1 May 2026
Rebecca Robinson said implementing CMA remedies will be “relatively straightforward compared to dealing with the feeling around how [vets are] perceived now”.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Rebecca Robinson, VMG president.
The head of a veterinary industry body has described the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) investigation into the UK vet sector as a “big waste of people’s time”.
VMG president Rebecca Robinson shared her take on the CMA process, the narrative around which she suggested had left the veterinary profession needing to “rebuild our public trust”.
The CMA produced its final remedies for the sector in March, including a £21 cap on prescription prices for primary products, the publication of price lists and a requirement for practices to make clear their ownership.
Speaking on the Vet Times Podcast, recorded at VMG Congress, Dr Robinson said: “I would say it feels like a big waste of people’s time, presumably an awful lot of money, and they’re not going to achieve cheaper prices.
“It’s just going to change where that price difference happens, and I’m not sure that they’ve even achieved much in terms of increasing the market competitiveness or choice for clients.”
She added: “I think the good thing that they’ve done is highlight that we need transparency, and I think that is necessary, so I don’t disagree with that. Did we need to go through a market investigation to get to that point? I’m not sure.”
Asked what the feeling among congress delegates was regarding the investigation, Dr Robinson said: “The thoughts, I think, among the delegates are that actually there’s a lot of fuss about not so much.”
The vet said that while changes will need to be made and they will “cause some challenges”, the CMA’s measures have “mellowed a lot from where they started”.
She continued: “A lot of people are now more solution focused and thinking about how they do that, rather than fighting or worrying about it now.
“There has been a bit of a focus on how to present pricing and talk about value and present that, but actually what has come out of it is an overwhelming sense that all the leaders here [at congress] want to look after their team and their clients.”
Dr Robinson said the VMG is helping veterinary leaders support their teams – particularly those on the front lines – who have faced an increasing “backlash from clients” due to the portrayal of
the profession during the investigation in some quarters.
She said: “The implementation of things like price lists is going to be relatively straightforward compared to dealing with the feeling around how we’re perceived now, and I think that’s upset the profession, quite understandably.
“I think we’ve got some work to do as a profession to rebuild our public trust, but I believe we can do that, and that’s what we will look at – how we can help with that.”
Asked how vets can do that, she suggested it will be a “little-by-little” process explaining pricing to clients.
Dr Robinson said: “If we don’t talk about the money, we’re always going to have this mismatch between what the reality is and the client’s expectations so, as an industry, we are going to have to get better at those conversations.
“That’s really hard for us, because actually a lot of us equate charging with not caring, and that isn’t true, it’s a necessity to be able to continue caring that we need that money.”
She concluded: “I think we’ve got work to do. We can do it.”
Listen to the podcast by clicking below or through the Podcast section.