21 Jul 2026
The CMA released its main draft orders today (21 July), some of which will come into force this year with the rest being implemented throughout 2027. Martin Coleman, chair of the Competition and Markets Authority’s independent inquiry group explains what they mean and why they matter…
Martin Coleman
Job Title
Chair of the CMA’s independent inquiry group Martin Coleman.
A We received an unprecedented response from the public and veterinary practitioners at the start of our investigation, and the general feeling was that things could be better.
Our remedies are all about addressing the concerns we have, and were told about, in relation to transparency, choice and accountability – including a lack of information which means pet owners are left in the dark.
It became clear that clients have issues ranging from selecting a practice and knowing who owns it, to deciding on the best treatment for their pet and understanding their options for buying medicine. We’ve set out 18 changes in total – the key ones are:
a) Vet businesses must make it clear whether they are part of a group or an independent business – by clearly and prominently displaying ownership links on signage, at practices and online.
Why? Less than half of the people using a large veterinary group knew that their practice was part of a chain. Pet owners who have a preference prefer independents.
b) Practices must publish a comprehensive price list for standard services.
Why? Less than 40 per cent of practices have prices on their websites – and where they do, they often cover few services and are sometimes hard to find.
c) Price and ownership information must be available to pet owners through Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Find a Vet service which will be able to share the data with approved third-party comparison sites.
Why? There is no easy or centralised way to compare local practices.
d) Written prescription fees must be capped at £21 for the first medicine and £12.50 for any additional medicines.
Why? Some pet owners are being charged up to four times cost price for medicines, and some practices charge £30 or above for each prescription. Pet owners should be able to shop around without prescription fees being a barrier.
e) Practices must follow a transparent, accessible in-house complaints process and engage in mediation where disputes cannot be resolved.
Why? There is no mandatory process for vet practices to follow or redress system when things go wrong for pet owners.
f) Practices must have written policies in place to ensure vets are empowered to offer independent and impartial advice.
Why? Vets have a duty to provide pet owners with independent and impartial advice, but this has the potential to be compromised by commercial pressure.
Like many veterinary professionals, we are clear that the current legal rules are outdated. Regulation must apply to vet businesses as well as to individual vets, to reflect how the sector has changed. Things have moved on since we made our recommendations to government in our final decision report. The Government has now published a white paper following a consultation on the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 which includes our recommendations on regulating the sector and, for the first time, these proposals would ensure that vet businesses are accountable to an independent regulator. In addition, there is also support for the CMA’s call to protect the title of veterinary nurses and expand the range of tasks they can undertake.
A Our decisions are always led by the evidence. We carefully evaluated all the information shared with us, consulted publicly, listened to the valuable feedback, including over 11,000 responses to the call for information, round table discussions, site visits, responses to working papers, qualitative research, and feedback from professional bodies. From this, we made targeted amendments to several measures before finalising the overall package.
For example, acting on feedback from vet professionals, we adjusted the cap on prescription fees to a fairer level. It should cover business costs without stopping pet owners from using that prescription to buy cheaper medicine elsewhere; 38 per cent of pet owners don’t know that they can save money on medicines, so we’ve also said that practices must explicitly tell pet owners about this option via signs in practices and other communications.
We know some vets have concerns about this. While we understand that medicine mark-ups are one way for a practice to contribute to profits, the bottom line is that it’s not sustainable to rely on clients being uninformed about their options. We absolutely think that there are multiple reasons why many will still choose to buy direct from their vet, such as convenience – but the key thing here is that they’ll be making an informed decision. And that can only help increase confidence in the impartiality of vets too.
While measures like breaking up the big groups might look like the obvious choice on paper, in reality, the evidence didn’t lead us there. The issue here isn’t a lack of choice between vet businesses – it’s about transparency and competition. The problem is that pet owners do not have the information to help them make an effective choice. They can only compare prices or ownership if all vet businesses are transparent. So, that’s why most of our remedies apply to all vet practices, so that all pet owners feel the benefits.
A When people can easily compare practices, services and prices, they can make better informed choices – to suit their circumstances, as well as the welfare of their pet. That’s exactly what this package of remedies is designed to deliver.
