Committee
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee 27 January 2026 [Draft]
27 Jan 2026 · S6 · Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Non-surgical Procedures) Order 2026 [Draft]
As we have been going through this process, the importance of public awareness has been highlighted. It is fair to say that people assumed that this area was already regulated. The coverage that the committee has been creating in taking evidence and what has been in the media—whether that is radio, television or print—is all very important and has helped to move us along on this journey.It is fair to say that a lot of the advertising for these types of treatments comes through social media, and the Scottish Government will look to share messages at the appropriate time on those same channels. I think that awareness is very important; indeed, you took very strong evidence on the issue in your evidence gathering for the bill.11:15
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Item 3 is consideration of an affirmative Scottish statutory instrument. The purpose of the draft order, which requires approval by resolution of the Parliam...
The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health (Jenni Minto)
SNP
I thank the committee for giving me the opportunity to speak on the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Non-surgical Procedures) Order. The or...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. The committee does indeed have a series of questions for you, and we will move straight to them.
David Torrance
SNP
Good morning. What is the rationale for classing higher-risk procedures as being suitable for local authority licensing, instead of restricting them to Healt...
Jenni Minto
SNP
We have taken a lot of advice and done a lot of work on this to ensure that we feel that the right procedures are being given the right and proportionate reg...
David Torrance
SNP
How will the Scottish Government address concerns that, under the scheme, non-medical practitioners could end up carrying out procedures on potentially cance...
Jenni Minto
SNP
Those are important questions. I know that the committee received thorough evidence in that regard from healthcare professionals and those who provide non-su...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
On the regulatory boundaries, what is the Government’s response to concerns that the distinction between the respective scopes of the bill and the order migh...
Jenni Minto
SNP
We have been doing work in this area specifically to understand what support might be needed between local authorities and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. T...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
How will the Scottish Government ensure that local authorities can develop clear and workable guidance? There are concerns that it can be challenging to dist...
Jenni Minto
SNP
Before I bring in Owen Griffiths, I note that all the work that we have done to get to this stage has been clear. The consultation responses were clear on wh...
Owen Griffiths (Scottish Government)
It might be helpful to provide a few examples of how things might work in practice. This is why it makes more sense for this to be covered in guidance rather...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
That is helpful. I also want to ask about a method of escalation for officers in local authorities. Could a central expert panel or some sort of troubleshoot...
Jenni Minto
SNP
In an earlier answer, I referred to work that was done by the skin piercing and tattooing working group. I am not ruling that in or out, but it is a suitable...
Emma Harper
SNP
We are talking about guidance rather than putting something into the bill, because procedures will evolve and there will be changes to chemicals or microneed...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I agree, and Owen Griffiths set that out clearly in his response to Mr Sweeney.
Gillian Mackay
Green
The order does not set any knowledge, training or skills requirements for licence applicants. That is different from the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I recognise the importance of training and qualifications standards, which was also clearly reflected in the views of stakeholders during the consultation. T...
Gillian Mackay
Green
Given that we are talking about the safety of those who access the services, what confidence does the minister have that that issue will be resolved with the...
Jenni Minto
SNP
As Gillian Mackay will be aware, the UK Government is also consulting on similar regulations for non-surgical procedures, which is why we are working closely...
Elena Whitham
SNP
I want to spend a bit of time looking at local authority capacity and resourcing. Local authorities told the committee that they were concerned about their e...
Jenni Minto
SNP
I recognise from other areas of my portfolio as well as this one the stretch that is required for environmental health officers in Scotland and the key roles...
Elena Whitham
SNP
One of the other issues that were raised with us is the fact that, although EHOs have been operating and dealing with tattoo and piercing licensing since 200...
Jenni Minto
SNP
This is a replication of what happened with tattooing and the fact that there was a group working together to ensure that there was that knowledge. We have t...
Elena Whitham
SNP
Perhaps such a group is where the Government could develop and provide national tools, templates and implementation guidance to reduce the administrative bur...
Jenni Minto
SNP
That is a good point: we need consistency across the country. There is a role for the Scottish Government to play in that, and there is also a role for COSLA...
Brian Whittle
Con
Good morning. In reply to Elena Whitham, you talked about awareness within councils. Do you commit to raising public awareness nationally? It is incumbent on...
Jenni Minto
SNP
As we have been going through this process, the importance of public awareness has been highlighted. It is fair to say that people assumed that this area was...
Brian Whittle
Con
Is it the plan to have a register that the public can access showing the status of practitioners?
Jenni Minto
SNP
What we are looking at is licensing. I will turn to Owen Griffiths to give you a response to that question.