The Committee to scrutinise the Assisted Dying Bill seems bent on avoiding real scrutiny
by Nikki da Costa, Conservative Home:
On Tuesday, the Committee charged with the detailed scrutiny of the Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide bill voted to exclude the Royal College of Psychiatrists from giving evidence.
Despite coercion, mental state, and the role of psychiatrists being a key area of concern for many, Bill sponsor, Kim Leadbeater MP, led 14 MPs, including the two Government ministers, to oppose hearing from psychiatrists. Just 8 said they should be heard.
It was the second decision the Committee took that day. The first was to back the sponsor’s last-minute decision that the Committee should sit in private to discuss the list of who she had chosen to give oral evidence. A final list was only circulated to members at 10am that morning.
In just two hours we saw the extent of the sponsor’s control of the Committee, the advantage of being able to choose every member and every witness, and how outgunned concerned MPs are.
The next morning after public outcry a U-turn was performed. The sponsor announced they would, after all, hear from psychiatrists. Disability groups remain excluded.
Whatever side you are on, this does not bode well for careful, considered line-by-line scrutiny and improvement of the bill.