The new licensing scheme requires all premises or vehicles where any of the specified special procedures (acupuncture, body piercing, electrolysis and/or tattooing) performed by licensed practitioners to be approved. The approval certificate will be issued to the person responsible for the business at a premises (this may be the owner, manager or practitioner - they do not need to be performing the procedures themselves and may not be directly employing practitioners). If a practitioner holds a special procedure licence but is an employee, or rents a chair/room in someone else's business, then they do not need to have their own premises/vehicle approval certificate but must still make sure that they only operate from an approved premises or vehicle.
It is an offence for a practitioner to carry out a special procedure without a licence or to perform any procedures from premises or vehicles that are not approved, unless you have a transitional licence/certificate. It is also an offence not to comply with the specific requirements detailed in the regulation for practitioners and premises/vehicles.
How to apply
Please ensure that you have fully read this page and other pages in this section before applying.
**You should only apply above, if your premises is located within Conwy County.
Application from existing registered premises
Premises that were registered under the previous requirements of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 will be required to apply for their own premises approval certificate and, if necessary, a special procedure licence.
Those responsible for a business, where the premises has an existing registration, will have 3 months from 29th November 2024 to submit an application for an approval certificate and will benefit from a transitional licence. This transitional approval will allow existing premises to operate a special procedures business, as per their previous registration document, whilst the new licence application is being submitted (practitioners must also be licensed or be covered under these transitional arrangement to perform any special procedure at these premises).
Transitional licences/approval certificates have been automatically issued to all existing registered premises and practitioners. Should you have not received this by now, and you were previously registered with Conwy Council, please contact us using the detail at the bottom of this page.
An application for an approval certificate under the new scheme must be made within this 3 month period (by 28th February 2025).
If you have submitted your application and we have not made a decision on your application by 28 February 2025, you will still be able to continue to trade after this date, until we (the local authority) provides you with a decision on the application.
If an application has not been made for a premises/vehicle approval certificate by the end of the 3 months transition period, your transitional certificate will expire on the 1st March 2025. There will be no exceptions to the requirement to obtain an approval certificate and no extensions of time to this transitional period.
Application from new premises (not previously registered)
New premises/vehicles that were not previously registered under the 1982 act on the before the coming into force date (29th November 2024), do not qualify for the transition arrangements.
You must submit application form for the premises/vehicle (and where applicable, practitioner application form). Once submitted, this will be assessed and processed by the Local Authority. These premises cannot be used for any of the specified special procedures until they have been granted a special procedure approval certificate (and, where applicable, the practitioners are licensed).
Fees
The fees for each approval certificate, temporary approval certificate or for other variations are detailed below. An application is not treated as having been made until the application fee has been received and cleared.
| Licence Type | New | Renewal |
|---|
| Approved Premises Certificate (3 years). |
£385.00 |
£345.00 |
| Licence Fees | Fee |
|---|
| Approved Premises/vehicle – Temporary Approval (ancillary event) |
£385.00 |
| Approved Premises/vehicle – Temporary Approval (convention/main purpose) |
£680.00 |
| Variation of Approved Premises/vehicle Certificate (add procedure) |
£189.00 |
| Variation of Approved Premises/vehicle Certificate (structural change) |
£189.00 |
| Variation of Approved Premises/vehicle Certificate (change of detail) |
£26.00 |
Licence period
The Approved Premises Certificate lasts for a period of 3 years from the date the licence is issued. Temporary certificates are valid for no more than 7 days.
Eligibility
The applicant must be 18 years of age or over.
Supporting Documentation
The application must be accompanied by:
- A premises/vehicle layout plan (must include: points of entry/exit into the premises and into any rooms, measurement and shape of any room within the premises and the location of equipment sinks, sharps bins, staff rooms, storage areas/facilities/rooms for products & equipment, toilets, waiting areas/rooms, wash hand basins, waste bins, windows and workstations).
- Evidence of valid insurance cover held by the applicant in respect of the premises or vehicle.
- Evidence of the successful completion of a regulated Level 2 Award (infection prevention & control) held by the applicant.
Processing & Timescales
New applications will be processed within the timescales specified by the Welsh Government statutory/non-statutory guidance.
Existing registered premises, who apply for an Approved Premises Certificate within the 3 months transition period, will be processed within 6 month of the end of this transitional period, or earlier (i.e. 9 months from the coming into force date).
It could take a number of months for local authorities to assess all the applications in the move to the new licensing scheme.
Legislation and conditions
The Special Procedures Approved Premises and Vehicles (Wales) Regulations 2024 details the specific requirements and conditions for premises are available on the legislation.gov.uk website here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2024/1229/contents/made
The overarching regulation which sets out the legal framework for Special Procedures and other legal requirements is the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 (Part 4).
The approval conditions for premises/vehicles can be accessed here: Mandatory Licence Conditions For Special Procedures Licences (Practitioners) - (PDF).
Approval conditions for TEMPORARY premises/vehicles can be accessed here: Mandatory Approval Conditions For Special Procedures (Temporary Premises and Vehicles) - (PDF).
Contact us
For any enquires regarding the special procedures licensing scheme, please email foodsafety-healthandsafety@conwy.gov.uk
Further guidance
The Welsh Government is due to publish non-statutory guidance for the Special Procedures Licensing Scheme, which will provide detailed information on the requirements of the licensing scheme, how to apply for a licence and an approval certificate, how to comply with the license and approval conditions and the enforcement powers available to the local authority. The links to these guidance documents will appear, once they become available.
Public Health Wales (PHW) have published the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guidance for Special Procedures in Wales, which provides more detailed information and guidance on IP&C measures and how they can be applied in the special procedures sector. This is available here: Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Guidance for Special Procedures in Wales