Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent of the rise of professional misconduct claims against veterinary practices in the UK.

The Department has made no assessment of the rise in professional misconduct claims made against veterinary practices in the UK. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for the veterinary profession in the UK and at present can only hear cases against individual veterinary surgeons amounting to gross professional misconduct.

The RCVS has submitted proposals to Defra for reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, including amendments to the disciplinary system including statutory regulation of veterinary practices, not just individual vets. These proposed changes are currently being considered.