Lord Katz (Lab)

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, for tabling these amendments. I note his wish to keep this brief so that we can move on to a later group to discuss the issues that he raises in greater breadth. Amendment 39C seeks to exclude anyone whose primary motivations for the request for an assisted death are financial concerns, lack of housing or lack of social support. This would require someone to establish the motivations of a person requesting an assisted death. It is not clear who would make this assessment or how they would make it. It is also unclear how a number of the phrases in the amendment are meant to be interpreted and assessed, including “financial concerns”, “lack of housing” or “lack of social support”, because these terms are not defined. The amendment also conflicts with later provisions of the Bill setting out how eligibility is assessed in more detail, which would cause confusion. If passed, considerable further policy and drafting work would need to be done to clarify the intent. In the spirit of brevity, I make no comment on the other amendment in this group. However, as noble Lords will be aware, the amendment has not had technical drafting support from officials.