Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, for the purposes of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and having regard to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, what assessment they have made of the risks associated with permitting assistance for someone to end their own life where the person has not previously undergone any deprivation of liberty or comprehensive safeguarding assessment.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is currently under consideration in Parliament, and it is rightly a matter for Parliament to decide if the safeguards in the bill are sufficient. The Government remains neutral on the bill.

Given that the bill is still under consideration, the Government has made no assessment of the risks associated with permitting assistance for someone to end their own life where the person has not previously undergone any deprivation of liberty or comprehensive safeguarding assessment.