner to carry out their functions, providing that the patient consents and that the replacement has completed training, qualifications and experience as specified …”

“I am listening to what the hon. Gentleman is saying, and a lot of what he is talking about in terms of giving doctors discretion makes a lot of sense in a routine medical intervention, but this is not a routine medical intervention. This is a very serious point, and the doctor’s judgment in this case could well fall ei…”

“The hon. Gentleman gives me an opportunity to conclude my remarks. I support amendment 429 because it is important to provide clarity that when we say “with the patient,” we mean in the room. However, I invite the Minister to expand further on the resource requirement of assisted dying. I want the doctor to remain with…”

“I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s professional experience, which is extremely helpful. He is absolutely right. Following the point made by the hon. Member for Banbury, we cannot define the circumstances in which a patient will find themselves when this is taking place. That is why it is incumbent on us to make sur…”

“The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. It is fundamental that, with this legislation, we provide very clear guidance to the medical practitioners who will be engaged in assisting patients with this matter. This is not only for their peace of mind that what they are doing is acceptable under the law, and accords with w…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I support amendment 429, tabled by the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford. I do not understand how subsection (9) can require the doctor to remain with the person until they have self-administered and died, or until they have decided not to self-admini…”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Amendments made: 207, in clause 13, page 9, line 20, leave out “Schedule 4” and insert “regulations made by the Secretary of State”. This amendment provides that the form of a second declaration is to be set out in regulations (rather than in…”

“That was the hon. Member’s response when I made my speech on the amendment in the previous sitting. I have reflected on that over the weekend. I still think that the issue of the voluntary stopping of eating and drinking is a very serious one that ought to be reflected somewhere in the legislation, but she is correct t…”