Assisted Dying Bill [HL]

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 22nd October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

My Lords, we have had an extraordinarily moving debate from both sides of the argument as well as from all parts of the House. It is typical of your Lordships’ House that we have respected one another’s views even if we disagree.

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, for her Bill and for the way in which she set out why an assisting dying law is urgently needed in the United Kingdom to address the unacceptable suffering of dying people and the dangerous lack of protections in the current law, but also for explaining how protections and safeguards are stronger than in former Bills that have come to Parliament. Safety and end-of-life choice are not mutually exclusive. That is why I support the Bill.

I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Davidson of Lundin Links, on her maiden speech, a moving picture of her journey from officially opposing former Bills in Scotland to welcoming this one. I say to her that she has joined the right legislature if she wants to break convention; I think Prime Ministers of all Governments in recent decades regard your Lordships’ House as a place to challenge conventions. She will feel at home here very quickly.

As a Christian, I thank the most reverend Primate for his comment that people of faith hold different views. Polling by Populus in 2019 showed that 80% of people of faith also supported assisted dying, and evidence from around the world—such as Spain, 10 states in America and Australia—shows that where there are strong communities of faith there can also be a right to an assisted death. There is nothing sacred about suffering nor holy about agony. Yes, life is precious and God-given, but we can still help people avoid a terrible death at the end of that precious life, when death is near anyway.

No one who supports the Bill sees palliative care as needing less support. We all want to see the work of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, and others fully funded, so that everyone who needs it can have access to it. In a perfect world, no one’s final days—or, as the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, said very movingly, over a year in the case of his wife—should be in continuous agony or severe distress.

Various speakers have talked about palliative care funding being reduced after the introduction of assisted dying legislation. When the Australian states of Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland passed their assisted dying legislation, their Governments increased funding for palliative care services by between 17 million and 170 million Australian dollars; that is between £9 million and £90 million. Research from the United States has found that assisted dying laws contribute to open conversations and careful evaluations of end-of-life options, more appropriate palliative care training for doctors and greater efforts to increase access to hospice care. These benefit all dying people, not just those who want an assisted death. The fact is that states with assisted dying have very few people who choose to use it.

As a disabled woman, I was moved to hear the noble Baronesses, Lady Campbell of Surbiton, Lady Masham and Lady Grey-Thompson, and the noble Lords, Lord Campbell-Savours, Lord Low and Lord Shinkwin. Like others in this House, they are divided in their views, but their and many other speakers’ key issues about the protection and the rights of the disabled are absolutely vital. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Neuberger, was right to point out that if legislation and regulations are abused, it is up to Parliament to legislate against that abuse and our police to ensure that it stops.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, reminded us that the disabled community in Victoria, Australia, was involved in designing the legislation. Disability Rights Oregon has never received a single complaint about any negative aspect of Oregon’s assisted dying legislation.

Opponents to the Bill talked about people in countries where assisted dying is legal citing that they feel a burden on family and loved ones. The vast majority of people who have an assisted death in places where it is legal cite the loss of autonomy and dignity as the two major contributing factors for wanting an assisted death. Not wishing to be a burden is a concern among all dying people but is cited relatively infrequently by those requesting an assisted death. It is certainly there, but behind concerns over autonomy and effective pain relief.

My noble friend Lord Purvis talked about visiting both Oregon and Washington. In those states, these concerns are recorded by doctors based on conversations with the person requesting an assisted death. They are not reasons for seeking an assisted death, nor motivations given directly by the terminally ill person.

The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Eames, and my noble friends Lady Smith of Newnham and Lord Clement-Jones spoke movingly about balance and the need for strong safeguards. UK clinicians already assess life expectancy and decision-making capacity and, hopefully, detect coercion. Under the Bill, this process goes further and will be done in triplicate: two independent clinicians and a High Court judge. If five states in Australia, New Zealand and 11 states in the US are able to develop, implement and monitor their assisted dying laws, which balance protection and autonomy, we can too.

We know from front-line clinicians in Australia and the US that open, honest end-of-life care conversations that include the discussion of all available options, including palliative care, are of great value and comfort to the patient. They often result in the patient deciding not to choose assisted dying, and that is just as it should be. If only we had a culture in our country of open, honest end-of-life care conversations. We have much to learn.

Claims that the current law works well and protects vulnerable people do not stand up to scrutiny. If we are serious about the risks to vulnerable people, we must accept that, under existing law, a hypothetical bad relation could encourage an elderly or disabled person to bring their life to an end. There are far fewer safeguards on, for instance, withdrawal of treatment, “Do not attempt resuscitation” orders, or voluntarily stopping eating and drinking in comparison to the safeguards provided in the Bill, where the decision is in the hands of the individual, not other people.

