Assisted dying could be offered by non-NHS providers if Senedd rejects bill

Non-NHS providers may be able to offer assisted dying services in Wales even if the Senedd rejects the landmark legislation, the Welsh health secretary has said.

On Tuesday Senedd politicians will decide whether to approve the bill to allow some terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their own lives.

Jeremy Miles told a committee that if members vote against the legislation, independent providers "could still be established in Wales due to the change in the criminal law".

But they will only be voting whether Welsh ministers should be able to set rules for assisted dying services in Wales - and be available on the NHS - not on whether it should be legal.

Assisted dying was rejected as a principle when it last voted on by the Senedd in October 2024 - with nine politicians abstaining.

But should the UK Parliament legislation pass, assisted dying would become legal in both England and Wales regardless of how the Senedd votes on Tuesday because changes to suicide law are not devolved.

Because the Senedd has responsibility for making laws on healthcare in Wales it has been asked to give its consent - although Parliament can still legislate even without it.

The bill is currently being scrutinised in the House of Lords, where the Lords are considering such a large number of changes that supporters are worried it may not pass Parliament at all.

Miles made his comments earlier this month to the Senedd's legislation committee, which asked the Welsh government to explain the practical implications of Tuesday's vote, after warnings that Members of the Senedd (MSs) were in the dark about what was at stake.

He told the committee that if the Senedd rejected the legislation and the UK parliament proceeded anyway, the Welsh government would have to "operate within a framework that has not been endorsed by the Senedd".

The UK Parliament could choose to remove parts of the law applying to Wales' devolved institutions, and BBC Wales has been told the bill's backers have promised to remove those sections in the Lords should consent from Wales be refused.

Miles told the committee that "this could result in the Welsh ministers not being provided with powers to regulate about assisted dying in Wales".

He added: "Independent providers of non-NHS services could still be established in Wales due to the change in the criminal law following the commencement of other provisions in the act."

Miles said the final outcome would depend "on decisions taken by the UK Parliament and therefore cannot be stated with certainty at this stage".

He explained that how assisted dying would work in Wales if the bill did pass would be "for the next Welsh government to consider", with the next Senedd election on 7 May.

Rather than the whole bill, the Senedd has been asked to approve sections that relate to things it normally controls - such as the regulations Welsh ministers are able to set.

The Welsh government is tabling Tuesday's vote, but is officially neutral. Labour and Conservative MSs are confirmed as having free votes - while Plaid Cymru MSs were able to vote however they wanted at the last vote in 2024.

Miles and Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan were among those who opposed it two years ago.

One supporter of the legislation, Labour MS Julie Morgan, said she is concerned that poorer terminally ill people may be unable to use an assisted dying service.

Morgan said there could be a "very unequal situation if there was access in England to service and in Wales, the only people who could access something like this would be people who were wealth enough to pay for it".

Reform UK's James Evans - who said he was said he was "fifty-fifty" on whether to back the motion - said the Senedd vote was happening too soon for members to know how exactly what the final legislation would look like, and that some MSs might vote against it as a result.

He said he was unsure how the vote would go, and thought "a lot" of people could be swayed by the uncertainty.

Evans said: "There's still a risk that this bill will not be exactly what it says on the tin.

"It's a mess the way the government has handled it," he said, adding "this is one of the only times we are being asked to vote on something where we don't really know the outcome from Westminster".

Evans said he was also worried about the "inequity" of a potential situation where assisted dying was legal and available free in England but not in Wales.

A Welsh government source told the BBC that the timing of the vote is seen as the best time to ensure the Senedd's views are on record while the Lords are still considering the bill.

If consent is granted, another vote would be required in the Senedd to agree regulations for how an assisted dying service would operate after the May election.