Institute of Licensing welcomes government plans to regulate cosmetic procedures

The Institute of Licensing (IoL) welcomed the Government’s long-awaited announcement to introduce statutory controls over cosmetic procedures, aimed at cracking down on unsafe “cowboy” treatments and bolstering public protection.

Under the new measures, only suitably qualified healthcare professionals will be permitted to deliver the highest-risk treatments—such as non-surgical Brazilian Butt Lifts—in Care Quality Commission (CQC)-registered settings, with stricter local authority licensing for procedures including Botox, dermal fillers and lip injections. Age restrictions will also be imposed to safeguard under-18s from dangerous trends popularised on social media.

The IoL has long campaigned for comprehensive regulation of non-surgical aesthetic treatments. In May 2021, the Institute joined six leading public health bodies – including the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Royal Society for Public Health – to call for an England-wide licensing scheme covering premises, practitioner qualifications, infection control and mandatory adverse-event reporting.

In September 2020, the IoL co-authored two landmark reports with CIEH: “A Fragmented Picture,” which mapped the legal gaps and inconsistencies, and “The Ugly Side of Beauty,” which revealed severe injuries, infections and near-misses in unregulated settings. The survey of local regulators found overwhelming support – 90% – for a mandatory national licensing scheme to raise professional standards and safeguard clients.

Kate Nicholls OBE, IoL National Chair, said:

“The announcement represents a landmark moment for public safety in cosmetic treatments. For more than five years we’ve been calling—alongside our colleagues at CIEH, RSPH and other public health bodies—for a unified, England-wide licensing framework.

“Our joint work and campaigning exposed the real-world harms caused by unregulated practitioners and demonstrated overwhelming support from local regulators for mandatory national standards. “We will continue to work with Government in shaping the licensing regime to ensure it is robust and fit for purpose.”