Non-surgical Aesthetic and Cosmetic Treatments

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I am sure that when Jan Spivey went to see her MP, the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), it was a meeting between two enthusiastic people—not just the one. It is lovely to see the hon. Lady here, having stepped away from the Northern Ireland Office, to make a contribution in today’s Backbench Business debate. This always says a lot about the individual person, and I am very encouraged to see her here. She is a friend, of course, but none the less we are very pleased to be together.

I thank the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for highlighting this issue. As he rightly says—indeed, as everyone in this debate will say—it is of great importance, given the increasing usage of non-surgical procedures. We have all read the terrible stories of procedures gone wrong. Most of those that I am aware of are of people who went overseas. One person went to Turkey for a hair transplant—to be facetious, I probably need one very badly, but there is very little donor area around the sides of my head to help. Joking aside, people go abroad to have surgical cosmetic changes made, such as butt lifts, which I understand caused the death of one person, lip lifts, which have left some people disfigured, or breast enhancements, which unfortunately have also led to some deaths. I have tabled questions on this very issue, asking the Government to consider legislation to ensure that there is a system, a regulation or a methodology applied for those who go overseas for these procedures. There must be controls; there must be insurance; there must be a way for those procedures to happen in a safe and secure way. So many disasters have taken place, and unfortunately deaths as well.

In my Strangford constituency, so great is the concern that my local council, Ards and North Down borough council, has put up guidance on making clear choices. The council does not have responsibility for this matter—it is the Department of Health’s responsibility—but the fact that it has done that in my area tells me that the councillors have been contacted by their constituents about these issues and that they feel it is important to put up the signage with guidance on making choices. In Northern Ireland, our local councils have no responsibility for health, so the fact that the council has stepped in shows the depth of concern felt locally.

In 2022, Ards and North Down borough council, in conjunction with other councils in Northern Ireland, wrote to the Department of Health to ask for better regulation of cosmetic treatments in Northern Ireland and for a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures to be introduced. All those councils recognise a need to do something above and beyond what has already been done. In the absence of a licensing scheme, they strongly advise anyone thinking of having a cosmetic treatment to read the advice they have put up on the website, which lists the important considerations.

That is great for those who have considered procedures and are looking for a safe way of getting them, and for those who are trying to find the cheapest solution— I hate to say it, but more often than not, people are driven by the cost factor. That is why they go to Turkey, where these procedures are cheaper. Is there regulation? No, there is not. Should there be? Yes, there should. Those are some of the things we need to see. If there is no regulation and no built-in protection, there is a clear danger.

I am pleased, as always, to see the Minister in her place. She and I are often in the same debates; I am always one of those with questions, and she is always very helpful in trying to respond to our requests, so I look forward to her answers later on. I am also pleased to see her retaining her position in the Health and Social Care Department; that tells us all that she is a safe pair of hands, and the Government and the Prime Minister recognise that.

In 2023 alone, an estimated 7.7 million people underwent cosmetic and aesthetic procedures ranging from botox to chemical peels, fat dissolution and facelifts. They are all unregulated, and all of them can go wrong, leaving irreparable damage. That is what we need to make people aware of at all stages.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) on securing this important debate. This year, in June alone, 28 people in the north-east were left with cases of botulism from botched and unregulated botox injections. That is one of the reasons why the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, which I chair, will be holding an inquiry later this year into hair products and unregulated beauty procedures. We follow this debate with interest.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Lady has just reinforced the need for this debate that the hon. Member for Bromsgrove and others have put forward. These procedures need to be regulated and legislated for. Rules that people can rely on for coverage and security need to be formed and put in place.

As we know, the Government-approved register for medical aesthetic treatments received more than 3,000 reports of complications or adverse outcomes linked to cosmetic procedures; 48% involved women aged between 18 and 25. I believe that is only the tip of the iceberg.

When I read this point in my research, I said to myself, “My goodness, in Northern Ireland, under-18s are allowed to access non-surgical procedures.” Children who need parental consent for a filling at the dentist do not need consent to go for lip injectables. They then have no recourse. Really? I say with great respect, Sir Desmond, that it seems idiotic that we have requirements for a dental procedure, as we should have, but nothing for cosmetic procedures or similar. It again poses a question, and we look to the Minister for a helpful response. This simply has to stop.

I know that the Government and the Minister are absolutely of the same mindset as those of us here, and have every intention of bringing in legislation. I wish to ensure that there is UK-wide legislation. My request, as always—the Minister probably knew this was coming before I got to my feet—is to ensure that we in Northern Ireland are encouraged to have similar legislation. I know councils have taken the initiative and have been to the Health Minister and Department in Northern Ireland to ensure that this happens, but a start made here could provide the initiative and the fillip needed to ensure that Northern Ireland follows quickly. If we are not legislating for the devolved Administrations, they too must have the information and the capacity to introduce legislation similar to that we hope to see here.

Further, we need to do this on a quicker timescale. I was never blessed with much patience, but I have gained it as an elected representative. I know the very procedures that we hope to push along take time, but some urgency in this matter is important. The campaign group Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners and clinics, received 136 complaints in Northern Ireland last year about injectable complications. These people have been disfigured; some may remain like that for years, and some of the effects will last for life. To have no regulation in this field seems absolutely crazy to me. It is difficult to understand why we regulate—rightly so—the fostering of animals by animal shelters and yet allow poison to be injected into a 16-year-old’s face by any Tom, Dick or Harry. My goodness. Can you believe it? It is incomprehensible.

We need to work on this issue at some pace across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I look to the Minister to ensure that regulation is introduced as a matter of urgency. I think everyone today will speak from the same Bible or hymn book, if that is the way to put it; we will all push for the same things. I am very keen to hear the Minister give us some answers on how we can prevent these life-changing consequences of a botched job from ever happening again.