As many of you will be aware, Defra currently has a public consultation open on potential reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA). Many veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, allied veterinary professionals (AVPs - also known as paraprofessionals) and members of the public have already provided insightful and useful feedback and suggestions. All responses (whether submitted on our online portal or via email at VSA-reform@defra.gov.uk) will be analysed and will feed into shaping proposed reform of the VSA. Defra is keen to hear from as many veterinary professionals as possible, so we encourage you all to respond to the consultation before it closes on 25th March to ensure your voice is heard!
Why now?At 60 years old, there have been calls to reform of the VSA for decades by many veterinary professionals and others in the sector . This has been supported by all the key sector stakeholders, from the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), Vet Schools Council (VSC), and the public. But despite unanimous support, attempts to reform the VSA have so far been unsuccessful.
In recent years, many of you have faced difficult times during the on-going Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation into veterinary services for household pets. But despite this, the media attention that the CMA investigation has generated has undoubtedly helped push VSA reform up the political agenda. This means that now is possibly the best opportunity the sector has ever had to secure a parliamentary bill slot for new primary legislation.
Key veterinary stakeholders have come together in a collaborative spirit to ensure that, this time, proposed VSA reform has a good chance of progressing to the next stage. The consultation is the result of a huge amount of hard work by many different organisations, teams and leaders, all striving for a better future for the veterinary sector.
So what?Some of you might question if your responses will really make a difference. The simple answer is yes, they will! Defra can only act on the feedback it receives, so the more people and organisations who respond to the consultation, the better. Your views really do matter, and Defra wants to hear from you.
In practical terms, the proposed reforms will have significant impacts on veterinary professionals and veterinary businesses. The consultation is split into four chapters:
1) Licence to practise - Instead of an individual annual registration based on eligible qualifications, veterinary professionals (including allied veterinary professionals) could require a licence to practice, in line with other healthcare professions. This will open up the ability for different types of licence such as conditional ones for new graduates based on their need to do VetGDP/VNGDP.
2) Fitness to practise – This system could replace the current punitive and retrospective disciplinary process, providing more support for veterinary professionals.
3) Mandatory regulation of veterinary and animal health businesses – This could ensure all veterinary businesses have to meet the same standards, rather than the current voluntary Practice Standards Scheme (PSS). There could still be a role for the PSS to reward excellency in addition to mandatory business regulation.
4) Governance – Two possible governance models are outlined for how the regulator's potential future structure. These consider both the regulatory and professional leadership functions that the RCVS currently covers.
Since the consultation launched, a common concern from those working in the sector has been the conflation of VSA reform with the CMA investigation, especially in media coverage. While this has been understandably confusing and frustrating, it is important to understand the political context.
Proposed VSA reform is aiming for new primary legislation, that will form a modern regulatory framework for the veterinary sector, encompassing both professionals and businesses. Secondary legislation will provide further regulatory details later. The on-going CMA investigation has been looking into veterinary services for household pets.
While the CMA’s primary aim has been to investigate competition concerns for consumers, some of their provisional recommendations do overlap with proposed VSA reform. For example, transparency about pricing and costs, such as displaying price lists, and having a clear complaints process are likely to be included within the required standards for mandatory business regulation. In some cases, the CMA could use its powers through “Orders” to enforce certain measures until new primary legislation comes into force. In their provisional decision report published in October, the CMA indicated that they are likely to recommend to government that they should be bringing in a reformed VSA to help tackle the consumer and competition concerns that have been identified.
While government will formally respond to these recommendations, and it does lead to overlap, it is important to acknowledge that VSA reforms are much broader than business regulations. Recognising this will help us to effectively advocate for our sector and develop a strong political narrative for why VSA reform should be prioritised.
Have your say!Whether you want to comment on all the proposals, or if you have specific feedback on one or two of the consultation chapters: that is fine, we want to hear from you. You can fill out as much or as little of the consultation as you like – all responses will be analysed. You can also take breaks, rather than filling out your responses all in one sitting, just remember to save your responses before stopping, to avoid losing your comments up to that point.
Nearly 850 veterinary surgeons and nurses and students have already responded to the consultation! If you are one of those respondents, thank you so much for taking the time to share your views. If you have not yet responded, there is still time, and Defra values your thoughts.
Help shape the future of the veterinary sector and your profession – take part in the VSA reform consultation today!
seen at 15:07, 5 March in Government Vets.