Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Noah Law Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 11th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

I have long said that my support for this private Member’s Bill is contingent on a commitment to improving, not sidelining, the palliative care system, and I pay tribute to the courageous and dedicated palliative care workers of our country, including those at Mount Edgcumbe hospice in my constituency. Despite being seen as charitable organisations that work alongside the NHS, hospices provide a vital line of support and reduce the cost of care in our NHS, which is something that should be considered.

[Dr Opher]

Does my hon. Friend acknowledge that, even with excellent palliative care, there are very similar rates of people demanding assisted dying? In fact, even in 2010, when we had probably the best palliative care in the world, people still went to Dignitas or took their own lives.

[Noah Law]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point.

Each year, independent hospices help around 20,000 people spend their final days outside hospital settings, and this saves the NHS an estimated 1.5 million bed days and more than £800 million annually. Our Prime Minister is right to say that we must fix palliative care, and I greatly welcome his commitment to work cross-party to end the decades of political drift on social care, too. Ballooning budgets have hit not just the NHS but local authorities, particularly those in Cornwall—they have hit us really hard. We need to fix the system so that it gives people dignity.

[Jess Asato]

Will my hon. Friend give way on that point?

[Noah Law]

I will keep going, so that everyone has a chance to speak.

We must give people dignity, security and support when they need it the most. At present, palliative care remains lovingly—but to an embarrassing degree—funded through donations and by supporters who run marathons, charity shops and fundraising events for hospice charities across the UK. The National Audit Office concluded that, in 2023-24, around two thirds of the independent adult hospice sector’s total income was generated from those charitable sources, while around 29% of total income was Government funded, primarily through integrated care boards. I am all for social enterprises and charities using their assets to generate income, but the reliance on this model has to stop. Why not have a system in which the Government provide consistent, centralised support frameworks for hospices, reflecting the consistent and vital services that they provide to our NHS and people at the end of life?

It is in our Government’s gift to fix this. If we believe that high-quality palliative care is a fundamental service at the end of life, but recognise that it currently depends on commissioning decisions from integrated care boards, ad hoc grants and the fundraising of local hospices, is the system really fit for purpose? We must ensure that a consistent national minimum standard of provision is delivered by every integrated care board, to end the end-of-life postcode lottery.