Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a mandated national standard of education and training for those who practise in the aesthetics sector and what plans does the Government have for the implementation of statutory regulation for the sector.

The Government is committed to addressing longstanding concerns around the safety of the cosmetics sector. On 7 August we announced our plans to introduce further regulation in this space.

In the first instance, the Government will prioritise the introduction of legal restrictions to ensure that cosmetic procedures that are deemed to pose the highest level of risk to the public, such as the liquid Brazilian butt lift, are classed as Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated activities. The new restrictions will mean that these procedures will only be permitted to be performed by suitably qualified regulated healthcare professionals, working for providers who are registered with the CQC. We are working with stakeholders to develop our plans in this space and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in spring 2026.

The Government has also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. We are taking forward work to determine which procedures will be included within the local authority licensing scheme and what requirements will have to be met in order to be granted a licence. The proposals will be developed through further stakeholder engagement and public consultation before being taken forward through secondary legislation and the requisite parliamentary processes.

Further details of the Government’s commitments are available in the Government’s response to the 2023 consultation on the GOV.UK website.