Legal row deepens over CMA reforms

A legal battle over planned reforms to the veterinary sector has moved a step closer after a professional body denounced the process as “fundamentally flawed”.

The Progressive Veterinary Association (PVA) said it was exploring “emergency” options as its legal dispute with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), over a potential conflict of interest in the regulator’s investigation, deepened.

So far, the CMA has resisted the claim and insisted its final remedy orders will still be published in the coming days.

But the PVA is preparing to take further action and argued a new assessment of the case is already necessary.

Flawed

Group director Iain McGill said: “The market investigation is fundamentally flawed on many levels.

“The current inquiry group should be dismissed and a new inquiry group appointed so that it can independently re-examine the evidence without being compromised by corporate and pharmaceutical interest.”

The comments follow the submission earlier this week of a formal request by the PVA to pause implementation of the CMA’s remedies while what it believes is a conflict of interest relating to a member of the inquiry group. The association has stressed it does not allege wrongdoing on the individual’s part.

‘No basis’

However, its concerns appear to have been rejected by the inquiry group itself with documents seen by Vet Times indicating it believed there was “no basis” for the PVA’s claim.

The association subsequently took its concerns directly to senior CMA executives, warning it would take the matter to a Competition Appeal Tribunal if they did not intervene, but said it was told the authority was unwilling to investigate them.

The CMA refused to comment on the PVA’s latest claims, although a spokesperson earlier insisted the body “robustly manages conflicts of interest, in line with its published policy”.

Statutory deadline

Amid the dispute, the inquiry group’s final remedy orders still remain unpublished, but the CMA remains insistent they will be released in line with Wednesday 23 September’s statutory deadline for implementation.

Its draft orders were widely criticised within the sector following their publication in July, amid fears of “chaos” in practices and enduring concerns about excessive impact on the independent sector.

The PVA had also indicated it was prepared to mount a legal challenge over the CMA’s proposed measures on business ownership transparency, which it believes are insufficient.

But the authority claims they offer “important reforms” that will improve trust in the sector.