There is so much I would have liked to have written to you about this week - writes Richard Foord.

The farm tax; energy bills and winter fuel; Ukraine; flooding, to name a few.

Instead, I am going to write about assisted dying – or as some people call it, assisted suicide.

As you can imagine, I have received stacks of correspondence in the last few weeks in relation to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

This is a potential law that was debated in the House of Commons on Friday, November 29.

It was introduced by a backbench MP, rather than by the Government.

Like my fellow MPs, I have been wrestling with whether to halt its progress at this early stage, or whether to support it through to the next stage for consideration by MPs.

I have been reading everything that I can get my hands on.

Some of the most valuable material was contained in the many letters and emails that I received from local people.

These communications have been often deeply personal and have given me cause to stop and reflect.

I have been struck by the expertise and experience of many of the people writing in.

Some had delivered end of life care for decades.

Some talked about their faith in God, and described how they felt that life was not ours to give or to take away.

Many contained profoundly moving stories about their loss of a loved one; some described difficult deaths that they had encountered in others.

This is probably the most difficult vote that I have had to cast in the years that I have been in Parliament so far.

I am still listening to local people’s views, and that will continue.

On Friday, I am likely to have voted in support of the Bill.

On top of what I read, I still feel the influence of watching my own mother’s final days in 2020, during which she kept repeating the words "hurry up".

Despite morphine, I knew that she was suffering, and I felt unable to help.

One thing I am certain of is that we must use the debate over this Bill as an opportunity to press the Government on better support for palliative care.

We have some excellent ‘Hospice at Home’ charities here in East Devon.

Unlike many other hospices across the country, those in East Devon do not receive funding from the NHS.

Hospice services such as ours here in East Devon do a brilliant job of easing suffering for people and their families.

We need the Government to recognise what valuable care they provide, and how much they are easing the strain on families, and relieving others who work in our health service.