Last week, the Terminally Ill Adults (end of life) Bill was published ahead of its first debate on November 29. After months of speculation, we now have a clear understanding of what the Bill in its current form looks like.

Assisted dying has been legalised in several jurisdictions worldwide, but the Bill put forward by Kim Leadbeater MP has the strongest protections of any existing legislation. It would be applicable only to terminally ill adults who are assessed as being likely to die within six months.

Anyone suffering from a long-term degenerative condition would not qualify. Nor would anyone who suffers from a long-term mental health condition or illness, or with a disability.

In principle I support the Bill in its current form and believe its robust protections, which include a multilayered approval process involving two doctors and a high court judge, address concerns about coercion.

Having said that, Assisted Dying should not come at the expense of high-quality end of life care. It is not an alternative by any stretch of the imagination. Currently, however, end of life care, like much of the health service, is severely underfunded and the quality of care is often a postcode lottery.

Rowcroft Hospice in Torquay, for instance, gets significantly less funding than similar hospices in London – and the sector, overall, is in a dire state, with 96 per cent of UK hospices currently budgeting for a deficit.

In September, Hospice UK, the industry body, said 2023-24 was “by a distance the worst financial year we have ever seen for the hospice sector”.

Supporting the sector is paramount. I know the Health Secretary is aware of this – earlier this month, he said he would vote against the Bill because, among other things, he was “not sure as a country we have the right end-of-life care available to enable a real choice on assisted dying”.

I was pleased, therefore, to hear Mr Streeting promise additional support for hospices last week, but I must admit I find it baffling that this support is coming at a time when hospices are also being hit by Labour’s national insurance tax hike. The Government, it seems, is giving with one hand and taking with the other.

The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned on care issues and will continue to do so – it is vital that we improve our social care offer for all those living with long-term conditions or illness and the families who support them.

But while we know hospices do incredible work, palliative care cannot always provide a pain-free end to life and we have heard many harrowing stories in parliament this week, while discussing the Bill, of people who died horrible deaths because palliative care was not able to give them the respite they needed from pain and other awful symptoms.

This Bill will give anyone facing a gruelling death the option to choose when the time is right for them, and it does not detract from the need for better end-of-life care for all.

I want to reassure my constituents that the safeguards in the Bill are crucial, and I am taking time to listen to arguments on both sides as the Bill progresses.