Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2026 [Draft]
I am not sure that the concept of a referendum was actually Stuart McMillan’s idea, but I am sure that he will take the credit for it.
No matter our views on assisted dying, we surely all believe that it is essential to include adequate mechanisms by which we can monitor the impacts, effectiveness and safety of the bill, should it become law. Given the complexity and nature of the issues involved, it is crucial that we have baked-in ways of understanding how the legislation is working in practice from the outset and that is what my amendment 117 relates to. It would add several important items to the list of matters to be included in the five-year review of the legislation. Much of our debate in the many—now 18—hours that we have spent here has revolved around the registered medical practitioner assessments dealt with in section 6 of the bill and the requirements for those as set out in section 7. My amendment 117 would ensure that any review explores the extent to which the requirements set out in section 7, as amended, have been undertaken. It would also ensure that the documentation, statements and so on have been compiled in accordance with the provisions of the bill.
Similarly, the review would have to consider the information on assisted dying that is made available to relevant professionals and to those wishing to have an assisted death. Once again, provisions on that are contained within the bill. The review would also have to consider the information made available to the Scottish Government by Public Health Scotland, a lot of which relates to amendments to be considered in group 20. That information is essential if any review is to be meaningful and informed.
Also, and most significantly, a review carried out in line with my amendment 117 would have to examine
“the operation and effectiveness of any safeguards within this Act”.
I understand that there has been some debate about the effectiveness of the safeguards and provisions in other jurisdictions, but if the bill is passed, we will not be scrutinising other jurisdictions; we will be scrutinising the act that will be in force in Scotland and therefore must build in a review that will work properly here in Scotland. We must ensure that any review carried out here, should the bill become law, collects robust data on assisted dying while examining in some detail, and in an informed way, whether the various concerns about assisted dying have been realised.
I did not want to intervene on Mr Marra, so, as my final comment, I note that there is an increase in palliative care funding in the budget. However, it is not enough of an increase, and we need to see far more funding in that area.
Michael Marra rose—