Tighter sunbed laws proposed for English salons

New laws could be introduced to more tightly govern the use of sunbeds in England.

The All Part Parliamentary Group on Skin (APPGS) has proposed new legislation including a ban on unstaffed sunbed salons, mandatory compliance with the European standard for an 0.3w/m2 limit for sunbed lamps, compulsory screening of clients’ skin types to avoid use by skin type I, and provision of safety literature and goggles.

The APPGS is a body set up to advise Government and make recommendations on skin-related issues. Its new recommendations have not yet become law.

Currently, unmanned sunbed salons are illegal in Wales and Scotland but the law is yet to be introduced in England.

All sunbeds must already comply with the European output limit of 0.3W/m2 but the onus been on individual local authorities to enforce that under general product safety legislations. The new recommendation is for that to become nationwide legislation.

The new regulations outlined in the proposed legislation are already recommended best practice for The Sunbed Association, and chairman Gary Lipman, who was involved in the consultation process, has welcomed the proposals but said they do not go far enough.

“Any issues about sunbed use can only exist when sunbeds are abused and used irresponsibly by people who should not and cannot tan,” he said. “Therefore, it is disappointing that the final recommendations did not go as far as to require all salon staff to be properly trained.”