To ask His Majesty's Government how many officials (FTE) worked on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, including any supported documents, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year.

To ask His Majesty's Government how many officials (FTE) worked on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, including any supported documents, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year.

To ask His Majesty's Government which paragraphs of the Explanatory Notes to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year, were prepared by or involved the assistance of civil servants.

To ask His Majesty's Government which paragraphs of the Explanatory Notes to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as presented by Lauren Edwards this year, were prepared by or involved the assistance of civil servants.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she will take to ensure that her Department is adequately prepared for Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 11 September.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she will take to ensure that her Department is adequately prepared for Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 11 September.

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, What assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact of assisted dying legalisation on clergy’s cure of souls.

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, What assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact of assisted dying legalisation on clergy’s cure of souls.

Motion that the House do sit in private. Negatived on question. Second reading. Closure motion agreed to on question (293 to 218). Main question negatived on division (270 to 286).

Motion that the House do sit in private. Negatived on question. Second reading. Closure motion agreed to on question (293 to 218). Main question negatived on division (270 to 286).

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

It is a privilege to open this debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill—a Bill that will give dying adults, under very stringent criteria, choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives.

What is...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

It is a privilege to open this debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill—a Bill that will give dying adults, under very stringent criteria, choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives.

What is...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will once I have concluded my opening remarks.

That decision by those peers means that one of the most significant national conversations that we have been having as legislators was brought to an abrupt halt. Who suffers detriment as a result? Clearly, the terminally ill and their families, who had...

I will once I have concluded my opening remarks.

That decision by those peers means that one of the most significant national conversations that we have been having as legislators was brought to an abrupt halt. Who suffers detriment as a result? Clearly, the terminally ill and their families, who had...

The hon. Lady is setting the scene for what the Bill hopes to achieve, but she cannot ignore the overwhelming 68% of the public who believe that it must be paused, or the 73% of people who say that it should be rejected outright. The public see the danger. This...

The hon. Lady is setting the scene for what the Bill hopes to achieve, but she cannot ignore the overwhelming 68% of the public who believe that it must be paused, or the 73% of people who say that it should be rejected outright. The public see the danger. This...

I think we need to be very careful when we are quoting polling. For instance, we know that Whitestone Insight has been criticised heavily by the British Polling Council in recent weeks for failing to meet its standards in terms of disclosing who has been funding its research. The reference...

I think we need to be very careful when we are quoting polling. For instance, we know that Whitestone Insight has been criticised heavily by the British Polling Council in recent weeks for failing to meet its standards in terms of disclosing who has been funding its research. The reference...

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier).

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier).

My hon. Friend talks about who makes our laws, and she has talked in articles that she has written about the primacy of this place. If the Bill goes forward, is she willing to accept amendments? She has brought forward a Bill that is exactly the same as the previous...

My hon. Friend talks about who makes our laws, and she has talked in articles that she has written about the primacy of this place. If the Bill goes forward, is she willing to accept amendments? She has brought forward a Bill that is exactly the same as the previous...

It is not quite the exact same Bill; it incorporates two amendments that were agreed without a vote in the House of Lords last time. We have had our conversation in this Chamber about this Bill in 2025, and we have had an interrupted conversation as a nation. I am...

It is not quite the exact same Bill; it incorporates two amendments that were agreed without a vote in the House of Lords last time. We have had our conversation in this Chamber about this Bill in 2025, and we have had an interrupted conversation as a nation. I am...

Does my hon. Friend agree that unless this House makes it absolutely clear that it is outrageous and unacceptable for a very small number of unelected peers to block legislation, supported by the elected Chamber, then the same tactic could be used again with any private Member’s Bill that comes...

Does my hon. Friend agree that unless this House makes it absolutely clear that it is outrageous and unacceptable for a very small number of unelected peers to block legislation, supported by the elected Chamber, then the same tactic could be used again with any private Member’s Bill that comes...

Absolutely—it would set a dangerous precedent. Those Members who want to come in on the specifics of the Parliament Acts will have ample opportunity to do so later in my speech, and I will be willing to take interventions on that matter.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member...

Absolutely—it would set a dangerous precedent. Those Members who want to come in on the specifics of the Parliament Acts will have ample opportunity to do so later in my speech, and I will be willing to take interventions on that matter.

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member...

I chair the all-party parliamentary group on hospice and end-of-life care, and I wonder whether my hon. Friend shares my concern. Given that an estimated 170,000 people die in this country each year without access to palliative and end-of-life care, there can be no choice until hospice and end-of-life care...

I chair the all-party parliamentary group on hospice and end-of-life care, and I wonder whether my hon. Friend shares my concern. Given that an estimated 170,000 people die in this country each year without access to palliative and end-of-life care, there can be no choice until hospice and end-of-life care...

It is absolutely right that, for instance, the Prime Minister and the Government have said that improving palliative care must be a priority—I think that is something we can all support. Everybody should have access to good-quality palliative, hospice and end-of-life care in their final moments.

It is absolutely right that, for instance, the Prime Minister and the Government have said that improving palliative care must be a priority—I think that is something we can all support. Everybody should have access to good-quality palliative, hospice and end-of-life care in their final moments.

I will make some progress. As acknowledged by organisations that provide that care, though, their services cannot address pain and suffering in all circumstances. During the passage of the Bill in the last parliamentary Session, we heard examples of the limits of palliative care from Members with medical expertise themselves.

I will make some progress. As acknowledged by organisations that provide that care, though, their services cannot address pain and suffering in all circumstances. During the passage of the Bill in the last parliamentary Session, we heard examples of the limits of palliative care from Members with medical expertise themselves.