This morning I had the pleasure of attending the Committee Stage of the Down Syndrome Bill- of which I am a co-sponsor.
Along with the Bill's main sponsor, Dr Liam Fox, we made a number of important changes including:
- The Committee has agreed that there will a named person on the new integrated care boards who will be responsible for the application of the rights given in this important Bill.
- The guidance issued by the Secretary of State will be laid before Parliament to allow MPs to scrutinise the legislation effectively, as well as improve the guidance in the future. This ensure that conditions which may be similar to Down Syndrome could potentially be added within the guidance in the future.
The Down Syndrome Bill has now completed Committee Stage and will now go through Report Stage and a Third Reading in the House of Commons, before making its way to the House of Lords. You can keep track of the Bill's progression here.
You can also read more about my involvement with the Down Syndrome Bill here, and watch my contribution to the Down Syndrome Bill debate in the House of Commons here.