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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when final commercial decisions from manufacturers on veterinary medicine product availability in Northern Ireland will be communicated to veterinary practices and Suitably Qualified Persons.

Most pharmaceutical companies have already taken or are taking steps to make the required adjustments so we are confident that the disruption to veterinary medicines supply will be limited. Several larger companies have also communicated these decisions publicly.

For those that have not, we continue to strongly encourage them to inform businesses as soon as possible about their intentions.

However, following extensive stakeholder engagement, our assessment shows that most products currently on the Northern Ireland market will still be available. We have identified fewer than 20 products where discontinuation would pose significant risks to animal health and welfare if these risks were not addressed; the two schemes that we are introducing will serve to address those risks.

Although these figures may change as pharmaceutical companies take steps to adjust before the end of the year, we are not expecting to see a significant change and continue to monitor the situation closely.