Chamber and committees

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore this information is not held by the Scottish Government.

In response to the increasing risk profile of people using drugs in Scotland, the Scottish Government will continue to work to extend the coverage of MAT standards beyond just Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) so that people and services can be clear on what is expected from services by way of any treatment pathway no matter what type of support service is required.

The Scottish Government is also working with Public Health Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland on a suite of MAT guidance on the applicability of the standards to care, support and treatment for people impacted by alcohol and other non-opioid drugs; as well as continuing to work with the UK Government on developing new UK-wide clinical guidelines for Alcohol Treatment. This guidance will look to introduce new approaches to treatment and will apply to a broad range of settings including primary care, hospital and justice.

In addition, the Scottish Government has committed in response to the Drug Death Taskforce’s recommendations in the ‘Changing Lives’ Report and Cross Government Plan to develop a national specification and overarching guidance for the delivery of person-centred care and support for people impacted by alcohol and drugs, to help save and improve lives by providing clarity and focus. The proposed National Specification will set out the types of services that should be available all across Scotland as well as providing the impetus for adopting improved joint working between the public sector and third sector partners to improve outcomes for people who require support.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore this information is not held by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has a commitment to provide an update to Parliament on the implementation of the MAT Standards every six months.

I will update Parliament on progress in June and this will coincide with the publication of the 2023-2024 National Benchmarking Report, which will be published by Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to the timelines previously agreed by Scottish Ministers and Public Health Scotland and for full implementation of all ten MAT standards by April 2025.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken such a review however, this will be taken into consideration as officials continue to explore next steps in potential further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore there are currently no regulated training requirements to work in the sector. Accreditation for training for the sector will also be considered as part of the work with stakeholders and the Scottish Cosmetics Interventions Expert Group.

Full budget allocations for 2024-25 are still to be confirmed.

It is not possible to disaggregate the full budget by these themes as Alcohol and Drug Partnerships receive around three quarters of the total drugs and alcohol budget to distribute at the local level. At a national level, many of the projects and organisations also support all three areas. The published draft budget for 2024-25 has maintained our budget for alcohol and drugs at the same level as 2023-24.

The National Mission funding has brought about major reform and improvement in services for people with drug and alcohol problems including:

• Continuing to widen the access to life-saving Naloxone with an estimated 7 in 10 people at risk having a kit; Police Scotland completing roll out amongst frontline staff.
• Continuing to drive implementation of the MAT Standards across the country. All delivery partners have returned implementation plans and report on progress on either a monthly or quarterly basis.
• A whole systems approach to prevention.

This information in relation to treatment in Scotland is not centrally collected. When NHS Scotland treats someone who has suffered harm from a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that has gone wrong, NHS Scotland will not necessarily record the cause as there is no specific code to record this. The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to treatments outside Scotland.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore this information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and there is no requirement to obtain public liability insurance for these procedures.