Full McKelvey Report remains unpublished
The BVA, who made the request that the full report be made available after a redacted version was published in November 2011, will not be appealing the decision.
The McKelvey report came as a blow to the RCVS, as the exposure of many weaknesses in governance and considerable overspends intensified the sense of disconnection between the veterinary profession and its regulatory body.
The longevity of discussion generated by the report is testament to the strong feelings of members of the veterinary profession who believed the full report should have been made accessible - especially after it was recently revealed that the IT systems, which cost around half a million pounds of members' money, is unsuitable and will soon need replacing.
Of the decision, Carl Padgett, President of the BVA, commented: “Given the strength of feeling expressed by our members on the issue of the overspends we felt it was right to try to obtain as much information as possible, but we accept the Information Commissioner’s decision and will not be appealing."
With the contents of the full report now set to remain a mystery, it is to be hoped that the lessons learned from its recommendations have been taken fully on board, and that the McKelvey report can finally be laid to rest.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
