§ Lords amendment No. 28
§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Michael Lord)With this, we may discuss Lords amendment No. 44.
§ Phil HopeThe amendments meet a Government commitment to give local authorities outside London 670 specific powers to regulate cosmetic body piercing and micro-pigmentation businesses. London local authorities already have such powers under private legislation.
The new clause would amend the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 to bring cosmetic body piercing and micro-pigmentation businesses under the regulatory framework of registration and byelaws that already applies to ear piercing, tattooing, acupuncture and electrolysis. Under that framework, local authorities would be able to require cosmetic body piercing and micro-pigmentation businesses to register with them and observe byelaws on hygiene and cleanliness in order to prevent the transmission of infection. For example, businesses would be required to use sterile instruments for each client. It would be an offence to trade without registration or to breach byelaws.
The term "cosmetic piercing" is used to include cosmetic body piercing and ear piercing, which are both forms of skin piercing to allow the insertion of jewellery into the skin. That is the approach taken in the London legislation. "Semi-permanent skin colouring", which means the insertion of semi-permanent colouring into a person's skin, is used to include micro-pigmentation and related activities such as semi-permanent make-up and temporary tattooing. The use of that umbrella term should stand the test of time if further activities of this type come into fashion.
The schedule will allow a smooth transition when local authorities adopt the new legislation. The transitional provisions provide that the amendment does not affect businesses already registered for activities covered by section 15 of the 1982 Act—tattooing, ear piercing and electrolysis. The amendment does not affect pending local authority resolutions to apply section 15 of the 1982 Act in its area. If a local authority has already resolved that section 15 of the 1982 Act should be brought into force in its area for tattooing, ear piercing and electrolysis, the local authority will be automatically enabled to apply the registration and byelaws regime to cosmetic piercing and semi-permanent skin colouring. A person and premises already registered for ear piercing shall be counted as registered for cosmetic piercing until cosmetic body piercing is subsequently provided, when a new registration would be required.
§ Mr. HammondI am grateful to the Government for eventually managing to introduce this provision, but I have some questions about the way in which it will work. I noted that the Minister referred to registration of persons and premises, and I may wish to probe him further on the distinction between the two.
I first raised the issue in Commit tee when I attempted to insert an admittedly clumsy new clause that sought to extend the London Local Authorities Act 2000, which was private legislation and not susceptible to such extension. I have been getting some strange looks from colleagues ever since, but I assure the House that I have nothing to hide and no personal direct interest in the matter. I regularly pass through airport metal detectors without any trouble.
I do not claim to be a great expert on the subject, but I was alarmed by the more revelatory nature of the remarks made by Lord Rooker in the other place last 671 week. He confirmed that he keeps a catalogue of body adornments, as he describes them, which he collected some years ago. Therefore, he said, the prices were out of date. While one can understand a passing interest in such an item, one is bound to say that keeping it on one's bookshelf for several years raises a few questions—certainly in my mind. Lord Rooker also told the other place that as it is a family place—I suppose it still is, in a sense, although it may not remain so much longer—he could not give their lordships full details of everything that was available in his catalogue.
The serious point is that whether we subscribe to body piercing and semi-permanent skin colouring or not. many people undergo it and it is an invasive procedure. It involves piercing the body and thus creates an obvious risk, at the least, of infection.
The matter first came to my attention through a constituency case, of which I became aware about this time last year. A constituent was concerned because her daughter, who was under 16, had been able to get her navel pierced without parental consent. After visiting the establishment that carried out the piercing, my constituent made some investigations and discovered that there was no system of control in place. She felt that that was wrong. Indeed, when I checked what Ministers had said, I discovered that Health Ministers—most recently, the hon. Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper)—had made clear statements on several occasions that the Government intended to legislate to allow regulation of such practices to be extended to local authorities outside London. The current state of the law is rather curious. In London, local authorities have that power, but local authorities in the rest of the country do not. All that we want to do is to create a level playing field and to address some of the concerns that have arisen.
