RCPsych update on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for England and Wales

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Earlier this year, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for England and Wales was reintroduced to the House of Commons.

Professor Subodh Dave, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said:

“The Royal College of Psychiatrists remains neutral on the principle of assisted dying/assisted suicide (AD/AS). Our members hold a wide range of views on this complex and sensitive issue, and it is for parliamentarians to decide if any legislation of this nature should be passed or not.

“During the previous parliamentary session in Westminster, we made our concerns about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for England and Wales clear. We also outlined areas where we believed the legislation could be strengthened to better protect vulnerable people with mental illness. Our written and oral evidence to MPs and Peers remains available on our assisted dying/assisted suicide FAQs page.

“Now that the Bill has returned, we will continue to engage with parliamentarians throughout the legislative process. In recent months, we have shared an updated briefing with MPs, participated in parliamentary events, hosted a joint virtual briefing for MPs with the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of General Practitioners, and met with the Bill's sponsor to discuss areas where additional safeguards and clarity may be needed.

“We have also been very clear about the areas of the Bill that raise particular concerns for psychiatrists, especially the role of the psychiatrist within the process and the need for holistic multidisciplinary assessment that takes account of the biological, psychological and social factors relevant to the individual.

“Should the Bill pass Second Reading, we will continue to engage and consider how best to provide our clinical expertise to support parliamentarians in scrutinising the legislation and ensuring the best possible outcomes for people with mental illness. This will include consideration of the significant implications for the health service in Wales and engagement with the Senedd legislative consent process.”

The College's position on this legislation has been led by our members and follows extensive consideration by our assisted suicide/assisted dying working group. RCPsych Registrar Professor Owen Bowden-Jones CBE is the current Chair of the working group and Dr Annabel Price is the RCPsych Lead for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in Westminster.

If you would like to share your views on how the College should engage with the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill for England and Wales, please contact Koyin Fuwa and Ollie Kavanagh Penno.

What happens next?

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been reintroduced as a Private Member's Bill by Labour MP Lauren Edwards. It is scheduled to receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday 11 September, when MPs will debate and vote on the principle of the legislation. If approved, it will proceed to Committee Stage for detailed scrutiny before returning to the Commons for Report Stage and Third Reading.

The Bill would then move to the House of Lords for further consideration. If both Houses agree on the final text, the Bill would receive Royal Assent and become law. The previous version of the Bill passed all its Commons stages but fell at the end of the parliamentary session after it did not complete its passage through the House of Lords.

Why has the Bill been reintroduced in the same form?

The Bill has been reintroduced in substantially the same form as the version considered in the previous parliamentary session. This is significant because it may preserve the option of using the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, which provide a mechanism for legislation to become law without the consent of the House of Lords in certain circumstances.

What are the Parliament Acts?

The Parliament Acts were introduced to ensure that, in certain circumstances, the elected House of Commons can ultimately prevail over the House of Lords. To use this procedure, a Bill must meet a number of statutory requirements, including being approved by the Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions in substantially the same form. If those requirements are met and the House of Lords rejects the Bill, fails to pass it, or delays it beyond the statutory timetable, the Bill may still proceed to Royal Assent.

The Parliament Act has been used only rarely and has never previously been used for a Private Member's Bill. Whether it could be used for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would depend on the legislation satisfying the statutory conditions. In practice, meeting these requirements would likely depend on sufficient parliamentary time being made available for the Bill to complete the necessary stages.