Baroness Coffey (Con)

My Lords, this is a really important group, and I appreciate that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, has suggested that quite a lot of the amendments are drafting changes, but I think it goes further beyond that. Speaking specifically to my first amendment, Amendment 7, the reason I put this in about it the first preliminary discussion is that we just had a significant debate about the issue of age. In the Commons, the sponsor of the Bill and the government Ministers who helped take this Bill through that House, voted against the amendment, which was agreed, and which said that this could be raised with somebody under the age of 18. That is why the debate on age has been significant and why I have put in this particular amendment. One of my wider concerns is about how many preliminary discussions somebody will have. This is not going to be an easy decision for somebody, particularly a young person, to make, while thinking, “Is this the right time? Is it so unbearable that I actually want my life to end?” Later in the Bill, there is quite a lot of procedure about recording medical information. The reason why I am interested in making sure it is “their first” discussion is so that we do not have, as can sometimes happen, an informal off-the-record discussion as part of this important process. I will be interested to hear what other noble Lords think about trying to be specific, recognising the concerns that amendments so far have sought to address.