Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Lord Goodman of Wycombe Excerpts

Friday 9th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wheeler (Lab)]

My Lords, it is now 2.33 pm. I suggest that the Committee might like to hear from Front-Benchers now to ensure that we can conclude proceedings in an orderly manner, as planned, around 3 pm.

[Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Con)]

I have an amendment to which I have not yet been able to speak. Surely it is right and proper that those of us who have tabled amendments should be able to speak—especially where, as is true in my case, a noble Lord was a member of the Select Committee that examined this Bill. If the Committee will allow it, I would like briefly to quote some of the evidence that we heard.

[Baroness Wheeler (Lab)]

My Lords, the House generally rises around 3 pm on Fridays. To go beyond 3 pm, we would need the consent of the Committee.

[Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Con)]

I will be extremely brief but, as I said, I have tabled an amendment and have been waiting patiently to speak to it, if I may. My Amendment 394 would require the assessing doctor to arrange, and require the person to attend, a consultation with a palliative care specialist. Like the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, who moved the lead amendment in this group, and the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, who spoke earlier, I was on the Select Committee. I will not repeat the evidence that the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, quoted, but I shall very briefly quote a little more, because the merit of having these Select Committee reports is that the House hears them.

The Royal College of General Practitioners said:

“It is essential to ensure that every patient approaching the end of life has access to high-quality palliative care”.


Secondly, Professor Mumtaz Patel of the Royal College of Practitioners said:

“What I really fear is that people are making sometimes these choices because of the lack of provision around good palliative care”.


Thirdly, Hospice UK, in its written evidence to us, said:

“Should the Bill progress, it is therefore essential that Government does far more to ensure equitable access to and provision of palliative care ahead of the introduction of assisted dying in practice”.


I could quote more, but because of the time constraint, I will come to a conclusion, as requested.

My conclusion is this. When the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, gave evidence to our committee, he stressed at the start that the guiding principle of the Bill is autonomy, but autonomy is compromised if there is not real choice. To those who say that you cannot have real choice between assisted dying and palliative care because the palliative care is not available, my response is that that is precisely why this should have been considered by a royal commission, rather than being brought into this Bill, which has been so heavily criticised by two Select Committees of this House. However, we are where we are, this is the Bill as we have it, so I wait to hear from the sponsor of the Bill which of these amendments he is prepared to accept and, if he is not, which amendments he himself will bring forward in due course.

[Noble Lords]

Front Bench!