The Prescribed Objects for Body Piercing (Special Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2024

Made: 27 November 2024

Coming into force: 29 November 2024

In accordance with section 123(2)(b) of that Act, a draft of these Regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, Senedd Cymru[^f00002].

Title and coming into force

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• (1) The title of these Regulations is the Prescribed Objects for Body Piercing (Special Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2024.

• (2) These Regulations come into force on 29 November 2024.

Prescribed objects for the purposes of Part 4 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017

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Any object that is not jewellery is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b) in the definition of “body piercing” in section 94(1) of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017, but only insofar as that definition applies for the purposes of Part 4 of that Act (special procedures).

Signed

Jeremy Miles — Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, one of the Welsh Ministers — 27 November 2024

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

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.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2017 anaw 2 (“the Act”). Seesection 124(1) of the Act for the definition of “regulations”.

[^f00002]: The reference in section 123 of the Act to the National Assembly for Wales now has effect as a reference to Senedd Cymru, by virtue of section 150A(2) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).