Thank you, Deputy Presiding Office. I've given a minute in this debate to Jack Sargeant and Joyce Watson. 

On Monday next week, I can register myself as a builder. On Tuesday, I can register as a hairdresser. On Wednesday, I can start a carpentry business. On Thursday, I can start a beautician business. On Friday, I can seek work as a solicitor or barrister. On Friday, the full force of the law will come down on me. Solicitors have legal protection. Under the Solicitors Act 1974, no unqualified person can act as a solicitor. Any person who contravenes this is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction of indictment of imprisonment for not more than two years, or a fine, or to both. I can claim to be a barrister. This has actually happened to Ian Clegg, who fooled the judges and magistrates in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, between September 2007 and April 2008. The law, which was passed in 2007 in the Legal Services Act, makes it illegal to willfully pretend to be a barrister. The offence carries a maximum jail term of one year.  Lawyers, as always, look after themselves. The rest of the people are treated entirely differently. There's no protection against claiming to be any of the other ones I mentioned earlier. 

I mean, hairdressing is totally unregulated. I have been told about the devastating effects of negligent hairdressing treatments, ranging from chemical burns to the scalp and face to loss of hair through misuse of products. The hairdressing industry is currently unregulated. This is a very worrying thought when you consider the chemicals used by hairdressers, who potentially could be untrained and unqualified. The Hairdressing Council, which was established through the Hairdressers (Registration) Act 1964, with the intention of giving status to hairdressers and therefore assurance for consumers, has called for the regulation of the industry. Registration with the council remains voluntary because the Act was never fully enforced. The Hair Council estimates that only around 10 per cent of hairdressers have registered. As the industry is unregulated and no qualifications are needed to practise as a hairdresser, there may be many that are holding themselves out as hairdressers without having any qualifications whatsoever.

There have been attempts to introduce a Bill in the UK to seek regulation. This culminated in the Hairdressers Registration (Amendment) Bill being introduced at the House of Commons as a private Member's Bill. This was, however, defeated in a vote, by 67 to 63, in November 2011. The purpose of the Bill was to propose better regulation of the hairdressing industry, to include a code of conduct and compulsory public liability insurance. The Bill was introduced by David Morris MP, who following defeat said:

'It is very unusual for a Ten Minute Rule Bill to go to division. The House of Commons was clearly divided. I hope that now I have drawn attention to the regulation of the hairdressing industry this important issue will continue to be debated.'