APPG report recognises health benefits of complementary therapies and urges Government to act

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Beauty and Wellbeing has urged the Government to prioritise social prescribing and undertake further research into the value of complementary therapies in its new report. 

The investigation, which was launched in September, analysed the complementary therapies sector to investigate how the therapies can support physical and mental health and wellbeing and take pressure off the NHS. 

It resulted in a report that urges the Government to acknowledge the importance of alternative therapies and makes five key recommendations to Government: 

1. The Government must work with NHS England to better promote the benefits of social prescribing with GPs, nurses and other health and care professionals, and how they can refer people to non-clinical complementary therapy services. 
2. The Personal Care sector team in the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) must work with officials within the Department for Health and Social Care responsible for social prescribing to better integrate complementary therapy services into the NHS and produce guidance to support health professionals and therapists in doing so. 
3. The Department for Health and Social Care must undertake or fund research studies to demonstrate the value of integrating complementary therapy services into the NHS through social prescribing.
4. The Department for Education must revisit the gap between the apprentice wage and minimum wage for apprentices aged 19+ and provide financial incentives for employers to take on learners on any ‘job ready ‘qualification. 
5. The Government must give Environmental health officers (EHOs) greater powers to act quickly to deal with bad practice and lead a crack-down on tax evading businesses that are driving down prices and undermining legitimate businesses under pressure. 

The report also asserts that the complementary therapies industry is an integral part of the Personal Care sector, which includes beauty, wellbeing, and alternative therapies.

These therapies can be key to supporting everyone’s health and mental wellbeing. However, the sector’s value, contribution and position as a professional industry is often misinterpreted and overlooked. 

The National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) contributed to the report. Director of quality & standards Caroline Larissey said, “The NHBF was pleased to support and feed into this inquiry on complementary therapies. This is just one part of the hair & beauty sector that has further potential to have a significant and positive impact on wellbeing and mental health in the future, supporting squeezed NHS services.

“We hope that the Government gives serious consideration to the recommendations in the report including around working with NHS England to promote non-clinical complementary therapies and employer incentives to secure the next generation of talent.”