Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners: Licencing Scheme

The cosmetic treatments industry faces its biggest shake-up in a generation according to the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP). A major government consultation, launched today (Saturday 2 September) seeks the views of members of the public on a new licencing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as botulinum toxin injections, chemical peels and dermal fillers. Prof David Sines, Chair of the JCCP says, “This will dramatically improve consumer safety and reduce the risk of injury and harm arising from ‘botched’ and improperly performed cosmetic treatments.”

The new licensing scheme will involve a practitioner licence and a premises licence and will make it an offence for anybody to carry out non-surgical cosmetic treatments without a license. It will also make it illegal to treat anyone under the age of 18 with such treatments.

The scheme seeks to ensure that people who administer cosmetic procedures are properly experienced, trained and qualified, have the necessary insurance cover and operate from premises that are clean, hygienic and suitably licensed. The scheme will be administered by local authorities across England.

The JCCP has worked closely with the Government and regulatory authorities in England to achieve legally enforceable governance arrangements for the cosmetic sector. The Government’s new consultation document is the result of our long-term work and collaboration to co-design a new, sustainable system of regulation to protect members of the public.

Professor David Sines CBE, Chair of the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, said:

“In recent years we have seen a massive growth in the number and types of non-surgical cosmetic procedures. Alongside this growth, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of complaints about substandard treatments, unregulated cosmetic products and unsuitable treatment premises. 

All too often it is the NHS – and therefore the taxpayer – that has to pick up the pieces when a cosmetic procedure goes wrong. The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners has seen a 400% increase in complaints in the last year alone, so we warmly welcome this important step towards proper regulation. Nothing is more important than public protection and patient safety.

The recent explosion in cosmetic procedures has been fuelled by social media, the proliferation of high street beauty outlets and a dramatic increase in the range of cosmetic procedures including those involving botulinum toxins such as Botox ©, dermal fillers, chemical peels, vitamin injections or infusions and laser treatments. All these procedures carry the risk of serious harm if they are not administered by suitably trained professionals operating from clean and hygienic premises.

I warmly welcome the government’s decision to consult on this new, proposed licensing scheme. It will help to ensure 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.

I would urge everybody to seize the opportunity provided by this consultation and support the move towards sensible and proportionate regulation in this important sector.

The JCCP has prepared a public guide to the Government consultation, with a clear explanation of what it means and how to respond to it. This can be found here. 

The JCCP's FAQ guide also covers the scope of the proposed license and answers questions related to practitioner-related issues, education and training, age restrictions and key stages of the consultation.

You can read the full FAQ guide here.