Consultation launched on Veterinary Surgeons Act reform
The public consultation will close on 25 March 2026 at 23.59pm.
An eight-week public consultation has been opened, as the government shares proposals for a new Veterinary Surgeons Act.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has invited the veterinary profession, as well as the general public, to share their opinions on its proposals for new regulation in the sector.
Recommendations from Defra are expected to significantly change how veterinary professionals are regulated, reforming an Act which dates back to 1966. With rapid changes to the veterinary sector since then, including an increase in businesses owned by non-vets, it is hoped by many that a new Veterinary Surgeons Act will reflect the modern veterinary sector.
Under proposals, a new Veterinary Surgeons Act could see the regulation of veterinary and healthcare businesses alongside that of individual veterinary professionals. Other ‘allied professionals’, such as farriers and dental technicians, could also become regulated through the same Act.
The title of ‘veterinary nurse’ could become legally protected by the Veterinary Surgeons Act.
Protecting the title is expected to improve their professional identity, improve job satisfaction and boost retention rates. Defra also suggests that this move will allow veterinary surgeons to focus on more specialist care.
Defra says that widened regulation will mean that the responsibility for upholding professional standards is clearer and shared more appropriately.
New regulation for modernised registration and improved ‘fitness to practice’ processes also feature in the government proposals. A new approach would see more focus on the practitioner’s current competence, rather than focusing on past mistakes.
Rob Williams, BVA president, said: “Vets play a vital role in society, from caring for the nation’s animals and supporting our farmers and food production, through to assisting international trade, disease control and public health.
“If we’re to continue delivering this work effectively, we urgently need reformed veterinary legislation, and those changes will impact how we go about all aspects of our work. It’s therefore imperative that colleagues engage with Defra’s proposals, ensure their voices are heard and grasp this opportunity to shape veterinary legislation that’s fit for the 21st century.”
The governance model of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has also come under scrutiny in the review, with claims it ‘lags behind other healthcare regulators’. Defra suggests that a new structure would reduce potential conflicts of interest, as well as strengthening public and professional trust.
Respondents will be asked if they prefer the current model of RCVS as a ‘Royal College that regulates’, or an alternative model where it continues to regulate but loses its non-regulatory functions.
Professor Tim Parkin, RCVS president, said: “The RCVS is calling for the preservation of its full range of functions, albeit with reforms to increase clarity between them, as these allow for a holistic, coherent and consistent approach to regulation in the interests of the public, animal health and welfare, and public health.
“The RCVS believes that narrowing its role would be a backward step, contrary to the modern regulatory trend towards more supportive regulation and argues against replicating the fractured regulatory landscape found in other sectors.”
The consultation will close at 23.59 on 25 March 2026.
Image © Samuel Hagger/Shutterstock.com
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
