Wes Streeting orders review into potential costs of introducing assisted dying
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has ordered his department to carry out a review of the costs of potentially changing the law to legalise assisted dying.
Mr Streeting, who intends to vote against a landmark bill on the issue, has warned that a new assisted dying law could come at the expense of other NHS services if it is implemented.
It comes as MPs weigh up whether to vote for a change in the law when given the opportunity to do so later this month.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would give terminally ill people with six months to live the choice to end their lives.
There has been much debate about the bill since its details were published on Monday evening, including that the medicine that will end a patient’s life will need to be self-administered and that people must be terminally ill and expected to die within six months.
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Ms Leadbeater, who has the support of former government minister Lord Falconer and ChildLine founder Dame Esther Rantzen, believes her proposed legislation is the “most robust” in the world and contains safeguards she hopes will “reassure” those who are on the fence.
They include that two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and that a High Court judge must give their approval.
The Labour MP has argued the fact terminally ill patients will have to make the choice themselves and administer the drugs themselves “creates that extra level of safeguards and protections”.
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MP discusses End of Life Bill
However, several cabinet ministers – including Mr Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who would be responsible for the new law – have spoken out against the legislation.
Announcing the review, Mr Streeting said: “Now that we’ve seen the bill published, I’ve asked my department to look at the costs that would be associated with providing a new service to enable assisted dying to go forward, because I’m very clear that regardless of my own personal position or my own vote, my department and the whole government will respect the will of parliament if people vote for assisted dying.”
While the health secretary has warned of the potential cost downsides for the NHS, his critics have pointed out there may be potential savings to be made if patients need less care because they choose to end their own lives – something Mr Streeting branded a “chilling slippery slope argument”.
“I would hate for people to opt for assisted dying because they think they’re saving someone somewhere money – whether that’s relatives or the NHS,” he said.
“And I think that’s one of the issues that MPs are wrestling with as they decide how to cast their vote.
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‘Impossible’ for assisted bill to be safe
“But this is a free vote – the government’s position is neutral.”
Speaking to reporters after delivering a speech to the NHS Providers conference in Liverpool, Mr Streeting said there were “choices and trade-offs” and that “any new service comes at the expense of other competing pressures and priorities”.
“That doesn’t mean people should vote against it on that basis,” he said.
“People need to weigh up this choice in the way that we’re weighing up all these other choices at the moment.”
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MPs will debate and vote on Ms Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015.
The government has given MPs a “free vote” on the issue, meaning they will be able to vote according to their conscience and without the pressure to conform to party lines.
In 2015, a bill by former Labour MP Rob Marris that would have made it legal for the terminally ill to end their lives was defeated in the Commons by 330 votes to 118.
Controversial reforms to inheritance tax are the “single biggest issue” facing farmers, according to a long-awaited report into the profitability of the sector.
The Farming Profitability Review – authored by Baroness Minette Batters, former head of the National Farmers’ Union – says the industry is “bewildered and frightened” of what might lie ahead.
The publication of the government-commissioned review had been delayed, with some claiming it was shelved till after the chancellor’s budget last month, to avoid scrutiny.
The report makes 57 recommendations on how the government can improve profitability – with Baroness Batters saying farmers are facing “huge economic challenges”.
Baroness Minette Batters
But it stops short of offering alternative proposals to inheritance tax reforms (IHT), with Baroness Batters saying that was outside the terms of reference set.
The changes – due to come into force next April – will see farms with assets of more than £1m pay 20% tax. Previously farms had been exempt.
The reforms have led to thousands of farmers protesting in London over the last year, with many saying the IHT payments will make many smaller farms no longer viable.
“Nearly all the responses to this review have cited inheritance tax as the single biggest issue regarding farming viability that they face. The farming sector is bewildered and frightened of what might lie ahead,” said Baroness Batters.
She added that the “core focus” of her recommendations is to “restore balance between food production and the environment”.
The report highlights the threats of climate change to farming, which accounts for 70% of UK total land.
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Recommendations also include growing ‘Brand Britain’ through increased exports and supermarket sales – and ensuring better monitoring of supply chain fairness.
Reacting to the report, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs announced a new board to bring together senior leaders from farming, food production, retail, finance and government to strengthen UK food production.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds. Pic: PA
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “When farming thrives, the whole country benefits. British farmers are central to our food security, our rural economy and the stewardship of our countryside.
“Baroness Batters’ review underlines the need for government, farming and the food industry to work much more closely together. That is exactly what the new Farming and Food Partnership Board will do.”
Baroness Minette Batters said: “I’m pleased that the Secretary of State recognises the need to establish a new approach to growing the British brand at home and abroad by producing, creating and selling more from our farms in a measurable way.
“With ever more extreme weather, the horrific, ongoing war in Ukraine and 69.7 million people in the UK now is the time to deliver food security as national security.”
The government will set out its full response in a new 25-year Farming Roadmap, due for publication next year.
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