# License lower-risk cosmetic procedures

> “We are also committed to introducing a local authority licensing scheme for lower-risk cosmetic procedures in the current Parliament, ensuring that practitioners are appropriately trained, insured, and working to safe standards.”
>
> — Karin Smyth, Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), Labour Party; Written ministerial statement, 21 October 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Health](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/health)
- **Speaker:** [Karin Smyth](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/karin-smyth), Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care)
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 21 October 2026
- **Where:** Written ministerial statement
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** People having lower-risk cosmetic treatments such as Botox and fillers, and the practitioners who provide them
- **When:** In the current Parliament
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-21/HCWS402 (checked word for word at its source on 25 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 25 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-cosmetic-licensing-scheme-2026

## Where it stands

The minister made the commitment alongside a consultation on restricting the highest-risk procedures to regulated professionals. The Department of Health and Social Care's release the same day names Botox and lip filler among the lower-risk treatments. Neither gives a date within this Parliament, so the card has no deadline. The card moves when the licensing scheme is set out in regulations.

## Timeline

- 21 October 2026, Promised: The health minister commits to a local authority licensing scheme for lower-risk cosmetic procedures in this Parliament

## About the cost

No cost has been published.

## Sources

- [Written ministerial statement HCWS402, 21 Oct 2026: Cosmetic regulations consultation](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-21/HCWS402)
- [Department of Health and Social Care press release, 21 Oct 2026: Cosmetic cowboys crackdown continues with new restrictions](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cosmetic-cowboys-crackdown-continues-with-new-restrictions)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 25 October 2026.

---

LedgerGov.UK's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting LedgerGov.UK with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.