L

Lord Kamall (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 23 January 2026

Debate

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Contribution

Indeed, and in fact many classical liberals and libertarians understand the individual’s role in a wider society. But that is not the basis of this debate, and I digress too much. I will return to the group of amendments. I know that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, understands the concerns of those who have raised issues about minority communities and people being stuck in the system. But I also know that he has already made his view clear about the principle of seeking to exclude some of those other principles—if I am incorrect, I am sure he will correct me. So I suspect that, given the strength of feeling, we will return to these amendments on Report. Given that—I understand that the Minister may not be able to answer all the questions now and we accept that he or one of his colleagues will write to us—we have to understand how the Government envisage how a person’s motivation beyond their terminal condition could be established. That is the crux of the matter. How do you establish that if you can justify it only on the grounds of terminal illness, not other motivating factors? For example, what work, if any, have the Government or NHS England done to try to understand that? One assumes they may have to draw up guidance for this one day. Have the Government, or anyone in government, looked at how other countries have handled this issue, whether they do handle this issue, and what would have to change? We spoke earlier about the foundations of the National Health Service and what might have to change in guidance for many of the practitioners. Indeed, what training would be required? As my noble friend Lord Deben has often said, this goes way beyond just the Bill. It will affect the Department of Health, the practitioners and the legal system. These are questions we need the Government to answer. They can still take a neutral position, but they have to understand that noble Lords seek to understand the implications here for government, the costs to government, and how that will change. I understand these questions are in depth and recognise that the Minister may feel it is slightly unfair. I do not expect all the answers now. But it has been a constant theme throughout the debate and the many days in Committee that we need better answers from the Government. That is not a party-political point; it is purely that we want to see the implications of this on government: what extra costs there will be, what guidance will have to change and, however the Bill finally turns out, and in whatever form it reaches the statute book, how the Government will deal with that. I suspect that, for many noble Lords who are torn the Bill, that might be the deciding factor on how they vote at the end of the day.

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