BASW writes to MPs ahead of Assisted Dying vote

MPs are preparing to debate the proposals for the first time.
Westminster

On Friday 29 November, Members of the UK Parliament will debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which seeks to permit assisted dying under certain criteria. 

The proposals, put forward as a Private Members Bill by Kim Leadbeater MP, has charged public debate over the past few months as proponents and opponents of the legislation have sought to make their case. 

Key aspects of the Bill include: 

  • The person must be an adult – aged 18 or older – and be resident in England and Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months.
  • They must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish – free from coercion or pressure – to end their life.
  • They must be terminally ill and be expected to die within six months.
  • They must make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die.
  • The process must involve two independent doctors being satisfied the person is eligible and the medics can consult a specialist in the person’s condition and get an assessment from an expert in mental capacity if deemed necessary.
  • A High Court judge must hear from at least one of the doctors regarding the application and can also question the dying person as well as anyone else they consider appropriate.
  • There must be at least seven days between the two doctors making their assessments and a further 14 days after the judge has made a ruling, for the person to have a period of reflection on their decision.
  • For someone whose death is expected imminently, the 14-day period could be reduced to 48 hours.

In our submission to MPs, BASW has raised concerns about the absence of any recognition about the role of social workers in adult safeguarding and mental capacity. 

The issues of mental capacity and adult safeguarding are central to the issue of assisted dying. However, there is a significant disconnect between the proposals set out in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and already existing legislation in England and Wales both in terms of mental capacity (Mental Capacity Act 2005) and adult safeguarding (Care Act 2014 and Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014). This disconnect would create significant legal and practical issues both for those seeking assisted dying, their loved ones, and for professionals involved in the process – risking flawed and irreversible decisions.

BASW is encouraging members to write to their MP ahead of Friday’s debate with a copy of BASW’s briefing to ensure the issues raised are considered. While BASW has not taken a position on being for or against assisted dying in principle, members are free to voice their own viewpoint to their MP. 

Find a copy of our briefing and a template letter below. You can find contact details for your MP here.

Draft letter to MP

Dear [my member of parliament], 

I am a member of the British Association of Social Workers, and I am writing to you ahead of Friday’s debate on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill. 

I have attached a copy of BASW’s briefing on the Bill, and our concerns regarding adult safeguarding and mental capacity. I hope that you will consider this when deliberating how to vote on Friday. 

[Insert own text] 

Yours sincerely,

[Insert name]