I thank my noble friend Lady Harris of Richmond and others for letting us hear the voices of those whose loved ones’ deaths have not been good. Three years ago, my sister in Spain was in hospital with terminal and multiple cancers. Her doctor did not believe in deep sedation, and my young nephew and niece had to watch as their mother lived her final days in total agony. This year, Spain has introduced assisted dying with proper safeguards and, just as importantly, a complete change in the way it handles end-of-life care. The two can go hand in hand. Deaths like my sister’s should not happen again.

That is why a clear law, as proposed in the Bill, would protect vulnerable people, as no one could access an assisted death without going through multiple up-front safeguards; any potential coercion that could be detected in advance, rather than after someone has died, would be stopped. As my noble friend Lord Glasgow said, assisted dying is a moral and clinical issue whose time has come, and the UK public agree.

The many personal stories told today add to the clear evidence that the blanket ban on assisted dying is dangerous and cruel. I believe the Bill proposes a robust, safe and compassionate alternative. I hope your Lordships’ House will give it a Second Reading and move it on to Committee.

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

Committee stage & Lords Hansard part one
Wednesday 20th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I was unable to speak at Second Reading on this topic of the police covenant. As the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, has already noted, this is an extraordinarily large and complex Bill, and Second Reading speakers were limited to a mere three minutes, meaning that, inevitably, some matters could not be raised. I apologise for raising what is from my perspective a new issue. Before I begin, I pay tribute to my noble friend Lady Harris for her many years of campaigning for the well-being and support of police officers.

I support all the amendments in this group, Amendments 1 to 7, which seek to ensure that police officers and former police officers have access to health services and particularly to mental health support, and to set this down in the Bill as an equivalent of the Armed Forces covenant. I will come on to the covenant later in my contribution.

We must recognise that our police officers and other emergency service personnel are on the front line day in, day out, often facing many things daily that ordinary members of the public would hope never to see once in their lives. That for decades police officers have “manned up” and internalised problems, because that was the culture, perhaps makes mental health pressures even more inevitable. The Police Federation reports that resilience in the service is at an all-time low and that officers are being put under inordinate amounts of pressure, which is taking its toll on their health and well-being. Even worse, the unprecedented cuts to the police service have meant that officers are under more strain now than ever before. While many are asked to do more and more with fewer resources, and have risen admirably to the challenge, it is inevitable that the increased pressures they are facing will have an impact on them, mentally and physically.

The Police Federation campaign “Protect the Protectors” noted that between 2015 and 2017, over 20 police officers took their own lives each year. That is almost two a month. Something must change. Research has shown that emergency workers are twice more likely than the public to identify problems at work as the main cause of their mental health problems, but they are also significantly less likely to seek help—the “man up” culture. Therefore, it is good that in 2017, the Police Federation developed a nine-point plan for police organisations to work with it, supporting serving staff and ensuring that the well-being and mental health of staff is properly delivered as soon as it is needed.

There are 48 organisations that have worked in partnership with the Police Federation and with the mental health charity Mind. The guide that they have produced has all the information that employers need to set up and deliver mental health support in all blue-light organisations. This week, another excellent campaign, the Blue Light group, has reported that 87% of emergency responders have experienced stress and poor mental health. The noble Lord, Lord Coaker, was looking for good news, and it is that 83% of those who accessed this support through their organisation found it helpful. Mind tells me that the Home Office funding for this essential work—which has been running since 2015—is due to run out in March 2022. Can the Minister confirm that the Home Office will continue the support and funding for this vital work, not just support for blue-light workers but a blue-light service for blue-light workers?

Some officers are very badly affected and need more than can be offered by counselling and other internal support. The Police Federation tells the story of Richard, a DCI with a provisional diagnosis of PTSD when he sought help, which explains much of the pressure and distress that so many officers face.

End-to-end Rape Review

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con)]

My Lords, we can certainly agree on the last point. The focus of the criminal justice system is indeed to make sure that rapists are answerable for their crimes—and they are heinous crimes.

