Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill

This Bill will introduce rules about non-surgical procedures. Offering non-surgical procedures will become illegal in certain circumstances.

It will also change some processes around death certification.

This is a Government bill

The Bill was introduced on 8 October 2025.

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill has completed Introduced

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This Bill has been introduced.

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Overview

Part 1 of the Bill as introduced will make it illegal to provide certain types of procedures to people under the age of 18.

It will only be legal to provide these services from properties that meet certain requirements.

The procedures covered by the Bill are ones that:

pierce or penetrate the skin
are not provided as part of the health service
are not provided by a health care provider for the purposes of treating illness, and
are not regulated under a type of licensing scheme set out in the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

These types of procedure might be done for cosmetic or for wellbeing purposes. They could include a dermal filler injection or a stronger chemical peel.

A full list of the procedures covered is contained in schedule 1 of the Bill. The Bill includes a power for this list to be changed in the future.

The Bill also allows the Scottish Government to introduce more restrictions and requirements for these types of procedure in the future. This could include:

saying who can provide them
what sort of training or qualifications are needed to provide them
how the rules around them are enforced

Part 2 of the Bill changes the Certification of Death (Scotland) Act 2011. If passed, it will:

change when someone can request a review of a medical certificate of cause of death, and when a request for a review can be rejected
remove the need for authorisation of applications for cremation when someone dies outside of Scotland, but in another part of the UK, and is going to be cremated in Scotland

Why the Bill was created

The Scottish Government has introduced the Bill to make sure that non-surgical procedures are safe, hygienic, and regulated. They also believe that these types of procedure may cause children and young people physical or psychological harm. For this reason, the Government believes they should only be provided to adults.

The Scottish Government also wants to update the rules around certification of death. This decision follows discussions with the Death Certification Review Service and authorities representing other UK nations.

All Bills introduced in the Parliament must be accompanied by specific documents. For most Bills, this includes:

Explanatory Notes: this document provides an overview of what the Bill does, plus a more detailed explanation of individual provisions.

Policy Memorandum: this sets out the objectives of the Bill. It also lists any alternatives considered, details of consultations, and an assessment of the effects of the Bill on a range of areas.

Financial Memorandum: this sets out estimates of costs, savings, and any changes to revenues expected to result from the Bill.

Delegated Powers Memorandum: this is needed if a Bill gives powers to make subordinate legislation or allows Scottish Ministers to issue directions, guidance or codes of practice.

Statements on legislative competence: two short statements, one by the Presiding Officer and one by the Member introducing the Bill. “Legislative competence” means the powers the Parliament has to make law.

Research on the Bill

The Scottish Parliament's Information Centre (SPICe) prepares impartial research and analysis to assist MSPs in their examination of Bills and other parliamentary business.

A research briefing will be published in due course.

The Bill was introduced on 8 October 2025

Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill

Introduced: the Bill and its documents

Overview

Why the Bill was created

Bill as Introduced

Accompanying Documents

Accompanying Documents (print versions)

Research on the Bill