Keir Starmer has insisted the government is prepared to deliver assisted dying legislation “in all its aspects”, pushing back against comments made by his health secretary, Wes Streeting, who claimed there was no budget to implement the new law.
Streeting, who was previously a supporter of assisted dying but switched sides last year, said better end of life care was needed to stop terminally ill people feeling as though they had no alternative but to end their own life.
Writing on his Facebook page, Streeting cited Gordon Brown’s opposition to the move and expressed concerns about the ethics of offering an assisted dying service before significant improvements are made to the NHS.
“The truth is that creating those conditions will take time and money,” he wrote. “Even with the savings that might come from assisted dying if people take up the service – and it feels uncomfortable talking about savings in this context, to be honest – setting up this service will also take time and money that is in short supply.
“There isn’t a budget for this. Politics is about prioritising. It is a daily series of choices and trade-offs. I fear we’ve made the wrong one.”
The prime minister backed the historic measure, which passed the Commons with a majority of 23. MPs were given a free vote.
When asked on Wednesday if the bill must be implemented and the budget must be found for the legislation, Starmer told reporters ahead of the Nato summit: “It is my responsibility to make sure the bill is workable, and that means workable in all its aspects. I’m confident we’ve done that preparation.”
The assisted dying bill, which was formally introduced in the House of Lords for further scrutiny on Monday, gives terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months to live the legal right to end their lives with medical support.
This would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel including a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
Kim Leadbeater introduced the legislation as a private member’s bill, and the Labour peer Charlie Falconer is expected to lead on the legislation in the Lords.
Falconer, who supported Leadbeater’s efforts, said peers should not use procedural devices to block the bill.
after newsletter promotion
Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, hopes the bill will get its royal assent by October, allowing the start of a four-year process to formally implement it.
Streeting will oversee the implementation of the law, as it will be carried out by the Department of Health and Social Care, although the day-to-day work will be handed over to the care minister, Stephen Kinnock, who backed the bill.
Although Streeting’s views on assisted dying are well known, he has told allies he will not seek to impede the bill’s implementation.
Given MPs were allowed to vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines, Starmer had been conscious of not wanting to appear to influence MPs’ decisions. He had criticised Streeting for doing so earlier this year.