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Lord Falconer of Thoroton

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I am in a total muddle about what the noble Lord, Lord Deben, is saying. I think he is trying to say that Wales should decide on implementation. The Bill says:

“The Welsh Ministers may by regulations make provision about voluntary assisted dying services in Wales”.

We are giving the Welsh Ministers...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1147
House
House of Lords

What the Senedd decided was that it would consent to Welsh Ministers being given power, in effect, to legislate on how to introduce it—that is Clause 42. The effect of the LCM is for the Senedd to say—to the extent that it should be a matter for the Senedd to...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1151
House
House of Lords

I express my personal pleasure at seeing the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis, back in the House. She was an extremely successful Attorney-General because she was wise and knew the law. I am very glad that she is back here to keep us in order.

On issues in relation to...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1159-1161
House
House of Lords

Could I just deal with this? The noble Lord can come back at the end.

I shall deal first with the 28 amendments proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, to remove references to Wales. They would mean that this Bill would not apply to Wales and the Welsh Senedd would...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1161-2
House
House of Lords

Let me finish.

In my view, the right answer in relation to this is that we respect the devolution settlement, and it is for the United Kingdom Parliament to decide whether the law is changed in England and Wales. It is worth pointing out that 75% of Welsh MPs voted in...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1161
House
House of Lords

Our approach to this has been to respect the devolution settlement, which, for better or for worse, unquestionably leaves criminal justice to this Parliament, not to the Welsh Parliament. I thought that was the substance of the argument that I was making. We should not change the devolution settlement in...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1162
House
House of Lords

The Welsh Government would not be able to widen or reduce the eligibility of an individual for assisted dying. A person would not be in breach of the criminal law in Wales only if they complied with every aspect of the safeguards in the Bill. The Welsh Government’s role would...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1162-3
House
House of Lords

The health service could determine who it is going to make it available to free, but it could not prevent other people—for example, private providers—having different provisions in relation to it.

The next category of amendments was in relation to removing Scotland. I gave an answer to the noble Lord, Lord...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1163
House
House of Lords

This was picked up by the noble Baroness, Lady Merron. She focused, rightly, on what would happen in the case of a doctor who lived in Scotland but worked in England. The question was: could they be prejudiced? The answer is no—employment law would apply, and employment law is right...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1163-4
House
House of Lords

I have sympathy with what the noble Lord says. I do not think it is appropriate for that sort of issue to be resolved in a Bill such as this, and it goes far wider than assisted dying.

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1164
House
House of Lords

I have two points. First, we have made it clear in the Bill that there is no obligation on Welsh Ministers to lay the regulations. In England, they must lay the regulations. In Wales, they may do so; they have a discretion because we thought it appropriate that they should...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1164
House
House of Lords

That is exactly right. That is why we have given the Welsh Ministers the power to do it. It is for them to decide, because it is not for either the UK Parliament or the Secretary of State here to determine it.

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1165
House
House of Lords

That is right.

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1165
House
House of Lords

Of course I agree to a meeting and the noble Baroness should bring anybody she thinks appropriate to it.

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1179
House
House of Lords

I am very grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Hollins and Lady Nicholson of Winterbourne, for sharing their experiences with us—in the case of the noble Baroness, Lady Nicholson of Winterbourne, the death of her mother and the circumstances of her mother’s life; and in their case of the noble...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1187-9
House
House of Lords

In relation to the point from the noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, that there should be an absolute exclusion on interpreters under 18, she makes the point that in a case involving, for example, a person under 18 who is the child of somebody going through an assisted death, it would...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1187
House
House of Lords

I am not in favour of a mandatory bar on any young person. I expect it to be dealt with in a code of practice. I agree that unless there is a mandatory provision in the Bill it will not be effective, but I am not in favour of that...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1189
House
House of Lords

My Lords, I will respond to the sensible invitation of the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, to give a brief indication as to what my amendments here do. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay of Llandaff, earlier referred to the Delegated Powers

Committee, which made a number of criticisms of the previous...

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1195-6
House
House of Lords

I apologise for not acknowledging that.

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 c1196
House
House of Lords

Could the noble Lord indicate which amendment he is talking to?

3 pm

Member
Lord Falconer of Thoroton (Labour)
Type
Proceeding contributions
Date
20 March 2026
Reference
854 cc1199-8
House
House of Lords