Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support small businesses with their provision of (a) barbering and (b) hairdressing apprenticeships.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105881.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the (a) uptake and (b) drop-out rates in (i) barbering and (ii) hairdressing apprenticeships over the last 7 years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on apprenticeships are published in the Apprenticeships accredited official statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.
Apprenticeship starts on barbering and hairdressing apprenticeships can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ccfd7de7-48a4-4913-19a0-08de58cbc7ae
Apprenticeship achievement rates can be found here:
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the uptake of (a) hairdressing and (b) barbering apprenticeships.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.
The government provides a range of financial support for employers to take on apprentices. We provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.
In addition, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing licensing requirements for the establishment of (a) hairdressers and (b) barbers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the significant economic and social role that the hairdressing and barbering industry plays in high streets and communities across the UK.
The Hairdressers Registration Act of 1964 provides for a UK register of qualified hairdressers, although registration remains voluntary. Hairdressing salons and barbers, like other employers, are subject to normal business regulations such as health and safety requirements, employer and public liability insurance.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have set up a forum with the industry on informing the hair and beauty sector on good compliance. However, the government has no current plans to introduce further regulation of the industry, but we will always remain open to evidence.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many compliance investigations were (a) opened and (b) closed by HM Revenue and Customs on businesses classified under Standard Industrial Classification codes (a) 96020 (hairdressing and barbering) and (b) 96090 (nail and beauty services) in each year since 2020; and what the total (A) number and (b) value was of (1) penalties issued, (2) cash seizures and (3) civil recovery actions taken under the Proceeds of Crime Act in those sectors.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold specific data showing the number of hairdressers and nail salons investigated for tax non-compliance.
HMRC’s approach to tax compliance includes a range of activities that aim to both detect and tackle current non-compliance and change future behaviours. HMRC aims to help and support customers to understand their tax obligations and provides clear guidance to make it easy for them to get things right.
HMRC is aware that some workers and businesses in the hairdressing and beauty sector find it hard to understand their tax obligations. To help support these customers, HMRC has worked with trade bodies for this sector to develop new educational material including a YouTube video and has published guidance on GOV.UK to better explain the employment status and tax implications of different business models. Details can be found at: https://youtu.be/5o3au6PyXG8 and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-if-you-work-in-hair-and-beauty
Closing the Tax Gap is one of HMRC’s three priorities. The government is committed to measures which will raise over £7.5 billion additional tax revenue per year by 2029 to 2030. This includes the package to close the tax gap at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion) and further messages at Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion).
As part of these packages, HMRC will receive extra funding over the next five years to recruit an additional 5,500 compliance staff and to fund 2,400 debt management staff.
HMRC has led multiple operations in the hair and beauty sector, specifically barbers and nail bars. For example, during March 2025, HMRC undertook a series of unannounced visits (including Turkish style barbers) across the West Midlands as part of a three-week operation conducted jointly with the NCA and other agencies. This exercise resulted in Police seizures under Proceeds of Crime provisions of more than £500k in cash and illegal funds.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprenticeship starts in hairdressing there were, by region and level, for each of the English regions in each of the years from 2015 to the present.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The attached file contains apprenticeship starts for the 2015/16 to 2024/25 academic years, broken down by region and level, for hairdressing apprentices. These were last published in March 2025. They include full year figures from 2015/16 to 2023/24, and year to date figures for 2024/25 (August 2024 to January 2025).
The most recent years’ data are available in the published ‘Apprenticeships’ statistics, which have been included in the attached file, and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, If he would make an assessment of the potential merits of a licensing scheme for (a) hairdressers and (b) barbers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Hairdressing salons and barbers, like other employers, are subject to normal business regulations such as health and safety requirements, employer and public liability insurance. The Hairdressers Registration Act of 1964 already provides for a UK register of qualified hairdressers and HMRC will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes and Government collaborates closely with law enforcement to monitor criminal behaviour.
The Government has no current plans to introduce further regulation of the hair industry, but we will always remain open to considering.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the British Hair Consortium's report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: the economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025, what steps she is taking to support apprenticeships in the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire to the answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 34828.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of apprenticeship starts in the hairdressing sector in Leeds since 2024; and what steps she is taking to support salons to provide apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby
Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hairdressing industry.
There have been over 135 starts in hairdressing and barbering apprenticeships within the Leeds local authority across the 2023/24 academic year and the 2024/25 academic year, up until January 2025.
To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, or have been in local authority care. Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the British Hair Council's report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: the economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential economic benefits of reducing the VAT rate to ten per cent for labour-based services .
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is also the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.