After the case in my constituency was brought to my attention and I had already agreed with my colleagues that we would table an attempt at a new clause in Committee, a tragic case in Sheffield was reported. As a result of body piercing, a 17-year-old man died in unusual circumstances. He suffered from a congenital heart abnormality and was unaware that it made him especially vulnerable to septicaemia. He died over Christmas last year, which gave additional poignancy to the calls for new legislation.
I freely admit that our amendment was clumsy, but the Government were on record as saying that they intended to legislate on the matter as soon as a legislative opportunity arose. The Bill offers such an opportunity, yet I am bound to ask the Minister what arrangements exist for cross-departmental liaison when Bills such as this one are being drawn up. When Ministers—in this case, Health Ministers—give commitments that they will implement legislation of this nature when an opportunity arises, there needs to be a simple database recording such commitments so that they can be included when another Department draws up an appropriate measure. It should not be left to Opposition Members to draw the attention of Ministers in one Department to the fact that commitments given by Ministers in another Department can appropriately be incorporated in a measure. There needs to be some joined-up government. Indeed, the Minister is in an 672 ideal position to spearhead such an initiative and ensure that his colleagues are properly up to speed as to their responsibilities.
When we raised the issue in the Standing Committee, and when it was raised in the House of Lords, I was slightly alarmed by the Minister's reluctance to commit the Government to the measure that they have now introduced. Indeed, we were kept on tenterhooks until Third Reading in the House of Lords, so I am delighted that the Government have taken action. However, it would have been a disgrace if they had not introduced the provision, given that the Bill offers a perfect vehicle for it and that Ministers have made commitments to do so on several occasions.
The new clause will provide a registration regime by including premises and people carrying out cosmetic body piercing and semi-permanent skin pigmentation under the provisions for tattooing and ear piercing in the 1982 legislation. The issues that most concern me are, first, hygiene standards, although I know that they fall within the scope of the legislation into which the provisions will be inserted; secondly, checks on health background, emphasised by the problems in the Daniel Hindle case; and, thirdly, consent.
I have seen various premises that operate with proper hygiene, follow-up procedures and consent forms. They have rules that require a parent to be present if the patient is under a certain age. However, many operators do not conform to such standards. The effectiveness of the new clause in achieving a resolution to the issues that I have raised, and to which other Members have subsequently drawn attention, will depend on the conditions that local authorities are able to impose prior to registration.
It seems to me, from my reading of the 1982 legislation, that local authorities can make byelaws only in respect of hygiene in registered premises. Of course, hygiene is very important and aseptic procedures are vital where such invasive procedures take place, but that is only one of the issues. I very much hope that the Minister can confirm that it will be possible for local authorities to introduce a requirement to adhere to some form of code of conduct before they are required to register premises to carry out such procedures; otherwise, the problems encountered by Daniel Hindle will not be addressed at all. A mechanism is needed to require people who submit themselves to such procedures to answer a basic set of health questions.
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I hope that the fact that the Under-Secretary, not the Minister of State, will reply does not mean that I will be disappointed by being told that those issues are not adequately covered. I hope that the Minister can explain how it will be possible for local authorities to ensure that premises will operate according to proper codes of conduct before they are registered, so that everyone entering them is warned of the specific health risks that people with certain conditions, such as congenital heart abnormalities, might face from undertaking such procedures.
I hope that the Minister will also tell us that local authorities will be able to put in place appropriate regimes to deal with consent. I am not about to say that everyone under the age of 18 must always have a 673 completed parental consent form. I am not sure whether that is appropriate in all cases, but some sort of cut-off age is clearly needed.
§ Matthew GreenThe hon. Gentleman is sitting on the fence.
§ Mr. HammondI am not going to take from a Liberal Democrat the accusation that I am trying to sit on the fence. That would be too much to bear. It is pretty clear to everyone that there must be an age—perhaps 16—below which parental consent is appropriate.
