MPs to examine why England's cosmetic procedure licensing scheme keeps stalling

MPs on the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee are pressing ministers over how long England's promised licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures has taken to materialise, hearing evidence from Save Face and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons on gaps in oversight of treatments such as dermal fillers, Botox and thread lifts.

The legal basis for a licensing scheme has existed since the Health and Care Act 2022 gave the Secretary of State power to regulate the sector. A government consultation on how that scheme should work opened in September 2023 and drew more than 11,800 responses. The Department of Health and Social Care did not publish its response until 7 August 2025, almost two years later, setting out a red, amber and green risk classification in which local authorities would license lower-risk work while high-risk procedures, including non-surgical Brazilian Butt Lifts and thread lifting, would require qualified healthcare professionals operating from premises registered with the Care Quality Commission. No timetable has since been published for the follow-on consultation on training curricula, qualifications, infection control and insurance requirements needed before the scheme can actually operate.

That delay has compounded a separate one. The Women and Equalities Committee, chaired by Sarah Owen MP, published its own report on cosmetic procedures on 18 February 2026, recommending an immediate ban on liquid BBLs and a licensing system for lower-risk treatments within this Parliament. The government's response was due on 18 April 2026 and arrived late. Health minister Karin Smyth's letter explaining the delay prompted Owen to call further consultation "unacceptable," saying it "lets down those who have lost loved ones."

Scotland has already moved past the consultation stage England remains stuck in. The Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act, introduced in October 2025 and passed into law on 12 May 2026, creates criminal offences for treating under-18s or operating without a licence and gives inspectors powers of entry, search and seizure. England has no equivalent enforcement mechanism, and until the second consultation on training and qualifications is published, the Care Quality Commission's remit will stay confined to the smallest, highest-risk slice of a market still largely run on voluntary registers.