
2025 No. 387
National Health Service
The Common Services Agency (Membership and Procedure) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2025
Made 4th December 2025
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 8th December 2025
Coming into force 2nd February 2026
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 10(2) and 105(7), and paragraph 8 of schedule 5, of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, and all other powers enabling them to do so.
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Common Services Agency (Membership and Procedure) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 2 February 2026.
(2) In these Regulations “the 1991 Regulations” means the Common Services Agency (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1991.
Amendment of the Common Services Agency (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1991
2 

(1) The 1991 Regulations are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (9).
(2) In regulation 1(2) (citation, commencement and interpretation)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (d) for “chairman” substitute “chairing member”, and
(b) omit sub-paragraph (f).
(3) In regulation 2(3) (term of office and remuneration of membership), for “chairman” substitute “chairing member”.
(4) For regulation 3 (resignation and removal of members) substitute—“
Resignation, removal and suspension of members
3. 

(1) A member may resign office at any time during the period of appointment by giving notice in writing to the Scottish Ministers to this effect.
(2) If the Scottish Ministers consider that it is not in the interests of the health service that a member should continue to hold that office they may forthwith terminate that person’s appointment.
(3) If a member has not attended any meeting of the Committee, or of any sub-committee of which they are a member, for a period of six consecutive months, the Scottish Ministers must forthwith terminate that person’s appointment unless the Scottish Ministers are satisfied that—
(a) the absence was due to illness or other reasonable cause, and
(b) the member will be able to attend meetings within such period as the Scottish Ministers consider reasonable.
(4) Where any member becomes disqualified in terms of regulation 4 that member forthwith ceases to be a member.
(5) The Scottish Ministers may by determination suspend a member from taking part in the business (including meetings) of the Committee.
(6) The suspension referred to in paragraph (5) ends if—
(a) the Scottish Ministers determine that the suspension ends, or
(b) the person’s appointment as a member is not terminated within a period of 12 months beginning with the date the person is suspended.”.
(5) For regulation 4 (disqualification) substitute—“
Disqualification from being a member
4. 

(1) A person is disqualified from being a member if the person—
(a) within a period of 5 years before the proposed date of appointment or after appointment (as the case may be) commits an offence in the British Islands for which the person is sentenced to imprisonment (whether suspended or not) for 3 months or longer,
(b) is or has been dismissed from employment in a health service body, except by redundancy,
(c) is or has been removed from office in a health service body before the term of office expires,
(d) is a member of another health service body,
(e) is disqualified by the Tribunal for inclusion in a list prepared under or by virtue of Parts I or II of the Act,
(f) is or has been removed, for reasons of impairment or loss of fitness to practise, from a list prepared under or by virtue of—
(i) Parts I or II of the Act,
(ii) the National Health Service Act 2006,
(iii) the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, or
(iv) the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972,
(g) is, or has been removed, for reasons of impairment or loss of fitness to practise, from a statutory register maintained by a regulatory body,
(h) is an undischarged bankrupt,
(i) has had a judicial factor appointed to their estate and the judicial factor has not been discharged by the court,
(j) is or has been subject to a disqualification order or disqualification undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 or the Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002,
(k) is or has been removed or prevented from being a trustee of, or otherwise acting for or on behalf of, a charity (or a body controlled by a charity) by—
(i) a charity regulator, or
(ii) a court or tribunal in the British Islands, or
(l) is or has been subject to a sanction under section 19(1)(b) to (e) (action on finding of contravention) of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.
(2) In this regulation—
(a) “charity regulator” means the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Charity Commission for England and Wales or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland,
(b) “health service body” means a person or body specified in section 17A(2) of the Act,
(c) “regulatory body” means—
(i) the General Chiropractic Council,
(ii) the General Dental Council,
(iii) the General Medical Council,
(iv) the General Optical Council,
(v) the General Osteopathic Council,
(vi) the General Pharmaceutical Council,
(vii) the Health and Care Professions Council,
(viii) the Northern Ireland Social Care Council,
(ix) the Nursing and Midwifery Council,
(x) the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland,
(xi) the Scottish Social Services Council,
(xii) Social Care Wales, and
(d) “undischarged bankrupt” means a person—
(i) whose estate has been sequestrated without recall of that sequestration and who has not been discharged (or against whom a bankruptcy order has been made and is still in force),
(ii) who has granted a trust deed for, or made a composition or arrangement with, creditors and has not been discharged in respect of it,
(iii) who is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order, or an interim bankruptcy restrictions order, made under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 or the Insolvency Act 1986,
(iv) who is the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking entered into under the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 or the Insolvency Act 1986,
(v) who has been adjudged bankrupt and has not been discharged, or
(vi) who is subject to any other kind of order, arrangement or undertaking, anywhere in the world, which is analogous to those described in paragraph (1)(i) or heads (i) to (iv) of this sub-paragraph.”.
(6) In Part III (appointment of vice-chairman and sub-committees) and regulation 5 (vice-chairman)—
(a) in each place where it occurs, including the headings, for “vice-chairman” substitute “vice-chairing member”,
(b) for “officer” substitute “employee”, and
(c) for “he” substitute “that person”.
(7) In regulation 7(1) and (2) (meetings and minutes)—
(a) in each place where it occurs for “chairman” substitute “chairing member”,
(b) in each place where it occurs for “vice-chairman” substitute “vice-chairing member”, and
(c) for “officer” substitute “employee”.
(8) In regulation 8 (conflict of interest)—
(a) in paragraph (1) for “he” substitute “that person”,
(b) in paragraph (3) for “chairman” substitute “chairing member”.
(9) In regulation 9 (power to make standing orders)—
(a) in paragraph (c) for “chairman” substitute “chairing member”,
(b) in paragraphs (c) and (h) for “officers” substitute “employees”.
Transitional and saving provision
3 

(1) This regulation applies where a member of the Committee has been appointed in terms of paragraph 3 of schedule 5 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 before 2 February 2026.
(2) Despite regulation 2(5), regulation 4 of the 1991 Regulations continues to have effect on and after 2 February 2026 as it did immediately before that date.
NEIL GRAY
A member of the Scottish Government
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh
4th December 2025