Hair council welcomes debate on compulsory registration

Despite the government rejecting calls for a compulsory state register for hairdressers, the Hair Council has welcomed the publicity raised by the parliamentary debate which took place on 7 January. Llanelli MP and shadow Wales minister Nia Griffith led the debate, telling fellow MPs: "The government needs to move with the times and put in place up to date legislation which protects the consumer, as well as the hair professional." However, Works and Pensions Minister Mark Harper said the move would not guarantee the quality of hairdressers. Despite the rejection Sally Styles, CEO and registrar of the Hair Council, which spearhead the campaign for compulsory registration, said: "This debate was extremely important and a key milestone in the campaign for registration. Once again, we have succeeded in raising awareness of the need for the hair industry to be registered within government. I was extremely pleased with the amount of support we received for the debate from within the hairdressing and barbering industries." Image: (l to r) Hair Council chair Lynda Whitehorn, Nia Griffith MP, Sally Styles CEO Hair Council and Shirley Davis-Fox, political lobbyist for the Hair Council.