Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

These amendments by the Lord Bishop of Gloucester would: (1) bar any actions authorised by the Bill from being carried out in prisons; (2) ensure that if assisted deaths occur in prison they remain subject to coronial investigations; and (3) require the annual report to record how many prisoner applicants sought assistance, how many progressed to the panel and were approved, and how many resulted in the person being assisted to die in prison.

This Lords’ publication is the Thirteenth Marshalled List of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, published on 25 March 2026, outlining dozens of proposed changes to the Bill. The amendments seek to strengthen safeguards (capacity, coercion, safeguarding), create new oversight bodies (neutral advisers, an Assisted Dying Review Panel, navigators), and expand governance and transparency (registers, reporting, audits). They also proposal regulatory frameworks for the lethal substance, service delivery (including private providers and NHS considerations), and the governance of data, timings, and potential expiry or renewal of the Act.

Baroness Lawlor has tabled amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Clauses 7 and 10) to tighten how the record of the initial discussion and first assessment is created and sent. The changes require online records and submission to the Commissioner within a week (with some deadlines specified as by midnight the same day or the same week). The amendments also require the Commissioner to be included in the record.

This Lords publication is the Twelfth Marshalled List of amendments for the Committee stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, outlining a large number of proposed changes. The amendments seek to overhaul governance and safeguards around assisted dying—introducing new bodies (an independent monitor, Assisted Dying Review Panels, independent advocates), expanding multidisciplinary assessments and palliative care referrals, tightening eligibility (capacity, coercion, residency), and regulating who can participate (opt-in doctors, licensing of substances and providers) with extensive reporting, both for England and Wales and for devolved matters.

This is the Lords’ Eleventh Marshalled List of amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, laying out dozens of proposed changes to strengthen safeguards, governance and oversight of assisted dying. The amendments introduce mandatory guidance for review panels, enhanced consent and safeguarding measures (including opt-in/out for clinicians, psychological assessments and independent advocates), expanded multidisciplinary assessments and reporting, and new governance bodies such as the Assisted Dying Help Service, a Disability Advisory Board and an independent monitor. They also address residency and eligibility rules, regulation and supply of the lethal substances, advertising controls, potential devolution to Wales, and provisions for expiry or renewal and ongoing reviews.

This supplementary memorandum explains amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill that remove the earlier delegated power to regulate VAD advertising and instead place offences, defences and certain exceptions on the face of the Bill, plus a new schedule. It also introduces a limited regulatory power to add further defences (subject to affirmative procedure) and makes targeted changes to the Communications Act 2003, including Ofcom duties and a link to the Suicide Act 1961. The changes respond to concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, with more memoranda to follow if further amendments are tabled.

These supplementary amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill tighten controls on lethal substances: they would require case-by-case ordering of approved drugs instead of keeping stock on premises, and clarify that lethal doses (including gases) are covered. They also mandate consultation with the MHRA (and the Home Office where relevant) when listing substances, establish a committee to advise on substances and devices with a duty to report to the MHRA, and convert some provisions from optional to mandatory.

Baroness Merron’s letter clarifies that under clause 2(1) of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a person can be regarded as terminally ill if they have one or more progressive, irreversible illnesses whose combined trajectory would realistically lead to death within six months. Doctors should assess such cases holistically, and if they have any doubt, refer the person for assessment by a suitably qualified medical practitioner with experience in the relevant illness. The government notes its neutrality on the Bill.

Supplimentary amendments to clause 44 add examples of events medical practitioners must notify the Commissioner and clarify the types of information the Commissioner may request, while deleting the broad enforcement provision. The amendments also link to clause 54 to require the affirmative procedure for these regulations, addressing the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee’s concerns about scope and scrutiny. Overall, the changes aim to clarify and narrow the powers and improve parliamentary oversight.