Health, Social Care and Sport Committee 11 November 2025
Both would be required. There are amendments in later groups—including amendments in my name and, I think, in the member’s name—that would cover that. Amendments that we have previously discussed would also have encouraged such assessments, which are absolutely essential to safeguarding people throughout the process.
As committee members and others have noted, the point about identifying coercion is that coercion is a difficult concept to appreciate fully. From previous work that the Parliament has done on coercion, particularly in relation to gender-based violence and domestic abuse, it is clear that a specific, nuanced approach is required, so that people can understand the experience of each individual. In this matter, it is also important to understand the effect of societal pressures that can be considered to be coercive. Through time, the internalised ableism that I have mentioned in the past and which I spoke about in the stage 1 debate can begin to infiltrate into disabled people’s minds and lives, including people who are seeking assistance under the bill. Those areas are really important.
We know that training on the UNCRPD, on disability equality and on what is available to support disabled people to enjoy their lives in the same way as others, with freedom, choice, dignity and control, is hugely undervalued and not often provided, especially in financially constrained situations. That is important, which is why I have asked that it be included in the bill.
We are discussing not just aspects of independent living such as self-directed support, which is a right under the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013, but whether somebody will be assisted to die. Everybody around individuals needs to fully understand what resources are available to support disabled people in those contexts.