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Council Meeting – 13 August 2013
New byelaws for skin piercing procedures in Purbeck
1.
Purpose of report
To ask Council to adopt new byelaws, to improve control of skin piercing activities within
Purbeck.
2.
Key issues
2.1
Members agreed in principle, on 12 April 2012, to make new byelaws to better control a
wide range of skin piercing activities.
2.2
Council has already adopted changes to legislation so that all premises offering
acupuncture, tattooing, semi-permanent skin-colouring, cosmetic piercing and electrolysis
must now be registered. However, the current byelaws which set the standards in these
premises were made in 1992 and are outdated and fail to cover some practices.
2.3
At present three separate sets of byelaws cover acupuncture, tattooing, and ear piercing
and electrolysis respectively (Appendix 1). No byelaws currently apply to most cosmetic
piercings or to semi-permanent skin colouring. Such activities can be regulated using nonspecific health and safety legislation only. The situation is confusing for practitioners and
customers and the introduction of one all-encompassing set of byelaws would clarify a
number of enforcement issues.
2.4
The proposed new byelaws would duplicate exactly the model byelaws written by the
Department of Health in 2004, which have already been adopted by many local authorities
(Appendix 2).
2.5
Adoption of new byelaws would automatically revoke the older redundant versions.
3.
Recommendation
3.1
That the Council adopts the byelaws for the regulation of skin piercing activities under
section 15 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 set out at
Appendix 2 and authorises the General Manager – Public Health and Housing Services to
apply to the Secretary of State for confirmation.
3.2
That the relevant registration requirements come into effect from the date on which the new
byelaws are confirmed by the Secretary of State and the current byelaws revoked.
4.
Policy issues
4.1
How will this affect the environment, social issues and the local economy?
4.1.1 Simplification and clarification of the Council’s standards in all premises offering
procedures where the skin is pierced is desirable. Many changes have occurred in
this sector since the current byelaws were made and they are now antiquated and
not fit for purpose.
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4.1.2 The majority of skin piercers in Purbeck appear keen to operate safely and within the
law. However this is hard to do when standards are either outdated or absent. The
making of new byelaws would therefore meet a need expressed by businesses and
allow them all to operate on a par. There would be no economic advantage in failing
to disclose all the services on offer at a premises, as the standard to meet would be
the same in all cases. Also, Council officers would have clear standards to enforce.
4.2
Implications
4.2.1 Resources
The resource implications for the Council from the making of new byelaws are
minimal. Businesses offering skin piercing are known to enforcement officers and a
register of premises and practitioners is maintained. Initially all premises would
receive written notification of the change and this would be followed up by visits to
ensure all applicable standards were being met. Health and safety in the beauty
industry is a main workstream for 2013/14 nationally, supported by the Health and
Safety Executive, and this work is identified in the Public Health and Housing
Services Risk Register.
The public register currently identifies 25 premises and 50 practitioners offering a
range of skin piercing services. Some records date back to 1991. Contact with
everyone on the register would enable it to be updated from a paper to an electronic
format (with anticipation of removal of some records) at the same time as standards
are checked.
Existing businesses and practitioners already have access to industry standards for
the activities they perform. Changes in local byelaws will merely confirm these
standards and should therefore place no additional financial burdens on them.
4.2.2 Equalities
All premises and practitioners would be treated in the same consistent manner, and
all would be required to meet the same standards. This would improve on the current
irregular inconsistent standards in current byelaws.
Appendices:
1 - Existing byelaws made in 1992
2 - Draft new replacement byelaws
Background papers:
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Department of Health publication 34605: ‘Local Government Act 2003: Regulation of
cosmetic Piercing and Skin-Colouring Businesses. 26 February 2004’
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) National Local Authority Enforcement Code available at www.hse.gov.uk/lau/publications/la-enforcement-code.htm
For further information contact:Susan Eady, Public Health Manager
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