Lord Rooker raised in the other place a very interesting additional consent issue, which certainly had not occurred to me. He explained that, in some cases, the parents of very small children have their children pierced for their own gratification because they think that it is fashionable. Of course, those children have absolutely no opportunity to consent. Parental consent is clearly not an adequate safeguard in those circumstances. Perhaps an absolute prohibition on certain types of piercing is needed for very young children.
I do not claim to have precise answers. The intention is to give a power to local authorities—the proposal is permissive—so that they can establish a regime to regulate such premises. I want to be sure that local authorities can regulate those premises in relation to mandatory health questionnaires, appropriate procedures for obtaining consent and perhaps an absolute prohibition on performing piercing operations on children below a certain age.
If it is possible under the Bill for local authorities to require establishments to have regard to a code of practice, will the Minister tell the House whether he or his colleagues in the Department of Health are inclined to publish a standard draft code of practice, so that every local authority in the country does not have to start from scratch in trying to draft an appropriate code of practice?
The Minister will know that the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart) recently received leave from the House to introduce a private Member's Bill that appears to be redundant before it starts because of this Bill. I am one of the supporters of that Bill. I very much hope that it will not turn out to be the case that the concession that the Government have made does not enable local authorities to deal with the real issues of health warnings, health checks and parental consent, in which case that private Member's Bill would be needed to broaden local authorities' powers. I hope that the Minister will reassure us that following the tragic death of Daniel Hindle this Bill will enable Sheffield and other local authorities to introduce a registration regime that will prevent similar tragedies in the future and ensure that people who submit to these kinds of procedures are properly informed about the risks and know that the procedures are being undertaken in aseptic conditions by properly qualified people. I also hope that we will have an assurance that local authorities will be able to deal with the issue of parental consent.
§ Mr. Edward DaveyI welcome this amendment. It deals with an important public health issue, and I am 674 glad that the Government have agreed to use the Bill to enable us to move forward. The House should be made aware, however, of the fact that the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) has been rather modest. He has been a prime mover behind this proposal. I witnessed in Committee how he engaged in debate, how thoroughly he had done his research and how he persuaded the Minister to talk to civil servants not just in his Department but in the Department of Health about the matter. The House should therefore pay tribute to him. He should also make sure that we all see copies of the press release that he sends to his constituents explaining how he has achieved this step forward. I am sure that the local papers in Surrey will be keen to hear about such a parliamentary success, of which he should be proud.
§ Mr. HammondIn case the hon. Gentleman thinks that I am hiding any light under a bushel, I have put out press releases previously, I have visited local piercing establishments, and it was a leading light in the local Conservative association who first brought this matter to my attention.
§ Mr. DaveyClearly, the Conservative party is modernising before our eyes. At one point in the hon. Gentleman's remarks, however, despite all his research, he was not quite capable of coming out completely on this issue. He was, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Matthew Green) said, sitting on the fence. I would therefore like to put on record the fact that Liberal Democrats believe that parental consent should be needed for those under the age of 16. On this issue, as on all issues with respect to age, it seems to us that the House should see that people effectively become adults from the age of 16. That would be the appropriate age.
§ Mr. HammondI am sure that you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, would not want me to widen this discussion into a debate about the slightly strange views of the Liberal Democrats about what people should and should not be able to do at the age of 16. The hon. Gentleman is in danger, however, of tripping over his arguments in earlier debates this evening. What we are doing is empowering local authorities. If we mean what we say when we talk about empowering local authorities, it must be for individual local authorities, having regard to their individual circumstances, to make that decision. This is not prescriptive legislation; it is permissive legislation.
§ Mr. DaveyI am not sure that the hon. Gentleman's argument is terribly consistent. While we certainly want to empower local authorities to take control of their own areas and of their own communities, that does not apply to issues such as age. Age is an issue that we debate nationally, and the application of age limits should be a national issue. It is not suitable for devolution, as it is an issue of rights. I do not want to quibble too much with the hon. Gentleman, however, as he has made a serious contribution, and I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) has real experience of this matter from his constituency.
