by Genevieve Holl-Allen, Telegraph
Stephen Kinnock says ‘spirit’ of the bill that could bring assisted dying into law is that it will be ‘free at the point of use’
Assisted dying will probably be funded by the NHS, a Labour minister has admitted.
Stephen Kinnock, the care minister, said that assisted dying services would be administered through an “NHS commissioning process”, funded by the health service.
MPs voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill earlier this year, which will allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death.
The legislation is currently being debated in the House of Lords, where peers are taking evidence from experts about how the bill can be implemented.
Mr Kinnock told peers that the “spirit” of the Private Member’s Bill, sponsored by Kim Leadbeater, a Labour backbencher, was that assisted dying would be free at the point of use.
He told the committee on Wednesday: “Once the sponsor made clear to the Government that her intention was to be able to provide a service that was free at the point of use, through an NHS commissioning process, then I and officials worked with the sponsor to ensure that the bill was able to facilitate that policy intent”.