Businesses will be affected in various ways, but we expect much of it to be positive. Pet owners place a lot of trust in vets and that will be bolstered by veterinary businesses being fair and transparent about the options available to pet owners.
For those practices that really listen to pet owners’ needs and respond by innovating, offering a range of options and competitive pricing, this is an opportunity to distinguish themselves from their competitors – whether that’s through prices, ownership or service. We’ve seen great examples of practices that already do this – and our changes will make it easier for pet owners to see that for themselves.
A It’s the vet business rather than individual vets that are responsible for making these changes – though this will, of course, affect the way that veterinary professionals go about their work.
We know that some practices already have elements of our remedy package in place, such as price lists, good complaints process and clear branding, so the remedies will make little difference to what they already do. For others, it will require bigger adjustments.
Our changes are designed to help, not hinder. Some veterinary professionals reported finding it challenging to discuss prices with pet owners, so our requirements around price lists, mandatory estimates for non-urgent treatment over £500, and itemised bills afterwards, should help support clear, mutually beneficial conversations with clients about costs.
Some vets are concerned about the extra time it may take to provide written prescriptions and estimates. In reality, while there will be some impact, we do not consider this will be disproportionate compared to the wider benefit and, over time, we would expect practice management systems to evolve to support these new additional responsibilities. We don’t think either will be a massive time.
Overall, we expect things to look and feel different for pet owners once the changes are in place, but the focus of vets’ day-to-day job will still be on providing care for animals.
A All vets – especially those that own practices – should look at our remedies timetable for details on specific remedies.
Some changes will apply very quickly, and others will have longer lead-in periods.
Once the order is in place, the remedies will be introduced in tranches where, for most of our remedies, larger veterinary businesses will have three months from the date of the order to implement the changes, and smaller businesses will have six months. There is one exception to this – the changes which apply to out-of-hours providers. These must be in place the day after the order is made.
December 2026 is the deadline for large vet groups to have in place the remedies relating to basic information, price lists, pet care plans, written policies and processes and clear information on cremation options. For smaller businesses, the deadline is March 2027.
March 2027 is the deadline for all vet businesses to have in place the remedies relating to ownership, mediation and in-house complaint processes.
Larger vet groups also need to have in place the prescription price cap; smaller businesses have until September 2027 for this.
By June 2027 large vet groups need to have in place the remedy requirements for written estimates, itemised bills, prescription awareness, written prescriptions, own brand medicines, and ongoing medication information. For smaller businesses, the deadline is September 2027.
By September 2027, all vet businesses will need to be sharing their information via the Find a Vet service and complying with all changes.
A The professionalism of vets is not in doubt, so we are confident that the vast majority of practices will comply with these changes. We’ll be working closely with industry bodies to ensure that businesses know exactly what they need to do and when – and that is our main focus.
But there is action we can take if practices are not doing what they should be. This includes sending letters which can be public or private, issuing formal directions to correct behaviour – or, in more serious cases, taking action through the court or issuing fines. The action we take will depend on factors such as the severity and impact of the behaviour. Our strong preference is to encourage cooperation – formal enforcement is always a possibility but is not our first choice.
In the long term, we expect Defra’s proposed reforms to the Veterinary Services Act to have an impact on monitoring and compliance. Until then, RCVS will have a key role in monitoring compliance with the CMA’s remedies. Enforcement, however, will be a matter for the CMA.
A We know this might feel like a lot of information to digest which is why we’ve published a useful explainer for veterinary professionals on our website. This breaks down the remedies by category and provides specific information about how the changes should be implemented.
For example, we say that information on prices should be available on the practice website (if you have one) and a maximum of one click from the homepage. They should also be on in-practice materials, such as posters or leaflets, which should be easily visible in the reception or waiting area and available to prospective clients.
A Plan ahead: The remedies timetable is your North Star – review the remedies timetable and get your processes into shape in good time.
Have your say: while the core remedies are decided, we are consulting on the details. The draft of our order has just been published, so make your views known to us or your professional association.
Vets are caring trusted professionals – our remedies are about improving transparency and good communications by veterinary businesses.