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Assisted Dying

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Warner on securing what has turned out to be an extraordinary debate on a matter of profound importance. This is not the first occasion on which the House has had the opportunity to debate the issue of assisted dying, and obviously it will not be the last. On this occasion, as on previous ones, we have heard passionately held but deeply divided views. By any standards this is a very distinguished cast list, and I thank all noble Lords for the discipline that they have shown in their speeches and, of course, for what they have said. My belief is that tomorrow’s copies of Hansard should sell like hot cakes because the arguments for and against change in this field have rarely, if ever, been put so concisely and so well. The moral and ethical questions surrounding this issue have been well rehearsed. Time is short—although, I fear, not short for me—so I will focus on what my noble friend has asked: namely, what consideration the Government have given to holding an independent inquiry on assisted dying to examine the evidence for and against a change in the law. As he reminded the Committee, in an Oral Question last October my noble friend raised the issue of an independent inquiry or commission. I said then that it was an idea that I would take back. A public inquiry is a long-term commitment. Whatever the merits of an independent inquiry on this issue, I have to tell the Committee that realistically there is little prospect of such an inquiry being set up during what remains of this Parliament. At this stage, debating the possibility is academic. However, the question of whether there should be an inquiry will almost certainly arise again in the next Parliament. Therefore, it is more than useful to have this opportunity to consider the issue. I and the Government have made clear on previous occasions that our view is that any change to the law in this area is, of course, an issue of individual conscience. It is rightly a matter for Parliament, rather than government policy, to decide. We therefore take a neutral view when others seek to change the law. To be clear: this means neither standing in the way of such a change nor actively pursuing it. There are of course options open to Parliament if it wants to look at the issue of assisted dying, whether in relation to people who are terminally ill or more widely. One such option would be consideration by a Select Committee. Indeed, as we have heard, the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill, brought by my noble friend, Lord Joffe, was considered at some length by a Select Committee, mentioned in this debate, and chaired by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, which reported in April 2005. Beyond such options, the question of holding an independent inquiry on the issue is not as straightforward as it may seem. I hope that noble Lords will appreciate that, whatever a Government may say, it may not be perceived as neutral for us to facilitate any such action. Even if we remain entirely neutral on the moral issues involved, the very fact of setting up such an inquiry would be seen by some as tantamount to a policy decision that the law should be changed. In the debate, it was interesting that those in favour of change were very keen on an inquiry and those who were against change were equally keen for there not to be one. The Government have not been blind to the extremely high public profile that this issue has had over many months—particularly in the past few weeks and days—or to the growing pressure to put in place a mechanism to allow the issue to be properly looked at. Our postbag in the Ministry of Justice reflects the very real concerns that members of the public have about this issue and, I am afraid, the extent to which it polarises opinion. Some people have called for a public consultation but, in the absence of any policy proposals—and such proposals could be difficult to formulate when starting from a position of neutrality—a public consultation would be unfocused and unlikely to reach any meaningful conclusions. Of course a public inquiry can be a good way of responding to an issue or events that have caused, or are capable of causing, public concern. In theory, I do not doubt that the sort of independent inquiry that my noble friend envisages and argues so strongly for would be a good way of ensuring that all the relevant issues around assisted suicide were properly addressed. These include personal beliefs, personal autonomy, safeguarding the vulnerable and medical ethics, among others. Evidence could be taken from all relevant disciplines, including health professionals for whom any relaxation of the law could, and probably would, have significant implications. However, we argue that in practice there is a very real question about whether such an inquiry could be expected to resolve this extremely divisive issue. Let us leave aside for a moment the question of whether it would be appropriate for the Government to set up an inquiry and, instead, look at some of the considerations that would necessarily be involved in doing so. Under the Inquiries Act 2005, Ministers can establish an inquiry, appoint the inquiry panel and set the terms of reference for that inquiry without the need for resolutions of Parliament. Indeed, we debated this matter in another context throughout last summer. Although the inquiry is independent, sponsoring Ministers will be accountable to Parliament for its spending and governance. Even the best-managed inquiry will inevitably involve significant costs and resources, although there is no argument against that. As this House knows, controlling the costs of such inquiries was a prime motivation for the 2005 Act. Surely, therefore, before deciding whether to hold a public inquiry, it is sensible for Ministers to be very clear that the benefits of the inquiry, in both the short and longer term, will be worth while, given the expenditure of costs, time and effort. A crucial factor in controlling the cost of any inquiry is its terms of reference. They must be tightly drafted to establish the scope of the inquiry. The sponsoring Minister has responsibility for setting the terms of reference, although the Inquiries Act specifically requires him or her to consult the chairman on them. This helps to ensure that they have a shared idea of the scope and purpose of the inquiry. The legal, administrative, practical and resource implications of any change to the law in this highly controversial—