CIEH welcomes government plans for regulation of cosmetic procedures

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has welcomed the Government’s plans to improve the regulation of cosmetic procedures but expressed concern about the continuing delay in implementation of a licensing regime.

The Government has set out its plans today in a long awaited response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures published in 2023 under the previous government.

The Government is prioritising work to ensure that the highest risk cosmetic treatments can be performed only by suitably qualified and regulated healthcare professionals working for providers regulated by the Care Quality Commission. A consultation on the proposed changes will be held early next year.

The Government will also continue working to develop and implement local authority licensing for other procedures but has not provided a timescale for progress on this work.

CIEH has long called for the introduction of a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Following its work on the issue with a coalition of other organisations, an amendment to the Health and Care Bill was passed by the House of Lords. As a result, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care now has the power under the Health and Care Act 2022 to introduce a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England.

Mark Elliott, President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said:

“We welcome the Government’s plans to take action on the highest risk cosmetic procedures but are concerned by the continuing delay in implementation of the new licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures proposed under the previous government.

“We believe that implementation of this scheme would be a crucial step towards ensuring that people who undergo non-surgical cosmetic procedures receive treatment from practitioners who are properly trained and qualified, have the necessary insurance cover and operate from premises that are safe and hygienic.

“We are calling on the Government to implement the proposed new licensing scheme as a matter of urgency.”