Warning over 'cross-border flow' from England to Scotland unless assisted dying rules tightened

Residency rules around Scotland’s assisted dying proposals could be tightened to stop people crossing the border to access an NHS-provided version of the care, the MSP behind the legislation has acknowledged.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has put forward a Holyrood member’s Bill to create a legal framework for assisted dying in Scotland, which would provide the care on the NHS to terminally ill people aged 16 and over that meet strict criteria.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur introduced the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Eligibility includes being resident in Scotland and registered with a GP for at least 12 months.

But fears have been raised that similar plans for the rest of the UK, tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater at Westminster, could result in some people moving to Scotland to access assisted dying - with the plans for England not yet explicitly including a requirement for the NHS to carry out the care.

There are also concerns over cases in England needing to be signed off by a High Court judge, which some estimates suggest could cost tens of thousands of pounds.

READ MORE: How Holyrood warning to 'tread carefully' could help assisted dying over the line

Speaking at Holyrood’s finance committee on Tuesday, Labour MSP Michael Marra told Mr McArthur that his proposal “has far wider access criteria” than the Westminster legislation.

Mr Marra said: “Is there not significant risk that in the event of both Bills passing, that a significant number of people come to Scotland to access this form of care on the NHS in Scotland and therefore, these numbers are much higher and the costs of accommodating and making that care available is significantly higher as well?

Scottish Labour’s finance spokesperson Michael Marra

“In the trade-off between having to do that or coming to Scotland and getting the proposal in your Bill, surely there’s going to be a cross-border flow of people as a result of that.”

In response, Mc McArthur said the number of people who could move north of the Border was “difficult to predict or necessarily anticipate”.

He said: “Now, I get that those with a terminal illness may have a prognosis that stretches out years and one of the decisions they might take is that moving to Scotland is something they want to do because they think should the need arise, then the access to assisted dying is something that is more manageable, in their context, than it is elsewhere in the UK.

READ MORE: Assisted dying is beyond the powers of Scottish Parliament, says SNP

“I think there are people moving to Scotland for a whole host of reasons in terms of quality of life and all the rest of it. I think the numbers involved are extremely small.”

The Orkney MSP stressed it was “less likely” people would decide to “uproot yourself and move in a period where you’ve got an awful lot else going on in your life”.

He said: “But can I rule out the possibility that somebody may, on an individual basis, take that decision? No, I can’t.

“Do I think it’s likely to be part of a trend? I think the residency requirement is firm. It may well be that people believe that residency requirements need to be toughened up and extended.

“It’s something maybe the health committee will want to look at. But it’s difficult to imagine people are going to be moving around the UK for those reasons you suggest.”