Evidence for medical premises: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
You asked for recorded information held from 1 January 2023 to the date of the FOI request relating to:
1. Any evidence, analysis, risk assessment, clinical advice, policy paper, briefing note, meeting note, or correspondence concerning whether cosmetic procedures such as skin tag removal, blemish removal, mesotherapy, plasma treatments, cryotherapy, advanced electrolysis, thermolysis, electrocautery, or cosmetic skin lesion removal require a medical or HIS-registered premises setting.
2. Any evidence comparing the safety of those treatments when carried out by independent aesthetic practitioners, beauty-sector practitioners, nurses, doctors, dentists, or other healthcare professionals.
3. Any evidence considering whether ordinary licensed or hygiene-inspected premises would be sufficient for lower-risk cosmetic procedures.
4. Any recorded consideration of whether requiring medical or HIS-registered premises would affect consumer access, treatment affordability, rural availability, waiting times, or the cost of treatment.
5. Any recorded consideration of whether such restrictions could push consumers towards unregulated, informal, or underground treatment provision.
You also specified that this request concerns the evidence relied upon when considering whether cosmetic non-surgical procedures should be restricted to medical, HIS-registered, or otherwise healthcare-regulated premises.
Response
It should be noted that much of the information you have requested is already publicly available. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you, although the below responses direct you to where this may be found. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the websites listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
For convenience I have attached responses to each of your questions following the original numbering format in your email.
Response to your request
1. Any evidence, analysis, risk assessment, clinical advice, policy paper, briefing note, meeting note, or correspondence concerning whether cosmetic procedures such as skin tag removal, blemish removal, mesotherapy, plasma treatments, cryotherapy, advanced electrolysis, thermolysis, electrocautery, or cosmetic skin lesion removal require a medical or HIS-registered premises setting.
These procedures were considered as part of the consultation on the regulation and licensing of nonsurgical cosmetic procedures. The consultation analysis and response can be found at: Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures Consultation Analysis and Scottish Government Response.
Furthermore, the written and oral evidence provided by a range of stakeholders during Stage 1 of the Parliamentary process gave consideration to when particular procedures should be undertaken in a medical or HIS-registered premises. The official reports for these can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at: Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website.
This was also considered by the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group. Minutes of the meetings of that group can be found at: Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group - gov.scot.
Please also see further documents relating to this query (as well as some of those below) in the Annexes.
2. Any evidence comparing the safety of those treatments when carried out by independent aesthetic practitioners, beauty-sector practitioners, nurses, doctors, dentists, or other healthcare professionals.
The safety of treatments when carried out by those listed above was considered as part of the analysis of the responses to the consultation on the regulation and licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures. The consultation analysis and response can be found at: Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures Consultation Analysis and Scottish Government Response.
Furthermore, the written and oral evidence provided by a range of stakeholders during Stage 1 of the Parliamentary process gave consideration to the safety of treatments when carried out by different practitioners/professionals. The official reports for these can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at: Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website.
This was also considered by the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group. Minutes of the meetings of that group can be found at: Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group - gov.scot.
You may also wish to refer to the response to a previous FoI seeking information on any Scotland‑specific data held or used by the Scottish Government relating to complications, adverse events, or deaths associated with non‑surgical aesthetic procedures. This can be found at: Aesthetic complication data in Scotland: FOI release - gov.scot.
3. Any evidence considering whether ordinary licensed or hygiene-inspected premises would be sufficient for lower-risk cosmetic procedures.
The use of ordinary licensed or hygiene-inspected premises was considered as part of the consultation on the regulation and licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Within the consultation respondents were given the option to indicate that procedures should be undertaken in a licensed setting rather than a HIS regulated setting. The consultation analysis and response can be found at: Non-Surgical Cosmetic Procedures Consultation Analysis and Scottish Government Response.
Furthermore, the written and oral evidence provided by a range of stakeholders during Stage 1 of the Parliamentary process gave consideration to a range of matters. The official reports for these can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at: Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website.
This was also considered by the Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group. Minutes of the meetings of that group can be found at: Scottish Cosmetic Interventions Expert Group - gov.scot.
4. Any recorded consideration of whether requiring medical or HIS-registered premises would affect consumer access, treatment affordability, rural availability, waiting times, or the cost of treatment.
Information relating to our consideration of whether requiring medical or HIS-registered premises would affect most of matters listed above is included in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, the Island Communities Impact Assessment and the Equality and Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment. These can be found at:
- Non-Surgical Procedures: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment
- Regulation of Non-Surgical Procedures: Island Communities Impact Assessment
- Regulation of Non-Surgical Procedures - Equality and Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment
5. Any recorded consideration of whether such restrictions could push consumers towards unregulated, informal, or underground treatment provision.
Information relating to our consideration of the matters listed above is included in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment and the Island Communities Impact Assessment. These can be found at:
- Non-Surgical Procedures: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment
- Regulation of Non-Surgical Procedures: Island Communities Impact Assessment
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG