Chamber and committees

What about practitioners who are working in settings where they are supervised by healthcare professionals, but who are not registered nurses or doctors?

The third item on our agenda is consideration of an affirmative instrument. The purpose of the draft Food Safety Act 1990 Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2026 is to amend provisions of the 1990 act by restating secondary assimilated law within the meaning of section 12(2)(b) of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. Regulation 2 amends section 17 of the 1990 act to replace references to “EU” obligations and provisions with “assimilated” obligations and provisions, and it replaces a reference to “directly applicable EU provision” with

“provisions of assimilated direct legislation”.

The Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the instrument at its meeting on 18 November 2025 and made no recommendations in relation to it.

We will now have an evidence session on the instrument with the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health and her supporting officials. Once any questions that we have are answered, we will proceed to a formal debate on the motion. I welcome Jenni Minto, the minister; Emma Luton, a Scottish Government lawyer; Greig Walker, project lead in the Scottish Government’s constitutional policy unit; and Jennifer Howie, UK and international relations team lead at Food Standards Scotland.

I invite the minister to make a brief opening statement.

Good morning and welcome to the 34th meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in 2025. I have received apologies from Paul Sweeney.

The first item on our agenda is for the committee to agree to take items 6 and 7 in private. Do members agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

The second item on our agenda is to take evidence from two panels of witnesses as part of the committee’s stage 1 scrutiny of the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill. This morning our scrutiny of the bill is specifically focused on part 1.

The first of this morning’s panels comprises witnesses from healthcare representative bodies and professional regulators. I welcome to the committee Jacqueline Cooney, director of the Scottish Medical Aesthetics Safety Group; Stefan Czerniawski, executive director of strategy at the General Dental Council; Amanda Demosthenous, a non-executive director and board member of the British Association of Medical Aesthetic Nurses; and Remmy Jones, who is representing Allied Health Professionals in Aesthetics.

We will move straight to questions, starting with Sandesh Gulhane.

We have a lot to get through. Therefore, can we keep our answers concise, so that we can actually get the information that we are looking for?

I am sorry to interrupt but we have limited time. Could you please direct your answers to the questions from the committee?

During September this year, the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee undertook scrutiny of the legislative consent memorandum in respect of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. During the House of Commons report stage of the bill, several amendments were agreed to that extend the scope of certain provisions to Scotland. Kim Leadbeater, as the bill’s sponsor, concluded that the legislative consent process was not engaged by any of those provisions.

The Scottish Government agreed with that assessment, except with respect to clause 43, which makes provision for regulations that prohibit

“the publication, printing, distribution or designing (anywhere) of advertisements whose purpose or effect is to promote a voluntary assisted dying service”

and

“causing the publication, printing, distribution or designing of such advertisements.”

For the avoidance of doubt, a VAD service, for the purposes of that clause, means the services as set out in accordance with the act, should the bill be passed—that is, VAD services in England and Wales. The provision would, therefore, not apply to any such services in Scotland were the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill to become law.

However, I note that the issue of advertising was actively debated during stage 2 proceedings on the Scottish bill and an amendment was agreed to that introduces a new section to the bill that would create an offence of advertising assisted dying.

We began our scrutiny of the LCM by writing to selected stakeholders to request their written views, and a number of them responded that they had no comments. The committee also received a detailed submission from Alzheimer Scotland that raised some points about the LCM. Those included highlighting the importance of careful alignment between any UK and Scottish Parliament legislation on assisted dying

“to avoid confusion, duplication, or conflict”.

The submission emphasised the need for robust definitions to ensure a

“clear distinction between prohibited commercial promotion that may result in exploitation and permitted factual information”.

Alzheimer Scotland also raised concerns about the implications of the provisions covered by the LCM related to article 10 of the European convention on human rights, arguing that although

“limitations may be justified to protect vulnerable individuals from inducement, they must be proportionate and clearly defined.”

It concluded by recommending clear mechanisms to establish how any resulting prohibitions would be applied and overseen in Scotland.

As part of its scrutiny of the LCM, my committee received assurances from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care that the relevant provisions would apply only to what would commonly be understood as advertising and would not result in prohibitions being placed on the publication of factual information, for example, about the service in question or how it should be delivered.

On that basis, and on the understanding that the scope of the provisions is limited to the advertising and promotion in Scotland of a voluntary assisted dying service that would operate in England and Wales, my committee concluded its scrutiny by recommending that the Parliament agree to a legislative consent motion in similar terms to the draft motion included in LCM-S6-62.

Colleagues may have seen so-called “age tests” on social media—apparently, being able to explain the relationship between a cassette tape and a pencil places you firmly within a particular demographic. In the central belt, we have another: pose the question, “What’s it called?”, and anyone who was around in the 1980s will gleefully answer, “Cumbernauld.” I hope that Jamie Hepburn will forgive me for getting that out of my system early in my speech.

Cumbernauld’s story is a fascinating part of our collective history: a modern, internal mass migration designed to ease overpopulation, speed up regeneration and provide green space and clean air. Its story of mass movement and the formation of a new community is complex and sometimes challenging but always inspiring. As the town’s 70th anniversary approaches, it is a great opportunity to reflect on that story, to celebrate what makes the town special and to shape its future. I know that there are many and various activities planned to mark and celebrate the milestone.

It is fair to assume that many Scottish towns and cities will be hosting celebrations next year, given that the Scottish men’s football team has qualified for the world cup for the first time since 1998. As we get caught up in a wave of nostalgia, television channels will be clamouring to fill their schedules with football-related content, and we will get to enjoy Bill Forsyth’s “Gregory’s Girl” again, no doubt. Although notionally set in a fictional town, it unmistakably brought Cumbernauld to big screens around the world. Shortly after providing the setting for that internationally acclaimed film, Cumbernauld produced a real-life football star: Ifeoma Dieke, a talented defender with a long playing and coaching career. She started playing football at St Mary’s primary school when she was eight years old, and she later joined Cumbernauld Cosmos and the Cumbernauld ladies team. She received an incredible 123 caps for Scotland, became the first black woman to captain the national team and was part of the squad when Scotland’s women qualified for their first ever major tournament, the Euros, in 2017. Her story, as well as the stories of countless other residents past and present, forms part of the rich tapestry of the town today. I commend the organisations and volunteers who not only are involved in planning next year’s celebrations but are telling Cumbernauld’s stories and doing great work to promote the town and support its people.

As I wish Cumbernauld well for its anniversary, I cannot help but mention my home town of Rutherglen, which I have the honour of representing. Next year, we celebrate an important anniversary: it is 900 years since Rutherglen was granted royal borough status. Like Cumbernauld, we are hosting events, exhibitions and community activities, which our town is very much looking forward to and for which all the volunteers involved in the “Rutherglen 900” project should be commended. A year-round celebration of Rutherglen’s people, its history and, importantly, its future is being planned. The event programme kicks off in Rutherglen’s iconic town hall next month—an event that I am looking forward to.

I thank Jamie Hepburn for bringing this debate to the chamber, and I wish all those who live and work in Cumbernauld the best for their 70th anniversary and for the future of their town.

I am grateful that Paul Sweeney has raised the issue of Clyde Gateway, which covers part of the Rutherglen constituency.

About 400,000 apprenticeship opportunities have been delivered for young people in Scotland since 2008, which underlines the Scottish National Party Government’s commitment to the value of apprenticeships. What work is under way to ensure that those opportunities are accessible to all and are not hindered by financial circumstances?