Hansard

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)

I declare an interest as a practising national health service general practitioner.The adult disability payment case load is growing at an astounding rate, with 750,000 Scots expected to be in receipt of the benefit by 2030. The increase is being driven by a rising number of p...

2. Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Adult Disability Payment (Mental and Behavioural Disorders)

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any increase in case load for the adult disability payment, particularly in regard to mental and behavioural disorders. (S6O-05710)

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

25 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Discussions)

It has been a privilege to be here in the Scottish Parliament for the past five years. I came into politics to stand up for patients and our hard-working national health service staff, who do extraordinary work in the face of immense pressure, and I am proud to declare that I ...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

General Question Time · National Health Service

I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP.It is great to see the cabinet secretary back in the chamber, but he is wrong, because, during this parliamentary session, we have seen three different health secretaries, record waiting lists, record drug deaths, problems with dela...

4. Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

19 Mar 2026

General Question Time · National Health Service

To ask the Scottish Government how it would assess its handling of the NHS. (S6O-05667)

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill

I wish to make a declaration of interests: I am a practising NHS general practitioner, who is registered with the General Medical Council, and a member of the British Medical Association. In addition, I chaired the medical advisory group for the Assisted Dying for the Assisted...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill

As far as the part of the bill on certification of death is concerned, we agree with it.I begin with a declaration of my interest as a registered general practitioner. I am registered with the General Medical Council.At its core, the legislation is about one fundamental princi...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I press amendment 25. We are very supportive of the amendments in the group.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Can the minister reassure Parliament that HIS has the required resources to carry out what we are requesting of it?

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I have a number of amendments in this group. Under amendment 25, before the offences under the bill can come into force, ministers would have to review the capacity of HIS to exercise the enforcement provisions. That is important, because we want to ensure that capacity is ava...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

We support amendment 6, and I will not press amendment 24.Amendment 24, by agreement, withdrawn.After section 15Amendment 6 moved—Gillian Mackay—and agreed to.Before section 15A

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

As we know, businesses are concerned about the impact of the bill and about how they would be able to make the transition to the new regime. The stage 1 report on the bill said that the Scottish Government should“provide appropriate support and guidance to help responsible pro...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 24 would require that“HIS must publish information on additional resources available to businesses providing non-surgical procedures”That should include information on the advice, support and funding that is available to those businesses. Interruption.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I apologise to the chamber and to you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for not mentioning my amendments 31 and 32 in my earlier remarks. Amendment 31 would require ministers to consult people when they make regulations, and amendment 32 would clarify that ministers must consult peop...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 16 is required because, at stage 1, there was a great deal of concern from businesses about the impact that new regulations would have on them and about how they would make the transition to the new regulatory scheme.The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s stag...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

17 Mar 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I declare an interest as a practising national health service general practitioner.My amendment 10 seeks to change the definition of “regulated healthcare professional” in the bill so that it does not include osteopaths who are regulated by the General Osteopathic Council. Ost...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Prisoner Voting Arrangements

The Scottish National Party Government continues to give prisoners the vote of confidence by allowing offenders who are serving sentences of 12 months or less the right to vote in the upcoming election. Those 609 prisoners include people who have committed sexual and violent c...

5. Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

11 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · Prisoner Voting Arrangements

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs has had with the Scottish Prison Service regarding arrangements for prisoners eligible to vote in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election. (S6O-05623)

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Okay, thank you.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Yes I do. Minister, you said that your position has not changed when it comes to vapes due to their use in helping people to quit smoking. Although vapes are a valuable aid in that respect, less than 6 per cent of the population would be affected by the policy on vapes, and th...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Yes, I think that it is, because there is a broader question about safety when it comes to vapes and the storage of vapes—how and where they are stored—and whether the Scottish Government is perhaps able to go a little bit further to create the safety and reassurance that we a...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP.Vapes are very topical at the moment, given what has happened in Glasgow, and I put on the record my thanks to the firefighters and all the brave crews who risked their lives to keep the fire at bay. The fire started in a vape shop....

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

I fully agree that, as Brian Whittle said, muscle mass is vital, as are exercising and lifting weights. Whether you are male or female, lifting weights is really good for you, especially as you get older, and will make you healthier. Along with exercising and going for walks, ...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

It is always easy to raise the price of things. That is the stick, but the carrot never follows. The only action that we have taken on alcohol is minimum unit pricing—that is it; that is the magic bullet—and I strongly disagree with the findings that you have spoken about. It ...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

Sorry, but was that not the theoretical reduction in deaths, rather than the actual reduction in deaths?

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

Sorry—that is a direct question: was that statistically significant?

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

Was that statistically significant?

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

There is one thing that I think is an absolute failure of minimum unit pricing for alcohol. We are making it more expensive, but we are not really seeing a return. If you were to take away meal deals at lunch time, that would just increase the price for people. Surely we shoul...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP. I am glad that we have started to talk about obesity. If we are going to be honest, we need to look at how we have got here. After two decades, we are fatter and more unhealthy as a nation. Recently, our life expectancy dipped, whi...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Committee

10 Mar 2026

Public Health Scotland

I will pick up on what was said earlier about the opportunities that we have to get kids into sport when the Olympics or other big sporting events are on. The Commonwealth games are coming to Glasgow, yet the evidence that we took previously is that there will be absolutely no...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

04 Mar 2026

Portfolio Question Time · NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Royal Mail (Patient Correspondence)

