The UK Government has unveiled plans for the most significant reform of the veterinary sector in more than six decades, with proposals designed to improve transparency, strengthen regulation and help make veterinary care more affordable for pet owners. The reforms are set out in a new White Paper published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
The proposals follow the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) extensive investigation into the veterinary sector, which found that a lack of price transparency, increasing corporate ownership and limited competition were contributing to rising costs for pet owners. The CMA estimated that veterinary fees had risen significantly faster than inflation in recent years and concluded that greater consumer protection was needed.
What is being proposed?
Among the headline measures is a proposal to cap the cost of written veterinary prescriptions at £21 for the first medicine, with a maximum charge of £12.50 for each additional medicine prescribed during the same consultation. The cap applies to the prescription itself rather than the cost of the medication, making it easier for owners to purchase medicines from pharmacies or accredited online suppliers if they choose.
Veterinary practices would also be required to:
- Publish clear price lists for common consultations, procedures and services.
- Be transparent about treatment options and likely costs before treatment begins.
- Clearly disclose whether the practice is independently owned or part of a larger corporate group.
- Operate under a mandatory licensing system for veterinary businesses.
New regulator and stronger consumer protection
The Government is also proposing the creation of an independent veterinary ombudsman to handle complaints about veterinary businesses, alongside wider reforms to modernise the regulation of the profession.
The proposals would regulate veterinary businesses as well as individual veterinary surgeons, helping ensure organisations share responsibility for maintaining professional standards. The plans also include updated fitness-to-practise procedures and, for the first time, formal legal recognition and statutory regulation of veterinary nurses and certain allied veterinary professionals. Ministers say this should allow vets to focus on more complex clinical work while making better use of the wider veterinary team.
What happens next?
The White Paper has now entered an eight-week consultation period before legislation is drafted. Many of the proposals build on recommendations already made by the CMA, which announced legally binding market reforms earlier this year that include greater pricing transparency and prescription fee caps for veterinary businesses.
If implemented, the reforms would represent the biggest change to veterinary regulation since the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, with the Government aiming to create a system that is fairer for pet owners while continuing to support high standards of veterinary care and animal welfare.