§ Mr. HeathI am not sure about the depth of my experience but, like the hon. Member for Runnymede 675 and Weybridge(Mr. Hammond),I have knowledge of a constituency case in which parents were distressed by the fact that their child had been to such an establishment without their knowledge and permission. When I undertook a little more research on the subject, I was astonished to find that no registration system existed outside London. Therefore, as the law stands, the local authority in Somerset is incapable of doing anything about the problem.
I welcome the Government's proposals for registration and I am grateful to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge for his response to the Minister's comments. However, unless I have missed the point—it is entirely possible that I have, so I look forward to the Minister's reply—what we have today is an extension of the registration scheme. It will allow those who visit the establishments that undertake this business to do so with a degree of confidence that the person operating on them knows what he is doing, is working with sterile equipment and has taken appropriate health precautions. That is welcome, and whether adults choose to have such operations is entirely their affair. I do not wish to take part in their decision-making process.
However, several points about minors remain to be answered. It is not clear from the Minister's comments whether the Government's proposal changes the position of minors in any way. I do not accept the argument that it should necessarily be a matter for local authorities to have individual registration arrangements. The House is usually clear that we decide on such matters and there is no logic in having variations in the arrangements around the country. The circumstances that apply to 12-year-olds in one part of the country apply to 12-year-olds in another part. If they require protection, they require protection. I understand that the code of practice makes provision for parental consent but if adherence to that code is not part of the registration process, it should be. I hope that local authorities will be empowered to make that a requirement.
The hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge made another extremely important point. I am worried by cases in which there is parental consent but the child is below the age at which he or she can consent in any real way to a procedure that effectively involves their mutilation. In other circumstances and irrespective of the views of the parents, that might be treated as common assault. However, if there is specific legislation, it might be argued that the law's silence on such cases might mean that a common assault cannot be deemed to have occurred. The Government might like to do a little more thinking on the age limit for children who can be operated on in this way for purely cosmetic purposes and with no possible advantage to them. The Government should also consider the role of parental consent in the cases of slightly older children who may strongly support the idea of being pierced so that they conform to the latest fashion trends.
The provisions are silent on those two issues and I hope that the Minister will be able to elucidate the position. If there is no provision for minors, the issue will have to be revisited if the House is to do its job properly and the Government are to have the effective registration process that my constituents and those of other hon. Members want.
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§ Phil HopeWe have had an important debate. As the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) said, the existing registration scheme will be extended to local authorities outside London. I am happy to tell the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) that the behaviour of their lordships on body piercing is a matter for them rather than me.
I fail to understand the relevance of the criticism that we are not joined-up in our thinking because we are doing something that is clearly joined-up. In parliamentary terms, the question whether the measure fell within the ambit of the Bill was marginal, although we now know that it does. I am delighted that we are able to take the measure forward.
We are aware of the tragic case of Daniel Hindle, who died from septicaemia in December 2002 after having his lip pierced, which the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge mentioned. Sheffield city council is conducting a thorough and detailed investigation of the circumstances surrounding his death and I understand that there will be a coroner's inquest. It would therefore be premature for me to comment on the points that the hon. Gentleman raised but it will be important to consider whether there are general lessons to be learned in due course. I understand that the Department of Health is exploring the feasibility of conducting a study on the risks of infection that are associated with cosmetic body piercing in England and that it is requesting advice from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and the British Cardiac Society on the health risks of cosmetic body piercing and other types of skin piercing for people with congenital heart disease.
The hon. Gentleman asked several other questions. He asked about the standards of body-piercing practice before, during and after piercing. We believe that such detailed information is best provided by guidelines and several publications already provide such advice. For example, the Health and Safety Executive produced updated guidelines for local authorities on skin-piercing activities and enforcement as recently as October 2001. The guidelines are designed to assist the local authorities to which we are now extending powers to advise businesses on such issues as hygiene practice, aftercare and how to adopt a reasonable approach to issues surrounding the age of consent—I shall say a little more about that in a moment. Additionally, local authorities such as Bury metropolitan borough council, Rochdale metropolitan borough council, Sheffield city council and Southampton city council have produced good practice guidelines.
