EFRA committee warns that capping pet fees could force farm vet costs up

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has urged the government to act with caution in responding to proposals to curb veterinary fees for pets.

A recent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report highlighted rapidly rising veterinary prices. But in a report published today, the EFRA committee highlighted concerns that, in rural areas, proposed measures to limit fees for the care of household pets could undermine the ability to keep costs down for care of farm animals, which are often cross-subsidised by the former.

The cross-party committee of MPs recommend that, once the CMA’s remedies for the veterinary market commence, the government should establish a framework to monitor pricing, competition and sustainability in the market, particularly in rural areas.

EFRA chair Alistair Carmichael said: “We must be wary of a one-size-fits-all approach impacting the sustainability of the rural, farm-based vet sector, which is vital to our food security. We urge caution and careful monitoring of the CMA’s remedies to improve transparency and competition in the market.”

Independent regulator

The committee is also calling for the government to boost consumer confidence in the veterinary sector by establishing an independent regulator.

The report recommends that the Government should end the veterinary sector’s system of self-regulation, undertaken by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Instead, a new body should be set up to carry out inspections, bringing the sector in line with others such as medicine and law, and improving consumer confidence.

Mr Carmichael added: “Self-regulation makes the veterinary sector an outlier and lacks supporters among the workforce itself. To improve consumer confidence, the Government should establish a new independent regulator charged with inspecting practices, and let the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons specialise in continuing to represent the profession’s interests.”

Staff problems

The report highlighted the veterinary sector’s retention problem, particularly in public health roles, rural and large animal practices – 45% of the profession’s leavers had worked in the industry for four years or less, with 21% leaving within a single year.

The committee urges Defra to commission a review to understand the complex reasons for attrition, and use this work to set out evidence-based interventions and clear metrics and baseline data to monitor their progress.

The workforce is supported by recruiting some vets from overseas, but this is being hampered as immigration rules tighten. The MPs recommend that by early 2027 the Home Office and DEFRA should set new, higher salary thresholds for vets from abroad to secure Skilled Worker Visas. Immigration restrictions should be aligned with wider workforce needs in public health and food safety.

While stressing the critical imprtance of the veterinary sector, the report warns that the pipeline of future vets could be curtailed by financial problems in the veterinary education system.

The cost of educating domestic students is not adequately covered by tuition fees or government subsidies, which have long been capped. They have been cross-subsidised with income from international student fees, meaning restrictions on student visas add further risk to the financial sustainability of veterinary courses. Without government intervention, courses will close and places will be cut, the committee warns.

MPs also heard that the current legislation, now 60 years old, is too restrictive because it doesn’t allow vet nurses and technicians to perform certain tasks, preventing them from being fully integrated into delivery of veterinary care. This should form part of the Government’s current plans for new legislation.