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.
On 24 April, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its last day of Committee Stage in the House of Lords. The Bill has not been allocated any more time in the House of Lords. As a result, it will officially fall when Parliament is prorogued before the King’s Speech on 13 May.
Key milestones
On 24 April, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its last day of Committee Stage in the House of Lords. The Bill has not been allocated any more time in the House of Lords. As a result, it will officially fall when Parliament is prorogued before the King’s Speech on 13 May.
We responded to the debate ending on Friday on our channels with a piece written by Toby Porter. Hospice UK have cosigned a joint letter with Sue Ryder, Marie Curie, Age UK and Together For Short Lives. The letter calls for important conversations about end of life care to not end following the fall of the Bill, and for momentum from these conversations not to be wasted.
If another Bill is brought in the new parliamentary session, we will be ready to respond. If you have any questions or would like more information, please email our policy team.
The Bill moved to Committee Stage in the House of Lords. Committee Stage began in November 2025 and involved members of the House of Lords debating specific changes to the Bill.
The members of the Lords debated the following issues during Committee Stage:
raising the minimum age for a person receiving assistance to end their own life (which is currently set at aged 18)
how capacity is assessed
the inclusion of a palliative care or specialist palliative care needs assessment as part of the assessment process
the involvement of a multidisciplinary panel, and whether the involvement of the High Court should be reinstated as part of the assessment process
how a person may access information about assisted dying
improving safeguards for vulnerable people/people at risk of coercion
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 Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill fell at the final stage and cannot progress any further. Liam McArthur, the MSP who introduced the bill has said that he will not reintroduce in the new parliament but it would be possible for any other MSP to introduce a similar bill.
Key milestones
On Tuesday 17 March, the Scottish Parliament voted 69-57 against the passing of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. This was a significantly wider margin than any predictions ahead of the vote. The original Stage 1 vote was 70-56 in favour but many MSPs who voted in favour said at the time that they wished the matter to be explored but reserved the right to vote against at Stage 3.
During the debate palliative care and the importance of hospices were mentioned a significant number of time, but the overall focus of the debate was more on individual autonomy versus appropriate levels of safeguarding.
Our public statement following the bill is available here.
The Scottish Parliament agreed 175 further amendments to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. An updated version of the bill has now been published.
Hospice UK had put forward amendments that further strengthened the Code of Practice we successfully added to the bill at Stage 2. All our amendments were agreed and now form part of the final bill.
A substantial number of amendments that relate to palliative care have been agreed. Other amendments agreed included adding a 6 month prognosis to the eligibility criteria, and all content in the bill that related to matters reserved the UK government was removed. This included removing all detail relating to individual conscientious objection/no duty to participate, which will be addressed by the UK Government via a Section 104 order if the Bill passes and receives Royal Assent.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is at the final Stage 3 of the scrutiny process. The bill will be considered by the Scottish Parliament on:
Tuesday 10th March - MSPs will debate and vote on further amendments to the bill
Tuesday 17th March - MSPs will debate and vote on the final version of the bill. This is the final decision point on whether the bill will become law.
Hospice UK has worked with Jackie Baillie MSP to lodge further amendments designed to strengthen the amendment we secured at Stage 2 around developing a code of practice on the interaction between assisted dying and palliative care services.
Read our briefing that provides a full update ahead of the Stage 3 amendments.
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 UK government has advised the Manx government that changes will have to be made to the Isle of Man's Assisted Dying Bill before it can be given Royal Assent.
The UK Ministry of Justice has declined to grant royal assent at this stage on the basis that key safeguards, including around coercion, have not been written directly into the Bill. The UK Government’s view is that these matters must be addressed directly on the face of the Bill to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Alex Allinson, MHK, who brought the private member's bill forward, has said that work is underway to draft amendments to address these issues.
Jersey
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The Jersey States Assembly approved the Assisted Dying Bill in February 2026. The Bill now awaits Royal Assent.
Once Royal Assent is granted, an implementation period of up to 18 months will follow.
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).