§ Mr. HammondI am grateful to the Minister for that information. Will it be lawful for a local authority to withhold registration from an establishment because it does not adhere to the good practice guidelines?
§ Phil HopeI made it clear earlier that if a business fails to take account of guidelines, such as those on using sterile instruments, it would be an offence for it to trade without registration, or if it were in breach of byelaws. The wider guidelines about which the hon. Gentleman talks do not exist in legislation—they have been developed by the HSE. Local authorities throughout the 677 country have produced good practice guidelines and the European Professional Piercers Association and the Association of Professional Piercers have produced guidance on safe and hygienic body-piercing techniques. I understand that the hon. Gentleman is trying to press me to go further and suggest that the law should provide that local authorities could enforce such standards, but we are extending the registration scheme that applies in London, so that is not the case. However, we would expect local authorities to use good practice and apply the guidelines to the businesses that they register.
§ Mr. HammondIf I have understood the relevant section in part VIII of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 correctly, the byelaw-making power relates only to hygiene, so the Minister is right to cite the example of sterile needles. However, a local authority has no power to withhold registration from somebody who is complying with the byelaws, which cover only hygiene, but failing to comply with any other codes that relate to parental consent and health warnings. Is that correct?
§ Phil HopeWe do not believe that pre-registration assessment of a practice is necessary. It would only add burdens to businesses and local authorities and extra costs to customers. Registration offers an opportunity for local authorities to establish a constructive relationship with businesses; that includes providing advice on hygienic practices. If a business refuses to heed that advice, the authority has the option of prosecuting it under the new legislation or using health and safety at work provisions such as improvement or prohibition notices and, ultimately, prosecution. There are measures that local authorities can take without amending the Bill as the hon. Gentleman suggests.
§ Mr. HammondI am sorry to have to proceed by intervention, but that is the only method that is open to us.
How does the Bill empower a local authority to prosecute a business for failure to comply with anything other than byelaws relating to hygienic practice? We are in danger of congratulating ourselves on having addressed the problem that was highlighted by the death of Daniel Hindle, while leaving local authorities utterly powerless to deny registration to an establishment that persistently refuses to give health warnings or to complete basic health questionnaires before carrying out piercing operations.
§ Phil HopeThe hon. Gentleman is labouring the point. The Bill allows local authorities to prosecute a business that fails to register with it or to operate in observance of byelaws on health and cleanliness. The job of local authorities, which the Bill will allow those outside London to do, is to build up their relationship with businesses. If a business continues to refuse to heed the advice given by the local authority, the authority can prosecute it under the new legislation—essentially on the key theme of failing to address hygiene and cleanliness as required. The local authority can also use the health and safety at work provisions if that is appropriate to the kind of offence that they believe the 678 business to be committing. It is completely untrue to say that local authorities have no powers whatever to intervene. The Bill extends to local authorities outside London the ability to intervene when required.
§ Phil HopeIf the hon. Gentleman wants to ask about consent, I am about to deal with that.
We have no plans to introduce a minimum age of consent for body piercing. However, the Health and Safety Executive has issued guidelines to local authorities to assist them in encouraging businesses to adopt a reasonable attitude to the age of consent. Although the Department of Health has not given a commitment to legislate, it has said that it will keep the matter under review with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office as the new measures take effect. Setting the age of consent at 16, which was mentioned by the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath), could lead to children under that age piercing themselves or each other in an unsafe and unhygienic way, or even to their going to disreputable businesses. We prefer that businesses carrying out ear piercing and cosmetic body piercing should be subject to local authority control so that those activities can be undertaken in a safe and hygienic manner.
