Explanatory note

Part 4 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 (“the Act”) establishes a mandatory licensing scheme for individuals who wish to perform special procedures in Wales. Section 57 of the Act provides that “body piercing” is a special procedure for the purposes of Part 4.

The definition of “body piercing” is provided in section 94(1) of the Act and means the perforation of an individual’s skin or mucous membrane, with a view to enabling jewellery, or an object of a description prescribed in or under regulations, to be attached to, implanted in, or removed from the individual’s body. Section 94(2) of the Act provides that for the purpose of defining “body piercing”, the reference to perforation includes (among other things) by way of puncture or incision.

These Regulations prescribe that any object that is not jewellery (for example hooks, macro-dermals, micro-dermals, near-field communication chips, silicone beads) will fall within the definition of body piercing for the purposes of Part 4 of the Act. This means that those individuals who perform body piercing with the view to enabling jewellery, or any object, to be attached to, implanted in, or removed from an individual’s body will be required to obtain a special procedure licence under Part 4 of the Act (unless they are exempt).

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales.