Chamber and committees

I thank the convener and committee members for their consideration of this order, which will establish a local authority licensing scheme for lower-risk non-surgical procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin and will modify the general provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 in that respect.

The order aligns with part 1 of the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill, and together they will bring under regulation a wide range of procedures that we know are happening across Scotland. Such procedures can cause serious and lasting damage, and this is the first substantive step to reduce the potential harm to customers in Scotland across a range of procedures. I invite the committee to recommend approval of the instrument.

I move,

That the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee recommends that the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Non-surgical Procedures) Order 2026 be approved.

Motion agreed to.

We have been doing work in this area specifically to understand what support might be needed between local authorities and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Those organisations already work together, but I commit to the Scottish Government working with them to ensure that there is a much more collaborative process. There is evidence of them working together previously: for example, the Scottish licensing of skin piercing and tattooing working group brought together different organisations to ensure understanding and consistency among the organisations that would be controlling that process.

We are clear that, if the procedure is covered by the bill, the responsibility is with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, and if the procedure is covered by the order, the responsibility is with the local authority.

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 taken that issue away, and we will be looking at it.

Owen Griffiths is right—the information has to be in a space that is easily accessible, and it has to be easily understood by those who are using the facilities.

Health Improvement Scotland will have to have an input into that. I was looking specifically at the order, but if the bill itself is passed and becomes legislation, I would expect Healthcare Improvement Scotland to be involved, too.

We have experience of rogue operators in other areas of my portfolio—Food Standards Scotland, for example, works closely with Police Scotland if it discovers a rogue operator in the food universe—and I would expect Police Scotland and the local authorities to have powers to search unlicensed premises where there is sufficient evidence to suggest that non-surgical procedures are being carried out. Again, it comes back to that collaborative way of working.

As I have indicated, local authorities have been using health and safety legislation, but the order designates the provision of certain non-surgical procedures as a licensed activity, and that will give local authorities proportionate powers to regulate their provision in a consistent manner.

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 order is part of a suite of legislation to regulate non-surgical procedures—a sector that is currently unregulated. Such procedures can cause serious and lasting damage if they are not performed correctly, and this is one of two substantive steps that we are taking to reduce the potential harm to customers in Scotland across a range of procedures. The order sits alongside the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at stage 1.

The order establishes a local authority licensing scheme for lower-risk non-surgical procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin. Such procedures do not require the input of a healthcare professional, as any risks can be appropriately mitigated through the imposition of hygiene standards and by requiring the use of appropriate materials. Procedures covered by the order include laser and light treatments that do not damage the skin’s surface; shallow microneedling; fruit and glycolic acid peels; and advanced electrolysis.

In contrast, the bill regulates a range of more invasive procedures where we believe healthcare professional input is required to ensure safe treatment. Taken together, the two pieces of legislation will allow us to provide a differentiated and proportionate approach to the range of procedures available.

The order sets out a number of mandatory licensing conditions relating to the hygiene of premises, equipment and processes, and it also requires that non-surgical procedures not be carried out on individuals under the age of 18. Those conditions are key to protecting the public, especially young people, and they will give customers confidence in the services that they are receiving.

As with the bill, the definition of a non-surgical procedure in the order does not include procedures that are undertaken by a person acting on behalf of the health service or by a healthcare provider for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury. Where the removal of skin lesions, for example, is carried out by a person acting for, or on behalf of, the health service or by a healthcare provider as part of the prevention or treatment of an illness, that will be exempt from the definition of a non-surgical procedure.

Again, as with the bill, the order does not include any provision for training or qualifications. That is due to the effects of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, which we have discussed previously. We continue to work with the UK Government on that issue, and we will legislate for training and qualifications when circumstances permit us to do so.

I welcome any further questions that the committee might have, and I encourage members to support the progress of this order.

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 regulation. We expect local authorities to work closely with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to ensure that, if any questions arise on the procedures covered by the order that are being carried out in local authority-licensed premises, they get them right. As I said in my opening remarks, this is part of a suite of legislation to ensure that non-surgical procedures are given the right regulation.

Those are important questions. I know that the committee received thorough evidence in that regard from healthcare professionals and those who provide non-surgical procedures. We will clearly set things out in the guidelines, but it is fair to say that—this ties in with our promotion of the “Be the Early Bird” campaign on detecting cancer early—if someone has regular treatments, the beautician or whoever provides those treatments could advise that the person sees a healthcare professional if they notice any changes, as one would expect. Our guidelines will support that, because I recognise the importance of the issue and the questions that I was asked by the committee when we were talking about the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill.

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 whether a procedure should be covered by the order or by the bill, and some changes have been made as a result of those responses. In schedule 1, we have laid out descriptions of each of the procedures that the order will cover.