The hon. Member for Somerton and Frome raised the wider question of common assault. Body piercing, particularly for sexual gratification, is unlawful. Children under the age of 16 are unable to consent lawfully to what would be regarded as indecent assault and, as such, a matter for the courts. To that extent there is definite protection for children under the age of 16. The only other question is about the piercing of ear lobes—
§ Mr. HammondIn the case of one of my constituents, which I quoted earlier, the person concerned was informed that she could bring a prosecution for common assault against the person who pierced her daughter, but that that would be a private prosecution because the police would not become involved. Does the Minister think that that is a satisfactory state of affairs?
§ Phil HopeI do not know the details of the case that the hon. Gentleman is describing. However, I can understand his concern on behalf of his constituents to ensure that an improvement is made. I regret that I cannot comment on a case when I do not have any of the details.
§ Mr. HeathI am sorry that we are delaying the Minister's progress.
I now understand that the registration scheme as it is framed does not provide for local authorities to do anything about these age-of-consent issues. Secondly, setting aside the sexual offence to which reference has been made, in the case of common assault—even on a toddler who was mutilated, and whether or not the parents consented—it would be unlikely that the police or the public prosecutor would bring a prosecution on that basis. That is not entirely satisfactory.
§ Phil HopeI understand the concerns that the hon. Gentleman is raising. The guidelines issued to local 679 authorities to assist them refer to them adopting a reasonable attitude to the age of consent. I have listed the guidelines that already exist—they have been published by a number of authorities and agencies—on the specific point that the hon. Gentleman is making.
§ Mr. HammondThe Minister says that the guidelines issued to local authorities talk about them adopting a reasonable attitude to the age of consent. That is great. They may adopt a reasonable attitude, but what is their sanction? What do they do with the business that complies with the hygiene byelaws, but does not comply with the local authority's reasonable attitude on age of consent? Can it deny registration or can it not?
§ Phil HopeI might be going through a time loop when I return to a point that I have made already. I understand the hon. Gentleman's question. The answer is that the guidelines are not a matter of law. They are guidelines for local authorities to use. They apply them by building a relationship with businesses that come within the registration scheme. In building that relationship, they can make judgments about whether the businesses are operating hygienically with due regard to cleanliness, and conform with other guidelines. By building up good practice in that relationship, it can be ensured that the widest possible take-up of good standards beyond and above hygiene and cleanliness are in place. If a business then fails to conform with hygiene and cleanliness regulations, registration can be withdrawn. A prosecution could be brought if the business were to break any further byelaws that the local authority had put in place. By extending these powers to other local authorities outside London, we are extending protections.
The hon. Member for Somerton and Frome mentioned toddlers and abuse. If there are any grounds for believing that a child may be suffering or at risk of serious harm from ear piercing, for example, let alone other forms of piercing, the local authorities' social services department could be approached about the matter. The National Society for the Protection of Children also has powers to investigate and intervene in these circumstances. These points go way beyond the focus of the amendment, but I hope that they are responses to some of the key points that the hon. Gentleman has raised.
§ Matthew GreenIn the case of a two or three-year-old child, surely the social services department should not be called in because someone thinks that a child's ear might be infected. Surely the simple approach is to introduce a minimum age below which body piercing should not take place. Perhaps that should be eight, nine or 10 years, something like that.
§ Phil HopeAgain, I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has been present throughout the debate, but we made the point earlier that we were not minded to introduce an age of consent. The guidelines to local authorities state that they must pay due regard to reasonable age of consent issues, including that which the hon. Gentleman described. Through those guidelines, local authorities build a relationship with their businesses. They have the power to deregister businesses that do not conform to basic standards of 680 cleanliness and hygiene. They also have recourse to other measures such as the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.
Without repeating myself for a third time, I hope that I have made the Government's position clear. Although questions about the extent to which the powers may affect hon. Members' constituents are right, I hope that the consensus in the House is that the provision is important and will provide added protection, help prevent the transmission of infection and raise standards of hygiene and cleanliness for such businesses throughout the country.
§ Lords amendment agreed to.
§ Lords amendments 29 and 30 agreed to.