Speeches by Kinnock.

“Extensive consultations have taken place with all the key groups and advocacy organisations on Down’s syndrome in the drafting of the guidance. The guidance is very close to publication; once it is published, it will form the basis of a further consultation. It is an iterative process.”

“I am happy to have conversations with the hon. Lady and other hon. Members, but as things stand it is not clear to the Department or to me how the proposal would work in practice.”

“The challenge is the dissonance in how the guidance under the Down Syndrome Act, which is currently very close to publication, is directed towards authorities such as trusts, but there is no coverage around individual doctors. At this stage, without seeing a clear distinction between the two or how it would work for in…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. As I have stated previously, my remarks on behalf of the Government on these amendments will provide a factual explanation. I shall not offer a position on how the Committee should vote, as that remains a matter of conscience. The overarching theme of the amend…”

“The Bill has a two-year commencement date. Within that two-year period, the Secretary of State will make regulations to determine precisely the kind of training and capacity building that are required, and that training will be delivered within that two-year period. Those sorts of issues will be dealt with if the Bill …”

“Without knowing the exact implications for the number of people who the hon. Member mentioned, it is difficult to answer her question, but fundamentally the Government’s position on every aspect of the Bill is to be clear that we want the Bill Committee to make informed decisions. Those informed decisions should be bas…”

“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 Government’s view that, even though the Bill is introducing something new, introducing new and potentially parallel legal frameworks would not improve its clarity or workability. In essence, the Government’s view is that we bring forward legislation; if that legislation passes, we bring forward regulations; a…”

“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…”