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The Scottish Government sympathises with those who are experiencing financial uncertainty as a result of delays in this development, either due to a change in personal circumstances or having to arrange a new mortgage agreement. We are aware that the increase in mortgage rates will make it more difficult for many purchasers across the housing market to both obtain mortgage lending or access it due to a decreased number of products available, even with the financial assistance available through New Supply Shared Equity.

Scottish Ministers intervene in only a handful of cases each year and generally only where they raise issues of national importance. These can sometimes be among the more complex planning cases which require careful consideration. Nevertheless, it is always our aim to progress cases to a decision as quickly as possible, recognising the vital role planning and the development sector play in investing and shaping our places and communities and the impact on this of unnecessary delays.

In this instance, whilst the application was called in by Ministers on 27 February 2023, it was not until mid-June 2023 that the reporter received all the relevant application information from Glasgow City Council to allow arrangements to be made to start the examination of these proposals. This information included representations from over 150 members of the public. The reporter held a hearing in September 2023 and parties final submissions were received in December 2023.

The reporter has now submitted the report and recommendation to Ministers, who will make the final decision as to whether or not planning permission should be granted for this proposed development.

We want to ensure all non-surgical cosmetic procedures in Scotland are delivered from hygienic premises by appropriately trained practitioners, applying recognised standards and using regulated products.

The regulation of medicines and medicinal products is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the UK wide Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any changes to regulations including the sale and use of unregulated products would require a UK wide approach and would not be devolved to the Scottish Government.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator and wider system integration costs are set by the regulator, Ofgem. This data is not held by the Scottish Government.

Although the Scottish Government has not made an assessment of this, evidence from the Climate Change Committee suggests that integration costs could be around £10- 25/MWh for systems with up to 50-65% renewables but could increase further at higher penetrations. However, as the Committee on Climate Change note, it is challenging to estimate system integration costs and extensive assumptions are required to do so. Estimates of system integration costs are largely reliant on modelling. More details can be found here: Technical-Annex-Integrating-variable-renewables-into-the-UK-electricity-system.pdf (theccc.org.uk) .

The Scottish Government cannot direct the independent Scottish Housing Regulator to publish the daily rate of each person on its statutory managers list and, as such, will not be requesting that they do so.

The grid-level costs of specific variable or baseload generation will depend on various factors including (but not limited to) grid capacity, demand flexibility and the geographical location of installation.

The Scottish Government has not made an assessment of this. The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator and wider system integration costs are set by the regulator, Ofgem. This data is not held by the Scottish Government.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator. More information including data on balancing costs can be found here: Balancing costs | ESO (nationalgrideso.com) .

As set out in the answer of 8 January 2024 the in-year budget changes impacted on both new and existing programmes which could not proceed as anticipated. This included activities related to Mental Health and Primary Care; regional CAMHS developments; full implementation of Coming Home; full implementation of the new Mental Welfare Commission Patient Records System; and improving prisoner mental health.

The Scottish Government recognises there is no specific legislation to prevent individuals who are not health professionals and who operate from unregistered premises from carrying out non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin, and the risks associated with this.

Following the Scottish Government’s 2020 consultation on the regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures (that pierce or penetrate the skin), officials are working on introducing secondary legislation to enable Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to regulate independent healthcare services, including non-surgical cosmetic procedures, which are provided by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from premises other than registered pharmacies, and/or outwith the terms of NHS contracts. This will be brought forward by the end of Summer 2024.

In addition, officials are engaging with the UK Department of Health and Social Care regarding their recent consultation on the Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures and working with stakeholders in Scotland, including healthcare professionals, hair and beauty industry representatives and Environmental Health Officers, to consider the potential scope of further regulation in Scotland. This work includes consideration of the levels of training and qualifications required to safely perform various types of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin.

Future funding for the for the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults will be subject to the annual budget process and approval by the Scottish Parliament. We expect to confirm funding as soon as possible thereafter.