Next, Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney asks about the definition of "terminal illness" and whether it would improve the bill if there was a specified list of illnesses in it which doctors could look to.

Whitty says this would be "extremely difficult". Giving the example of people diagnosed with cancer, he says not everyone with the disease will die. He also says there are people who may not have a single disease but multiple diseases - and it's that "constellation" that will cause their death in the future.

England's chief medical officer stresses that these factors make it difficult to say which diseases will cause death and which will not.

"This is not a precise science," he adds.

• For context: MPs backed the assisted dying bill in November, but it still faces many more months of debate and potential amendments before it can move to the House of Lords and then go on to become law.

We're continuing to listen in to England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty and chief nursing officer Duncan Burton answer questions from MPs about the assisted dying bill.

When asked about the training requirements needed for medical staff, Whitty says this should be separated into two broad groups - training that is normal medical practice, which may need "variation", and training that is "specific to this bill".

On the latter, "specific" training, Whitty says it's important that the "wishes" of the patient are respected as a priority - and that the "wishes" of healthcare professionals be respected too.

Burton echoes these sentiments - adding that some thought will need to go into training for areas including managing confidentiality if patients do not want their families to know they have requested assisted dying.

• 11 November 2024: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was first introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater - supporters of such legislation had been campaigning for years
• 29 November: The bill went to its first vote in the House of Commons, passing 330 to 275
• 28 January 2025: The beginning of the committee stage of the bill, where MPs go through the bill in detail and hear evidence and advice from experts, and suggest amendments
• End of April 2025: We can expect the committee stage to wrap up around this time and for the bill, with any amendments, to be put to a Commons vote once again
• After that: If it passes the Commons, the bill will then go to the House of Lords, where it could be amended further and returned to the Commons. If it is passed by both Houses and is given royal assent, the bill gives the government two years to implement the legislation

Whitty begins by telling MPs that he and Burton, sitting beside him, are both neutral on the principles of the assisted dying bill and they will answer technical questions - not questions of principle.

Labour MP Naz Shah asks the first question - focusing on whether it will be safe to implement the proposed legislation under the bill's working timeline of two years. (If the bill is passed by both the Houses of Commons and Lords, and is given royal assent, it gives the government two years to implement the legislation.)

Whitty says a period of time will be needed to ensure there is technical guidance and the necessary training in place for doctors to do what's needed in the appropriate way. He adds that, in his view, this is something best not done at speed.

Image source, UK Parliament

MPs have begun this morning's committee meeting and the first witnesses up are Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, and chief nursing officer for NHS England Duncan Burton.

After them, we'll have more witnesses from the General Medical Council and British Medical Association.

We'll bring text updates right here and you can follow along by pressing Watch live at the top of this page.

This morning, our colleagues on Radio 4's Today programme spoke to two doctors who shared their thoughts on the proposed assisted dying bill. Here's what they had to say.

Palliative care doctor Lucy Thomas says she's not against assisted dying in principle, but is deeply concerned by the approach of this bill. She says people think it's about relieving pain and suffering, but that in this bill doctors will be required to help someone end their life "just because they have a terminal illness".

"There's nothing at all in this bill about pain and suffering, and there's no requirement that the patient be experiencing pain and suffering," Thomas says.

Meanwhile, Prof Clare Gerada, who supports assisted dying in principle, says she's not sure the bill will actually change doctors' relationships with patients - "it just adds another choice".

Asked about the bill's lack of a requirement for pain, Gerada, the former president of the Royal Society of General Practitioners, says you "have to trust the parliamentarians to put the detail in".

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, or the assisted dying bill for short, would make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to be given assistance to end their own life.

But there are requirements:

• They must be a resident of England or Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months
• They must have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure
• They must be expecting to die within the next six months
• They must make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed (by them or a proxy on their behalf), about their wish to die
• Two independent doctors must be satisfied the person is eligible - and there must be at least seven days between the doctors' assessments
• A High Court judge must hear from at least one of the doctors and can also question the dying person, or anyone else they consider appropriate - and there must be a further 14 days after the judge has made the ruling (although this can be shortened to 48 hours in some circumstances)
• The bill defines the coordinating doctor as a registered medical practitioner with "training, qualifications and experience" at a level to be specified by the UK health secretary

Emily McGarvey
Live page editor

MPs will today begin hearing from doctors, senior medical professionals and legal experts about a bill that would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, external was introduced by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater last year and proposes giving terminally ill people the right to choose to end their life under certain circumstances.

November saw the first Commons vote on the issue in nearly a decade, with MPs ultimately backing the bill by 330 to 275 - a majority of 55.

The bill faces many more months of debate and scrutiny by MPs and peers, who could choose to amend it, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament (the Commons and Lords) required before it can become law.

The committee is due to convene around 09:25 GMT - and England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty is expected to speak first. Stay tuned for live updates from London's Portcullis House, where evidence is being heard.