I obviously cannot comment on the particular instance that the noble Baroness mentioned. Of course, the CPS is quite properly an independent agency; decisions to prosecute or not to prosecute cannot and must not be taken by Ministers. But what I can tell the noble Baroness and the House is that the CPS is committed to reversing the negative trend in prosecution volumes seen over recent years. The CPS and the police are putting together a joint plan. The CPS is itself committed to a range of actions to drive forward improvement. This includes consulting and publishing revised rape legal guidance, including new content on challenging rape myths and stereotypes. From what I heard of the example given by the noble Baroness, that is a good instance of “rape myth”, and it behoves everybody engaged in this debate to make sure that the public know the facts and are not distracted by myths.

The noble Baroness asked me a couple of precise questions on funding—in particular, the division of the £70 million figure as between rape victims and domestic abuse. May I please write to her on that point, together with the other point on funding which she put to me?

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

The Statement says that Operation Soteria will transform how the police and CPS handle investigations into rape and sexual offences, and the Operation Bluestone pilot in Avon and Somerset has shown that there is an effective way of working. Can the Minister say if it is true that Operation Soteria will involve only four police forces and has funding for only one year? This is hardly a universal rollout of a new culture of transforming rape services. Can he say when it will be rolled out and properly funded across the country? Victims and victims’ organisations have rightly made it clear that not one day should be lost.

[Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Con)]

My Lords, it is not only Operation Soteria that we need to focus on. As part of Operation Soteria, we are working with pathfinder police forces to test the latest technology, including advanced analytics such as machine learning, to, for example, get data off phones as quickly as possible. We will certainly make sure that all police forces have access to the best technology available, so that all victims around the country can see the improvement that the Lord Chancellor and I—indeed, the whole Government—want to see in rape prosecutions. That will involve work not only with the police but with the CPS.

Domestic Abuse Bill

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

Wednesday 21st April 2021 Lords Chamber

We have 20 years of evidence to demonstrate that the current system is not working. It is too late for more guidance and more words; it is time to act. I therefore urge the Minister to accept my amendment, so that perpetrators are no longer able to act with impunity, so that fewer women and girls live in fear and fewer lives are tragically lost at the hands of serious and serial domestic abusers and stalkers. I look forward to the Minister’s response, specifically on the inclusion of perpetrators of stalking on the register and new database and on the perpetrator strategy. I beg to move.

[Baroness Brinton (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I strongly echo all the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, but am profoundly upset that Ministers seem to have gone backwards since we last debated this matter in the Lords on Report. The Minister referred to the 30 deaths that we reported at that time, but at least 16 further women have been murdered since Report on 15 March—a mere 36 days ago. This is deeply shocking evidence of the current failures.

As a new Member of your Lordships’ House, I was invited to join the independent parliamentary inquiry into stalking law reform chaired by Elfyn Llwyd MP. At the start of its report, there is a quotation that is important in the context of Amendment G1 today. Tracey Morgan, a victim and now a supporter of many other victims, said to us then,

“The victims I hear from are saying the same things I was 15 years ago—what’s changed? We need to do more. This is about murder prevention.”


Ten years on, nothing has changed. That is 25 years of Tracey’s experience and hundreds of murders. One key perpetrator recommendation from our stalking inquiry remains outstanding, which is having a register of serial stalking perpetrators. Why are they not mentioned in the Government’s amendment?

The Minister insists that Motion G1 is not needed because the problem is one of better management to make the various parts of the multiagency system work better everywhere. We all know that there are pockets of excellent practice, but the safety of victims and the de-escalation of the behaviour of these dangerous perpetrators should not be a postcode lottery. It should be consistent and should give confidence to victims and all those working with them. It should save lives.

I think we all agree that the current MAPPA arrangements need to improve. In 2017, HMICFRS inspected a number of MAPPA cases; this resulted in its report, Living in Fear. The headlines in that report are deeply shocking, with 100% failure in 112 cases inspected across six police force and CPS areas. Victims were left at risk and let down by under-recording and inconsistent services, with patterns missed and incidents being treated as isolated. Victims said that they wanted the police to understand the bigger picture and to receive specialist-led training. There was often no risk identification, assessment or management of stalkers.

In Committee, I talked about the need for a golden thread to run through all interactions with victims and perpetrators. This is particularly vital for perpetrators because we know that their behaviour escalates and becomes more obsessive and violent as time goes on. Only by getting them into the MAPPA process can we achieve that and ensure that this golden thread provides an oversight of behaviour.

