MPs hit out at Defra on vet education

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has branded the Government’s response to its calls for a full review of funding for veterinary education as “deeply disappointing”.

The EFRA Committee published responses from Defra and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to its June report, “A sustainable veterinary workforce”.

In the report, it recommended Defra and the Department of Education assess the gap between costs and funding for domestic students, increase teaching grants for high-cost courses and ensure vet schools’ long-term financial sustainability.

In its response, Defra acknowledged veterinary education and the numbers of graduating vets are vital, but said it does not agree a full funding review is necessary at this stage.

Ongoing dialogue

It said clinical subjects such as veterinary science already attract the highest level of high-cost subject funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant, but it committed to “official level engagement” as part of its ongoing dialogue with the Department for Education to monitor funding for veterinary courses.

Defra also rejected calls for reviews of skilled worker visa salary thresholds for veterinary roles to make it easier for UK practices to recruit vets from abroad.

It said current policy is “designed to reduce reliance on overseas recruitment” and “address weaknesses in domestic workforce planning and training pipelines”.

EFRA Committee chairperson Alistair Carmichael welcomed the Government’s response and the proposals in its white paper on Veterinary Surgeon’s Act reform.

‘Unsustainable’

However, Mr Carmichael said: “It is deeply disappointing to see continued denial of the crisis affecting veterinary education, which is becoming unsustainable financially.

“The veterinary sector is being squeezed on two fronts, with a recruitment pipeline threatened by visa restrictions and a gloomy outlook for veterinary colleges.

“We await the workforce strategy due in six months’ time, but there is no two ways about it: ministers will have to find a way to put money into veterinary courses and do so before we see places cut and courses close.”

The future of the University of Cambridge’s vet school was plunged into doubt last December after its Council of the School of the Biological Sciences found “no viable long-term solution” for the sustainable delivery of clinical services.

Closure

Although the plans were scrapped in February, Cambridge closed its farm animal veterinary service earlier this month.

EFRA’s report also called on the CMA to publish a formal review of the impact of its remedies for the sector by March 2029, assessing impacts on mixed practices, rural provision and market outcomes, and implementing corrective measures where necessary.

The CMA acknowledged concerns that its remedies “should not impose disproportionate burdens” on smaller, rural and mixed practices.

It agreed to “work closely” with those practices to help with compliance, review its remedies and amend or remove those shown to be ineffective, but it did not commit to reviewing them within EFRA’s recommended timeframe.