On this page we have summarised how legislation to introduce assisted dying is progressing across the UK, and how Hospice UK has been engaging with the parliamentary process.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced into the House of Commons by Kim Leadbeater MP on 16 October 2024. The full text of the Bill was published on 11 November.
The Bill entered the Committee Stage in the House of Lords on 14 November. We are updating our members as the process continues.
Key milestones
On Friday 5 December, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill entered the third day of Committee Stage, after it was announced that 12 further days of House of Lords time will be set aside for debating the bill. This involved all members of the House of Lords debating specific changes to the Bill.
Votes on specific amendments at Committee Stage are rare, and most Peers will likely withdraw their amendment after debate and re-table it at the next stage (Report Stage) for a vote.
The following amendments were considered:
Amendment 4 (Baroness Berger, Baroness Hollins, Baroness Berridge) was withdrawn. This amendment was to raise the minimum age for a person receiving assistance to end their own life from 18 to 25.
Amendment 5 (Baron Lawlor) was not discussed. This amendment was to raise the minimum age for a person receiving assistance to end their own life from 18 to 21.
Amendment 6 (Lord Falconer) was withdrawn. This was a technical drafting change to the Bill.
Amendments 8 (Baroness Goudie) and 9 (Lord Moylan and Lord Goodman) were not discussed. These amendments would have made a technical drafting change to the assessment process.
Amendment 10 (Baroness Finlay) was withdrawn. Amendments 11 to 14 were not discussed. These amendments clarified that the person must be permanently residing in England or Wales and considered the equity of excluding from the Bill’s provision those who have retired abroad but wish to return to England or Wales.
Amendment 15 (Baroness Coffey) was withdrawn. This amendment would have restricted the Bill to people living in the UK for the whole previous year.
Committee Stage will continue on Friday 12 December.
On Friday 14 November, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill entered Committee Stage in the House of Lords. This involved all members of the House of Lords debating specific changes to the Bill.
Votes on specific amendments at Committee Stage are rare, and most Peers will likely withdraw their amendment after debate and re-table it at the next stage (Report Stage) for a vote.
The following two amendments were debated and subsequently withdrawn:
Amendment 1 (Baroness Coffey) - removing reference to Wales throughout the Bill
Amendment 2 (Baroness Finlay) - replacing "capacity" with "ability" in the Bill
On Friday 12 and Friday 19 September, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its Second Reading debate in the House of Lords.
We have prepared this briefing for members which summarises the debate and outlines next steps for the Bill.
On Friday 20 June, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons, with a majority of 23 MPs voting in favour.
On Friday 13 June 2025, the Bill returned to the House of Commons for a second Report Stage debate.
During the session, MPs debated and agreed a number of amendments to the Bill. These include an important amendment that requires the Health Secretary to consult with palliative and end-of-life care providers when developing guidance, if the Bill becomes law.
On Friday 16 May 2025, the Bill returned to the House of Commons for its Report Stage. This saw MPs debate a range of specific proposed changes to the Bill.
We produced a briefing for members which explains the changes made to the Bill, key issues raised in the debate, and our response.
On 25 March 2025 the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill completed its Committee Stage. During this stage, MPs - including Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock - examined the Bill in detail and considered amendments.
Read our briefing for hospices summarising changes to the Bill, as well as remaining challenges and next steps.
On 29 November 2024, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received its Second Reading in the House of Commons, where it was passed in principal, with a final vote of 330 to 275.
On 23 October 2024, Senedd Cymru debated a motion in support of assisted dying following the Westminster proposals to change the law in England and Wales.
The Senedd does not have the powers to directly legislate on assisted dying, but would play a key role in its delivery through the devolved health and social care system if it ever becomes law. The non-binding motion was defeated: 26 Members of the Senedd voted against, 19 voted in favour and nine abstained.
Over half the Members involved in the debate raised the need to improve access to, and investment in, palliative care and hospice services.
In his formal response, the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles MS said improving palliative and end of life care and the sustainability of hospice provision in Wales were key priorities for Welsh Government.
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Assisted dying webinar for members in England and Wales
Watch a recording of our most recent webinar, from 9 May 2025.
The Scottish Government maintained a neutral position on the Bill during Stage 1of the parliamentary process, and Scottish Ministers had a free vote on the Bill.
The Bill has now moved to Stage 3, where it will be possible for further amendments to the Bill to be considered by all MSPs. Once all amendments have been considered at Stage 3, the Parliament will then have a final vote on the Bill as amended to decide whether it becomes law.
We worked with Jackie Baillie MSP to put forward a number of amendments to the Bill, and we achieved success in two significant areas.
At their meetings on the 18th and 25th November the Health Committee agreed:
Amendment 93 - this means that anyone requesting an assisted death must be offered a referred for a palliative care assessment.
Amendments 54, 55 and 64 - these amendments require an assessment of the impact on palliative and end of life care services of assisted dying being legalised, and the creation of a Code of Practice on how assisted dying would interact with hospices and other providers of palliative and end of life care. The Code of Practice includes any measures to mitigate adverse impacts on the operation of existing palliative and end of life care services; and how funding streams for the delivery of palliative and end of life care services can be differentiated to ensure assisted dying is not funded at the expense of existing palliative and end of life care services Two amendments from Liam McArthur (29 and 44) were based on issues we had raised with him, and these were also agreed to.
The updated version of the bill, incorporating all agreed changes is now available on the parliament website.
We have put together a briefing that provides a full update on the completion of the Stage 2 process.
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee published their scrutiny report of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill on 30th April 2025. We prepared a briefing for members on the content of the scrutiny report.
The Stage 1 debate and a vote on whether the Parliament supports the principles of the Bill was held on Tuesday 13th May 2025. The Parliament voted in favour of the Bill.
The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee have not, so far, issued a call for views but have written to Liam McArthur with a number of questions.
Before the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was published, a Medical Advisory Group was formed to explore the healthcare-related issues and to offer advice and direction to Liam McArthur MSP.
The legislation is now awaiting Royal Assent, after which a period of implementation will follow before the law comes into effect.
Jersey
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The Jersey States Assembly voted in favour of establishing assisted dying for adults with a terminal illness, who have a life expectancy of six months (or 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease).
To date, the Northern Ireland Assembly has not considered assisted dying.
Naomi Long, Justice Minister, has stated that she considers any proposed change to end of life care (including to allow for assisted dying) to be primarly a matter for the Department of Health.
If the Republic of Ireland passes legislation permitting assisted dying, this could have an impact on hospices in Northern Ireland (depending on the eligibility criteria).