Last week, Channel 4’s excellent documentary “24 Hours in Police Custody” had an episode called “Death Us Do Part”. It focused on the 2019 Bedfordshire Police investigation into a severe attack by a female perpetrator on her male partner. She gave him two bleeds on his brain and a fractured eye socket. We saw the frustration that the excellent police domestic violence team faced. The attack on Paul Jenner came just two days after his partner’s early release from prison after a previous serious attack on him. It was evident that there was no contact with HM Prison and Probation Service. The custody sergeant even commented that they knew her well and that it is as if a switch gets turned on and she cannot stop herself attacking him. The investigating officer was struck that after she was arrested, she was already texting her partner, who became frightened and unwilling to co-operate. The officer and her team finally persuaded him that they could help him, but their efforts were constantly undermined by the coercive control that the perpetrator had over him. Sadly, he died a few days later. Given the number of attacks she had made on him over many years and the increasing severity of those attacks, she was well known to everyone in the system. That is why serious and serial domestic violence perpetrators need to be on the register and why there needs to be a duty for all the multiagency partners to work together. If that had happened, this “never event”—a predictable event that should never have been able to happen but did—could have prevented because that golden thread would have prepared and supported Paul Jenner and his partner on her release from prison.

Stalking Awareness Week started on Monday. Robert Buckland QC—incidentally, he was a member of the stalking law reform inquiry with me a decade ago—made a moving video as Secretary of State for Justice, and I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, that he has been a champion for getting on top of stalking. He said of stalking: “We need to call it out. We need to stamp it out. We need to do all we can to deal with the menace of stalking in our society.” I agree. However, that will never happen until a duty for multiagency response is enshrined in legislation, with a database and register to provide that golden thread to identify and stop stalking and domestic abuse perpetrators and save lives. I beg the Government to reconsider.

[Lord Russell of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, I am not a fan of acronyms at the best of times, but I feel that this evening does call for one, and it is DVAOA—which, as everybody will know, stands for “déjà vu all over again”. So here we are again.

Last Thursday, in another place, there was a lamentable performance by the Government, I must say. For those who have not watched it, I suggest you take a stiff gin and tonic and then sit back and enjoy it. Particularly if you are of the Government’s persuasion, it is not very nice to watch. To her credit, the noble Baroness the Minister, as one might have expected, has performed immeasurably better, and I am very grateful to her for the opening speech, which I thought contained some very positive elements. Because of that, I will rein in the rant that I was going to deliver and make it a rather smaller rant than I would have delivered otherwise.

Why am I and others on our feet again? Some of what the noble Baronesses, Lady Royall and Lady Brinton, have said very comprehensively has already covered that, but I was going to wave three exhibits. The first was the report that Robert Buckland, our Justice Minister, undertook about stalking and the recommendations that he made. The second, exhibit B, would be one of a certain Alex Chalk, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, who, in his own stalking review, which he did with a fellow Gloucestershire MP, strangely used exactly the same wording as Robert Buckland’s report, basically saying

“Consideration should be given to the production of a register of serial perpetrators”.


Last but not least, exhibit C is from our Home Secretary herself, Priti Patel, who in 2013 edited a report called Rebalancing the Scales for victims. One of the contributions, which she was responsible for editing, said very clearly that a database should be established comprehensively to cover all perpetrators and stalkers.

On Thursday in another place, the Government effectively admitted that the current system is not working as it should, that the current database is out of date and is not working as it should, and the Minister in the Commons, in a much more pared-down way, indicated some of what the Minister said earlier this evening. But what we are really talking about, and this goes back certainly as far as 2004, is a fundamental failure of management and leadership.

I do not have a background in government or public service; I have a background in business, and where I come from, over all those years, the sort of failure of management and leadership that has been consistent through changes in government, changes in Minister, changes in special adviser, would be regarded as a sacking offence, and certainly as a career-limiting offence. Given the awful, relentless toll of women dying, week in and week out, I think that, in the world I come from, it would also be regarded potentially as corporate manslaughter. Noble Lords know what the penalties are for corporate manslaughter: they are considerable. But because this is a Government, and because we are dealing with statutory agencies, that is not an option—but it really is not far off, and it is shameful. And the death toll relentlessly keeps going up, and will keep going up, whatever fine words we say.

As I said, the Minister has been very helpful. I was going to say that, until the point she spoke, I was much clearer about what the Government did not want to do than about what they do want to do, and I am very grateful that she has given some clear indications about the direction they want to go in. We have had, as I am sure the Minister has, some fairly intensive conversations with the domestic abuse commissioner’s office about how she sees things, going forward. She too knows and admits that the current system is not working, but, naturally, given her role and the nature of her relationship with government, she wants to be positive and to try to make it work. I am very keen to be positive, too, and to try to make this work.