Health Committee, 28 Nov 2006

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Official Report 101KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Amendment Order 2006 (draft)

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Health Committee. We have received apologies from Euan Robson, who will be late.

Item 1 on our agenda is subordinate legislation and we will consider first the draft Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Amendment Order 2006. I welcome the Minister for Health and Community Care, who will speak to the order; his official, Kerry Chalmers; and Dr Carole McRae from Health Protection Scotland.

Among the papers that committee members have for the meeting are a number of documents that provide some background information. In addition to the formal papers for the amendment order, there is a submission from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Scotland. As is indicated in the papers, the Subordinate Legislation Committee has considered the amendment order and has no comments to make.

I will ask the minister to speak to the motion, and will then invite members who wish to question the minister to do so. We will then move to the formal debate.

Thank you, deputy convener. I am grateful for this opportunity to explain the amendments to this order, which have been made to ensure that we continue to reduce the risks to public health in businesses that carry out skin piercing and tattooing. The amendments are a result of consultation and discussion with key stakeholders, who include the local authorities who are responsible for implementing the conditions of the amendment order; the professional bodies who undertake the activities; and the leading experts who specialise in infection control and public health. The changes are supported by new evidence and by risk assessments that have been undertaken to ensure that we continue to protect public health.

The changes are essential to ensure that we effectively manage and reduce the health risks faced by potential clients, specifically from the transmission of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B and C. Included among the changes is the exclusion of registered health care professionals, because the policy intention was to capture people who are not formally trained or regulated. Also included are a reduction in the absolute requirement to wear gloves for acupuncture, which brings the approach into line with normal clinical practice, and a reduction in the conditions for businesses that carry out ear piercing using only hygienic piercing systems. New evidence and risk assessments have shown that infection and hygiene controls were much higher than were needed.

This is an important amendment order. It acknowledges the public health issues in relation to businesses that carry out tattooing and skin piercing in situations in which there is no formal training or guidance on best practice and there are no agreed standards of hygiene or clinical practice and no agreed standards for inspection.

The changes will come into effect from December 2006. We have been working with all those affected by the changes since the start of the year. We are also working closely with all the local authorities in Scotland, to develop a set of national conditions to support implementation. To further support implementation, we are working with Health Protection Scotland and the local authorities to develop guidance, which will be ready by the end of this year.

Do any members wish to question the minister?

The cost of licensing ranges from £150 to £500. Why is that? Perhaps I have missed something.

The amendment order gives local authorities the means to implement the measures and to charge for that. The cost will be different in different local authorities. Some local authorities charge for a yearly licence and some charge for a two-year licence.

Would it not have been better to have a standard cost?

We want to give local authorities a legitimate margin in their regulation function.

The range in costs mirrors the range in licences for other local authority services. For example, you will see a similar range in costs of taxi licences across different local authorities. Licensing departments within local authorities have taken on that role and must deal with a number of different services.

So a person would be able to phone whichever local authority they are in to find out how much a licence would cost.

Yes.

There seem to be no further questions. The motion will be that we recommend that the draft amendment order be approved. Does any member wish to debate the amendment order?

No.

I therefore ask the minister to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That the Health Committee recommends that the draft Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Amendment Order 2006 be approved.—[Mr Andy Kerr.]

Motion agreed to.

I thank the minister for attending.

Thank you.

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Rice Products (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/542)

We come now to our second piece of subordinate legislation. The Subordinate Legislation Committee considered the regulations this morning.

The Subordinate Legislation Committee agreed the regulations.

No comments have been received from committee members and no motion to annul has been lodged. Do we agree that the committee does not wish to make any recommendation in relation to SSI 2006/542?

Members indicated agreement.