Ian Murray has said he is not against the principle of assisted dying amid concerns the latest Bill is not within Holyrood’s powers. The Scottish Secretary refused to be drawn on whether he would issue a Section 30 order to allow MSPs to pass the legislation, but did not rule it out.
He said the UK Government would have to wait until the Bill is voted on.
The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill has been brought forward by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur. The legislation would allow terminally ill adults to request an end to their life.
Ahead of the legislation being voted on, the Scottish Government has warned that Holyrood may be unable to pass the Bill. Health Secretary Neil Gray said in a letter to the health committee that aspects of the legislation may require permission from the UK Government.
A “particular concern” stems from the legislation giving powers to ministers to specify the drug that would be used for assisted deaths – an area where legislation is reserved to Westminster.
While the Scotland Secretary could grant a Section 30 order – which would allow Holyrood to legislate in this area – the Scottish Government said this could take between 12 and 18 months to arrange.
They adding this would need to be completed before MSPs could grant final approval to the Bill. Asked if he would be willing to grant a Section 30 order, Murray told the PA news agency: “We won’t get to that stage until we actually see a Bill that comes forward. And we haven’t seen that as yet. We have had the letter from Neil Gray, of course, yesterday, but we wouldn’t analyse any of that until we have a Bill in front of us.”
The Scottish Secretary said assisted dying “as a principle” was a devolved issue and added that he would only look at a Bill “once it comes forward, not before”.
Speaking after an interfaith candle lighting ceremony at the Edinburgh City Chambers, he added: “I don’t disagree with the principle of assisted dying.
“But there’s no point speculating until that Bill is brought forward. It’s quite clear the Bill is going to have to go into the Scottish Parliament. There’ll be a vote there. If it goes through, and we have a Bill in front of us, we will then be able to make those decisions. But there is no point in speculating at the moment, because nobody has seen the Bill, and nobody’s been able to analyse the provisions of the Bill that Neil Gray mentioned in his letter.”
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