Vet associations criticise CMA’s remedies
The organisations say the 'remedies' will impact independent practices.
A number of major veterinary organisations have united to criticise proposed ‘remedies’ set out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
In a full response to the working paper, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) expresses ‘serious concerns’ for the suggested remedies. It describes the measures as ‘completely disproportionate’ to the issues they seek to address.
The response is a joint submission from the BVA, the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, the British Veterinary Nursing Association, the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons and the Veterinary Management Group.
Among the concerns is the proportionality of the remedies. The organisations suggest the remedies are ‘too extensive’ in relation to the CMA’s concerns, placing administrative burden on the practices.
They say this would disproportionately impact smaller, independent practices, which would have limited capacity and resources.
The response particularly raises concern about the financial cost the remedies could have, with many of the changes requiring new technology solutions. This could again affect independent practices, which may be forced to pass the costs onto their clients.
By extension, the organisations say that these increased costs could have a negative impact on animal welfare as a whole. As increased costs result in higher veterinary fees, pet owners may delay or avoid taking their pets to veterinary practices.
The BVA says that, while it supports a standardised price list, CMA’s proposed approach is ‘too complex’ and unworkable. It says practices would be required to provide detail which is ‘overly burdensome’ and does not increase clarity for clients.
It also criticises suggestions of price control on medication, which it believes will reduce the availability of products, harming consumer choice and animal welfare.
Elizabeth Mullineaux, BVA president, said: “If all the measures were implemented at the same time, the sheer volume and complexity would place an unacceptable burden on vet practices and could jeopardise the viability of many businesses, particularly smaller independent practices.
“This could have the unintentional consequence of reducing consumer choice and potentially increasing vet fees, which could in turn negatively impact animal health and welfare – precisely the opposite of what the CMA is trying to achieve.”
BVA, BSAVA, BVNA, SPVS and VMG’s full response to the working paper can be found here.
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