Member

I appreciate that it could be argued that only High Court judges, or senior circuit judges who are designated family judges, will hear and give direction on assisted suicide cases. I note again what the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, said about circuit judges, for example, and recorders. But, even if only these echelons of family judiciary were involved, it would still put immense strain on an already overloaded system. I understand that projections per annum suggest about 2,000 assisted dying cases in year six. Each case would, we assume, require substantial court time and judges’ out-of-court attention. So I would be very interested to hear from the family justice Minister what the Government’s position is on this, because previous incumbents with whom my noble friend Lord Farmer has spoken have emphasised the backlogs and delays that families in very many circumstances already face.