23 Sept 2025
Former BVA president Malcolm Morley urges pricing transparency and says if clients “don’t like your prices, they can go and see someone else. It’s very easy".
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Malcolm Morley. Image © BVA
A senior vet has urged practices to be proactive in making changes ahead of the release of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) impending provisional decision regarding its investigation into the pet veterinary sector.
The CMA delayed publishing its provisional decision until next month ahead of a final decision by February next year.
Former BVA president Malcolm Morley, now the director of UK at World Horse Welfare, presented a talk on the investigation at BEVA Congress.
Dr Morley said: “Trust, transparency and communication matter most. That is one of the reasons why clients feel that this is needed. If we reflect on that now, I think we’ll have fewer shocks later.”
He suggested transparency regarding pricing and practice ownership is “really straightforward”, and in his practice’s experience it has “only been a positive thing”.
He added: “If [clients] don’t like your prices, they can go and see someone else. It’s very easy.”
Dr Morley said while there were clients who would not hesitate to spend on their animals, “there are also those clients who just did not see it coming, and I think we can all reflect on this and try to improve”.
As well as maintaining an updated price list with clear information on payment options, he also argued practices should be proactive in offering prescriptions and normalise the principle of contextualised care.
Dr Morley said the latter is what all vets “should be proud of delivering, trying to deliver for the needs of the animal and the client, taking into account their finances and lifestyle and preferences”.
He described the CMA investigation as “an opportunity to strengthen client relationships”, and while the focus is on the companion animal sector, he said equine vets should be prepared, adding: “The reality is that many of the outcomes are likely to be profession wide and affect all of us”.
Dr Morley also suggested it was “extremely likely [the investigation] will be a catalyst for legislative reform”, including a new Veterinary Surgeons Act (VSA).
On the VSA being reconsidered, Dr Morley said: “It is a car crash, it is completely and woefully out of date; 1966 was a totally different world.
“We have moved on so many times since then.”
With the industry that has grown alongside the veterinary profession, Dr Morley likened the VSA to “trying to regulate airlines by only regulating pilots”.
RCVS senior vice-president Linda Belton, who took part in a Q and A session alongside Dr Morley at the end of the presentation, similarly felt the investigation could lead to an updated VSA.
She said: “I think we can probably make good use of it to get a much better regulatory framework from which we can work, not just for today, but that will be flexible and futureproofed to how the profession develops and changes in the coming years.”
