Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the powers for local authorities and their associated enforcement agencies to regulate non-surgical cosmetic procedures and what plans they have to introduce legislation to implement a mandatory licensing scheme in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a timeline for the design and implementation of a national licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures, including injectable toxins and dermal fillers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in due course.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate the cosmetic surgery industry.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in due course.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate the sale and marketing of overseas cosmetic surgery procedures in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office and with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to tackle inappropriate advertising of overseas cosmetic surgeries in the United Kingdom. The ASA is taking enforcement activity against any company which contravenes UK advertising standards.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the NHS of treatment of individuals returning from overseas having undergone cosmetic surgery.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not have data on the overall costs to the National Health Service for treating complications from cosmetic procedures conducted overseas. We are exploring ways to improve our understanding of the scale of the cost to the NHS.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support she plans to provide to help retailer workers implement a generational ban on the sale of cigarettes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Smoking is responsible for around 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service.
This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products. On 12 October 2023, we launched a UK-wide consultation to gather views on these proposals and their implementation. This, alongside regular engagement with the retail sector, will help to shape the proposals and ensure we provide support to retail workers to implement the future legislation.
We are also providing £5 million this year and £15 million thereafter to support new national marketing campaigns. These campaigns will help to explain the legal changes of the smokefree generation, and prepare the public, retailers, and other relevant stakeholders for the future changes.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions the Government has had with Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers on the introduction of a generational ban on the sale of cigarettes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes around one in four cancer deaths in the UK. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service.
This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 years old or younger this year will never be legally sold tobacco products. On 12 October 2023, we launched a UK-wide consultation to gather views on these proposals and their implementation.
Whilst we have not met specifically with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, we have, and will continue to, speak to the retail sector and their associations to help develop our policies.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will provide additional funding to replace the funding for suicide prevention allocated under the NHS Long Term Plan which ends in March 2024.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Funding beyond 2024/25 is subject to future spending decisions through which we will consider further opportunities to build upon our £57 million investment for suicide prevention under the NHS Long Term Plan. In addition, the Government’s £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund will run to March 2025 to support voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in meeting demand for their services supporting people experiencing suicidal thoughts or approaching a mental health crisis. We expect to start making this funding available to successful applicants as soon as possible in the New Year.