Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Cat Eccles and Lindsay Hoyle

2nd reading
Friday 29th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The hon. Gentleman is using incorrect language. It is not suicide. That is offensive. I ask him please to correct his language.

[Mr Speaker]

That is not a point of order.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cat Eccles and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 25th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Cat Eccles for the final question.

[Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)]

A constituent of mine is currently going through the process of adopting a little boy. She and her husband have one daughter already, conceived following several rounds of IVF, but, sadly, that has since been unsuccessful for them and they have chosen to adopt one of the many looked-after children looking for a loving home. My constituent runs a local business—a haberdashery and sewing workshop—that is extremely popular with local people, but in order to integrate the little boy into her family, she has taken time away from her business to be with him at home. She has since discovered that she is not entitled to statutory adoption pay as a self-employed person and will have to take this time off unpaid.

When adopting children from care, there is a really small window of opportunity to successfully integrate the child with minimal disruption. Costs to local authorities for looked-after children are rising. Would you agree that extending adoption pay to self-employed people in line with maternity pay would provide better outcomes for looked-after children?