The Terminally Ill Adults Bill – progress update

Many amendments have been made to the Terminally Ill Adults Bill during the House of Commons Committee Stage of the legislative process, which has now concluded. The Report Stage is set to begin on 25 April 2025, during which the Bill will be considered by the whole House of Commons, and further amendments can be made.

A major change during the Committee Stage is that the Bill’s intended implementation has been postponed from 2027 to 2029. Kim Leadbeater, the Bill’s private sponsor, gave as the reason for the delay the time the additional safeguards (added to the Bill as amendments) would take to be fully operational. Notably, this delay may take the proposed implementation of the Bill into the start of the next government, with a general election to take place in August 2029. 

This comes amongst a wave of negative reporting surrounding the Bill and its safeguards, and the delay is being viewed by many as an attempt to put the Bill far enough into the long grass that it may not re-emerge. On the other hand, many of the amendments are addressing the concerns raised and there are many in our society who are calling very strongly for this change – it is difficult to predict the outcome at this stage and Stone King will continue to monitor the situation.

Stay up to date with the progress of the Bill through Parliament here.