Due to previous provisions in the Bill, Welsh Conservatives will be abstaining on the following amendments relating to the tattooing of eyeballs. We accept that the intent of the proposer is to ensure that this extremely risky procedure is only carried out by highly skilled individuals. However, this procedure was not raised as an issue at committee stage by the medical community, and there are concerns that the proposed amendment infringes on an individual’s ability to make decisions about their own life and health.

The provisions created by amendment 22 will, we believe, ensure that there will be a duty placed on those issuing licences to assess an individual’s capability to administer these procedures, as they will need to have previous experience and be competent in their ability to do so. Although this is not necessarily preventative, it will give greater assurance that these procedures will be undertaken in a competent and proper way, and we would suggest to the Minister, especially given the very powerful and descriptive way that the proposer has described the problems that can arise from the tattooing of an eyeball, that this is an area that she might wish to consult on further with a view to adding the tattooing of an eyeball to the list of special procedures as soon as possible.