The Hair & Barber Council ‘Shaping the Future Together’

Who is the Hair and Barber Council?

The not for profit professional body, originally set up by the Hairdressing (Registration) Act 1964, has the mandate from Government to protect and develop the current voluntary register of professional hairdressers and barbers throughout the UK. We alone hold this Government mandate, and as such it is only the Hair and Barber Council, in conjunction with industry and stakeholders, that can challenge Government to amend this current voluntary Act to that of mandatory whilst adding beauty and nails into the body of the Act.

Why does the industry need to be regulated?

To be a successful, professional, competent and inspiring hairdresser, barber, beauty therapist or nail technician takes time, commitment, focus and passion to achieve that aim. Training, continual professional development and experience all play a part in creating true professionals that the general public should be able to have complete confidence in. Sadly, many practicing hairdressers, barbers, beauty therapists and nail technicians in the UK currently have had little or no form of training, are not qualified to practice their craft, and as current legislation allows anyone to practice without any form of training or qualification at all, this for many decades has hugely undervalued the industry, as a whole, as the true profession it is.

Political landscape:

The Hair and Barber Council has consistently campaigned to change the status of the Act from voluntary to mandatory and has taken many actions to support this aim, which includes;

  • Implementing a ‘Public Affairs and Influencing’ strategy
  • Meeting and lobbying MPs, AMs, MLAs and SMPs and other relevant senior political/policy officials.
  • Securing support from MPs in setting up an ‘All Party Parliamentary Group’ (APPG), for the hair and barber and cosmetology industries.
  • Establishing regional meetings with constituency members, employers and staff to raise awareness of the valuable contribution the industry makes to the UK economy.
  • Commissioning various industry reports to include the 2017 Data Survey the results of which stated that on average 80% to 90% of industry, stakeholders and the general public wanted the industry to be regulated, and the 2019 Economic Impact Assessment Report that stated that the hair and beauty industry contributed £6.6 billion a year to the UK economy.
  • Working closely with BEIS (The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) to raise all issues and concerns within the industry whilst seeking to influence Government more definitively and specifically.

This political landscape has changed dramatically over the past five years! At last politicians from all parties are starting to take our industry seriously, with more and more of them supporting our campaign.

From a safety and hygiene perspective, during the current pandemic the industry has overwhelmingly proved that we are not responsible for the growth of coronavirus infections which has further strengthened the point of realigning the true status of the industry, so often totally undervalued by the public, parents, careers advisors and politicians alike.

For our industry to be able to lobby Government and to make representation to them on many issues surrounding our sector currently and in the future, we will never be taken seriously without regulation!

30 Sydenham Road, Croydon, CR0 2EF.
E: – Registrar@haircouncil.org.uk   T: – 020 8760 7010
The statutory authority established by the Hairdressing (Registration) Act 1964