All fees set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices are a private matter between individual practices and their clients. Neither the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervene in the level of fees that are charged.

Defra intends to bring forward primary legislation to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, as soon as parliamentary time allows. The proposed licensing regime for veterinary practices would be subject to that legislation.

The Department has not made a separate estimate of the average annual savings for pet owners arising from the cap on written prescription charges. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) introduced the cap as part of a wider package of remedies to improve affordability, transparency and competition in the veterinary services market. Further information on the CMA's veterinary services market investigation can be found at: Veterinary services for household pets.

Police support animals play an important role in crime detection, prevention, and public safety. The government values the bravery and skill of police dogs and their handlers, recognising the strong bond formed through their work.

Police forces are responsible for the welfare of their service animals throughout their service and into retirement. Their retirement can be a combination of local arrangements, such as charitable organisations and volunteers, the exact nature being a local decision for the force, led by Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.

The government currently has no plans to change the retirement process for police service animals, including the funding of veterinary care.

I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that it is a priority for the Government. I visited the University of Surrey’s veterinary medicine school yesterday, and we have been engaging with the sector, which wants to modernise the legislation. It is not fit for purpose—there are plenty of things available now that were not around in 1966, such as scans for animals. We are absolutely committed as a Government to modernising the legislation to the benefit of the profession—ensuring that we continue to drive up standards, celebrate good practice and root out bad practice—and to the benefit of pet owners, too.

I welcome the Secretary of State’s mentioning an update to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966; after 60 years, it is much needed to make the Act fit for purpose to regulate new business structures and paraprofessionals such as physios, and to protect the title of veterinary nurse. Could we have an assurance that, with the change of Administration, the update will remain a priority and will not be kicked into the long grass? It is much needed right now.

As there is currently no clear, shared definition of what constitutes risk-based use in practice, the initial focus has been reducing environmental exposure following a decision to treat. This reflects the need to take proportionate action while the evidence base is further developed. In parallel, work is ongoing to build the scientific and behavioural evidence needed to support a more targeted approach.

The Call for Evidence sought data on the environmental impacts of all flea and tick products containing fipronil or imidacloprid, including those with a distribution category of POM-V. Anybody was able to contribute evidence, with the aim of understanding how restricting the supply route for these products might impact pet owners, animal health and welfare, environmental outcomes, businesses, and the wider sector.

Defra’s consultation on reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 ran from 28 January to 25 March 2026 and received over 6,000 responses. Additionally, on 24 March 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its final report on its market investigation into veterinary services for household pets.

Given the volume of consultation responses and the need to consider these alongside the CMA’s recommendations, this Government will publish its response later this summer: Reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 - GOV.UK.

This Government thanks the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for their hard work in delivering the market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. Many of the recommendations raised by the CMA requiring legislative change were covered in Defra’s consultation into the reform to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA). This Government shall release a response to the CMA’s market investigation and the consultation on the reforms to the VSA in due course.

There are currently no plans to hold any discussions with Improve International on the number of Official Veterinarians who can issue Animal Health Certificates.

Defra is aware of the numerous challenges facing the veterinary sector, including recruitment and retention of qualified veterinary surgeons. Defra officials are working with the sector to increase capacity, for example through reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, which will enable more activities to be delegated to other members of the veterinary team. This will give veterinary surgeons more time to undertake other activities including, if they wish, Official Veterinarian duties.

On 22 April the EU brought in new rules affecting those travelling with pets from third countries such as Great Britain (GB) into the EU. Defra has engaged with the European Commission to understand how they are implemented, and how this impacts those travelling from GB to the EU.

Ministers have regular conversations with a variety of stakeholders, including veterinary associations, on pet travel. Ahead of the EU’s changes, Defra contacted stakeholders, including the British Veterinary Association, the British Small Animal Vets Association, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to update them on the changes.

The UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area. Instead of the current process of getting an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) each time they travel, pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU. Until an agreement with the EU is reached, owners will still need an AHC for their dog, cat or ferret(s) if they are travelling from GB to an EU country.

AHC fees are set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices and are a private matter between individual practices and their clients, and neither the RCVS, the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervene in the level of fees charged.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Defra takes a proportionate approach to veterinary input and oversight at bird gatherings. At all gatherings there is a requirement that a veterinary surgeon must be available to attend at short notice if birds show signs of ill-health or there are welfare concerns. Events held under general licence do not have any additional requirements for veterinary professionals, in line with the low risk assessed for these events.

For events held under specific licence, the licence conditions will be based on the APHA’s preliminary, individual risk assessment for that application. These conditions may vary, depending on the assessed risk level of the gathering.

All exotic disease prevention and control measures, including licence conditions and the need for veterinary input, are kept under regular review, and regularly discussed with APHA, as part of the government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of exotic disease.

The Department has recently engaged with the Pig Veterinary Society and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons regarding reducing the incidence of pig tail docking, and we are now carefully considering the appropriate next steps, including the possibility of developing further guidance for veterinarians.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) regularly speaks to veterinary prescribers through antibiotic stewardship groups. These bring together government, veterinary profession and livestock sector representatives to support responsible use and reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These include:

· The Cattle Antibiotic Guardian Group

· Pig Health and Welfare Council Antimicrobial Usage (AMU) Subgroup

· British Poultry Council Stewardship Group

· Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance (RUMA) Companion Animal and Equine Group

· RUMA Targets Taskforce meetings

· Ruminant Antibiotic Stewardship Roadmap Steering Group

· Medicine Hub Industry Liaison Group

· The electronic Medicine Book (eMB) Pigs Steering Group

These discussions aim to:

· Share research, AMU, AMR, and disease surveillance data

· Promote responsible antibiotic prescribing, storage and disposal

· Encourage creation and uptake of training and guidance, including for vets and animal keepers

· Improve health and disease prevention through herd/flock health planning

· Advise on metrics for monitoring AMU

· Improve accuracy, availability, and coverage of AMU data in livestock, companion animals, and horses

· Encourage antibiotic use data for auditing and benchmarking

· Discuss environmental transmission pathways with veterinary prescribers, and the impact of these on their prescribing

By focusing on stewardship and responsible use of antibiotics in animals, the risk of AMR in animals, and potential subsequent onwards transmission through the environment is reduced.