Health secretary escalates opposition to mooted reform, saying it would have ‘resource implications’ for other services
In a column for the i, Kitty Donaldson suggests the assisted dying bill looks increasingly unlikely to become law. Here is an excerpt.
Analysis by i a month ago, when the idea was being debated only in principle, found 54 per cent of MPs currently expressing a degree of support for the legislation, while 35 per cent were opposed and 11 per cent were undecided.
But since the bill was published this week more MPs are expressing their doubts about the legislation, with many citing the concern that although private members’ bills are subject to the same stages as any other legislation, less time is allocated to them in parliament, meaning they are often discussed in significantly less detail before a vote …
One of the reasons that I haven’t yet announced the allocation for hospices is I’m looking very carefully at what we can do through the hospice grant to recognise that pressure.
We’ll make an announcement on the hospice grant before Christmas because I recognise that people need to be able to make decisions about the next financial year, but the hospice grant will continue.
We need urgent clarity on what extra funding hospices will receive and whether it will fully cover the cost of the national insurance tax hike.
Many hospices are already on the brink and this tax hike risks pushing them over the edge. The simplest thing would be for the government to listen to hospices and exempt them from this tax rise.