I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP.How can Royal Mail possibly find patients at the Queen Elizabeth hospital when rooms have been sealed off due to mould and dirty water ingress? Surely, it is time for the board to admit by mail to patients that things may not be saf...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:I suppose that the most important thing to say before my final question is that there are other gyms available, not just the one that I happened to mention.We have spoken about women and girls playing sport, and we have seen in the report that they do not continue to particip...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:I refer to a letter that was written in November 2025 on behalf of 39 organisations. The chair of Scottish Gymnastics wrote it. It spoke of how the 2021 programme for government promised to double funding for sport to £100 million and of a 25 per cent real-terms reduction bef...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:I fully agree that it is an opportunity, and it was part of the GP contract that should have been delivered.Let us talk about the promotion of sport for physical activity. I was a member of my local council gym. My annual membership ran out, and I went to renew it. It works o...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:I was in general practice on Monday, seeing patients. We do not have a minute to do anything except address what the patient has come in with, which often involves multiple, very complex and difficult issues.As part of the initial GP contract, there was a scheme that was supp...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:Inaudible.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

:Thank you. I have to declare my interest as a practising national health service GP—which is rather surprising, given the topic.There has been a lot of discussion, especially involving Kim Atkinson, about GPs trying to create time to talk about activity and linking people to ...

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Committee

03 Mar 2026

Sport and Physical Activity

Hello. I am sorry, convener—it did not come through on my system that you had called me to speak. Is it my turn to ask questions?

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow) (Con) Con Chamber

26 Feb 2026

General Question Time · Walk-in General Practitioner Clinics(Location Criteria)

I declare an interest as a practising national health service GP.The First Minister’s announcement of GP walk-in centres at the Scottish National Party conference was simply an election stunt. He announced them without consulting stakeholders; indeed, he probably shocked his o...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Five years would put us at this stage in the next parliamentary session, so a review would take place during an election period. The matter could be further discussed, but I wonder whether the timescale could be set at four years, so that the review would not take place right...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:At the risk of badgering the member from the other side of the table, I am a little concerned about whether individuals may choose to take a course simply to be allowed to go into aesthetics rather than to actually do the work for which they trained. Dental nursing is an exam...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:I tend to agree with Stuart McMillan that we do not do post-legislative scrutiny particularly well. The point of my amendment 108, therefore, is very similar to his, in that it would look at the impact of the legislation on businesses. Again, much as Stuart McMillan has chose...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:It is a difficult one, because the minister said that she would come on to discuss the issue that my amendment addresses prior to the vote being taken. Given that I do not know what the minister is going to say, I will move the amendment.Amendment 104 moved—Sandesh Gulhane.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Again, in order to have further discussions with the minister, I will not move the amendment.Amendment 103 not moved.Amendment 27 moved—Gillian Mackay—and agreed to.Section 12, as amended, agreed to.Section 13 agreed to.After section 13

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Amendment 94 is an important amendment that addresses a subject that we need to have further discussions about, but, given what has been said, I will not move it.Amendment 94 not moved.Amendment 95 not moved.Amendment 96 moved—Fulton MacGregor.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Amendment 104 seems rather sensible in setting out that, within a year of the bill coming into force, ministers must review how the enforcement provisions are working in practice. Such a review would include looking at the number of fines, whether multiple fines were being is...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:I wonder whether you would be open to having a sliding scale, so that everyone could make a mistake on their first fine, but if there is repetitive behaviour and people treat it as a cost of doing business, we would certainly want maximum fines to be introduced.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Given what the minister said, I feel that we need to have a further discussion about the issue but, for the time being, I will not move the amendment.Amendment 92 not moved.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Amendment 87 is consequential to amendment 92. I do not intend to move amendment 92, so I will not move amendment 87.Amendment 87 not moved.Amendment 50 moved—Jeremy Balfour.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:My concern, minister, is that amendment 35, in your name, potentially allows future ministers not to consult anyone, as required, before making changes. Although some minor technical changes would probably not need a consultation, the concern is that consultation might be nee...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:I have listened to what has been said so far. My amendment 94 seeks to give clarity on what supervision is and what it is not. The point of the amendment is to ensure that there is clarity and I hope that it would ensure that the intentions of Jeremy Balfour, Gillian Mackay a...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Given what was said, this is an issue on which further discussions are required, so I will not move the amendment.Amendment 81 not moved.Section 5—Power to make further provision about non-surgical proceduresAmendment 83 not moved.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:I will not move the amendment, while noting the importance of having further discussions on the issue with the minister.Amendment 78 not moved.Amendment 79 moved—Sandesh Gulhane.

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:There is a lot in this group, as the minister said. I am absolutely sure that there are people providing non-surgical procedures who have neither insurance nor indemnity for their premises, which concerns me. The point of the bill is to make everything safer and to tighten th...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Amendment 77 would require providers to have insurance and indemnity. Responsible providers already do so. It is perfectly reasonable to require providers to have insurance for their premises and indemnity for themselves.With amendment 78, I am seeking to ensure that there is...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:I have been approached by a provider that has applied to HIS to get registered but has not heard anything back for a long time. What happens in the event that HIS is given a huge amount of work to do and ends up with a backlog? It would not be fair on businesses to have to st...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:The Presiding Officer has clearly stated that we cannot vote on my amendment 105 due to the financial constraints that it might cause. However, it is important to debate it, and I would love to hear what the minister has to say about it.The provisions of the amendment were no...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Amendment 79 seeks to ensure that those who make complaints after receiving non-surgical procedures benefit from a clear set of national guidelines being in place. I do not believe that such an approach would be too onerous, as it would be set out in secondary legislation, an...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Thank you. I did not want to interrupt what you were saying, because it is vital that we can ensure that under-18s do not get into this. When we introduce a new form of ID, providers might, in good faith, be duped by false documentation. In considering the secondary legislati...

Sandesh Gulhane Con Committee

24 Feb 2026

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

:Will the minister take an intervention?