Vets could be made to cap prescription prices after UK watchdog investigation
Vets in the UK could be forced to cap prescription prices after an investigation by the markets watchdog found pet owners may be paying twice as much for some common medicines from practices than online.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found pet owners pay 16.6% more on average at large vet groups than at independent practices.It said the £6.3bn market was not fit for purpose and needed to be modernised.
The watchdog has proposed 21 measures, including making vet businesses cap the cost of providing prescriptions at £16; publish comprehensive price lists; make clear if they are part of a large group; and ensure that their policies and processes allow vets to act in the best interests of pets and pet owners.The CMA advised clear price information on treatments and cremations, with prices in writing for treatments costing more than £500 and itemised bills, and pricing breakdowns for pet care plans.It also proposed creating a comprehensive price comparison website.The regulator launched its formal investigation last year after an initial inquiry prompted an “unprecedented response” from 56,000 people, including customers and vet professionals.Publishing its findings on Wednesday, the CMA said prices increased by 63% between 2016 and 2023, considerably faster than general inflation.
It found owners were often unaware of the prices of common services and whether their local practices were part of large national chains, and that customers had no effective way of comparing vet prices and may be paying twice as much for common medicines from practices than online, often hundreds of pounds more.The findings are provisional, with interested parties having until next month to make submissions before a final decision is published by next March.Martin Coleman, the chair of the CMA’s inquiry group, said: “Pet owners are often left in the dark, not knowing whether their practice is independent or part of a chain or what a fair price looks like.“They are sometimes committing to expensive treatment without understanding the price in advance.And they do not always feel confident asking for a prescription or buying medicine online – even when it could save them hundreds of pounds.
”The current regulatory system dates back to 1966.It only regulates individual veterinary professionals and not vet businesses, even though most practices are part of a large corporate group.The CMA found that acquisitions of vet practices by larger companies led to an increase of 9% in average prices four years later.It said many of the concerns raised with it related to the six large veterinary groups, which own the majority of practices.Two of them are listed companies (CVS and Pets at Home), three (IVC, VetPartners and Medivet) are owned by private equity investors, and Linnaeus is owned by Mars Petcare.
Rob Williams, the president of the British Veterinary Association, said there were positives in the CMA’s findings but the industry had concerns that some of the measures outlined would affect the delivery of services,“In particular, we need clarity on the proposed introduction of comprehensive price lists,” he said, “Because how vet care is delivered is varied and complex and unless the CMA gets this right, it could end up creating greater confusion for consumers, which in turn could have a negative impact on animal welfare,”Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionPets at Home said its chain Vets for Pets had a joint venture structure under which most of its 451 practices were owned jointly with local individuals, usually vets,A spokesperson said Vets for Pets agreed that rules underpinning the sector needed to be updated and had been “calling on government to make progress on this for over two years”,Medivet, which has more than 350 branches in the UK, said more than half were co-owned with vets and that it already published prices for key treatments online.
It said it would engage constructively with the CMA.Sue Davies, the head of consumer protection policy at the consumer group Which?, said: “Research has shown that many pet owners have been exposed to bad practices like unclear pricing, potentially excessive or unnecessary charges and no independent route for resolving their complaints.“It’s clear that the regulation of this market has become outdated, to the detriment of both pet owners and vet practices.The government must act quickly to modernise this sector.”Responding to the CMA’s findings, analysts at Jefferies said: “The tone appears to be sharper, and the transparency directives perhaps more extensive than we had anticipated, albeit no material pricing controls have been proposed.
”Hargreaves Lansdown said: “The outcome is broadly as expected, but with no major negative surprises it should alleviate the uncertainty that’s been weighing on consumer and investor sentiment,”
Nature groups rebuke Reeves for ‘cynical’ 11th-hour planning bill changes
Last-minute changes to the government’s planning bill have sparked a furious backlash from nature groups who have mounted an attack on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, over her plans to remove environmental protections.The changes to the legislation come as it enters its final stages before being signed into law.Promoted by Reeves, they are designed to make it easier for developers to side-step environmental laws in order to build major projects such as AI datacentres.They include new powers for the government to overrule local democracy if councils refuse developments based on environmental grounds, or on issues such as water shortages.But in outspoken attacks on the chancellor, charities including household names such as the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts say Reeves is seeking to grab short-term growth headlines to save her budget, rather than well-thought-out reforms to planning
Pressure on Downing Street to release evidence in collapsed China spy case
Downing Street is under pressure to publish its evidence in the collapsed China spy case after the Crown Prosecution Service denied having blocked its release.Keir Starmer is likely to come under scrutiny at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday after the CPS said it was up to the government to release the evidence.The government has faced mounting pressure over its handling of the collapsed trial of Christopher Cash, a former parliamentary researcher, and Christopher Berry, a teacher. Both men, who deny wrongdoing, had been accused of passing secrets to China, but charges against them were dropped last month.The latest row came after sources within No 10 claimed Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, had gone to the CPS to discuss the publication of a witness statement central to the withdrawal of espionage charges against the two British men
Digital ID: Danes and Estonians find it ‘pretty uncontroversial’
For Danish teenagers, getting enrolled for MitID (my ID) has become somewhat of a rite of passage.From the age of 13, Danes can enrol for the national digital ID system, which can be used for everything from logging into online banking to signing documents electronically and booking a doctor’s appointment.But when they hit 15, all children and their parents receive a letter from the government advising them that from now on, the teenagers will receive their own official communications from authorities which will be sent to them via “digital post”, and they will need digital ID to access it.While there is the option to opt out and instead receive physical mail, few do. Today, 97% of the Danish population aged 15 and over is enrolled in MitID and only 5% of Danes have opted out of digital post
Keir Starmer back on familiar ground after walk-on part in the Trump show in Egypt | John Crace
Keir Starmer has always known that Monday’s visit to Egypt was going to be the Donald Trump Show. After all, almost every day is the Donald Trump Show and there was no way the US president was going to share the limelight on this of all days. The day when the living Israeli hostages were freed, 1,900 Palestinian detainees were freed and the first aid trucks entered Gaza.This was The Donald’s peace deal. A narcissist is going to narcissise
Starmer says he expects debate about ‘full horror’ of what happened in Gaza when media allowed in – as it happened
Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asks for more detail of what the UK is doing to help ensure more aid gets into Gaza.He says all the bodies of dead hostages need to be returned.And he asks what the UK is doing to ensure that the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank stops.Starmer thanks Davey for the “content and tone” of his response. (He is making a contrast with Badenoch’s
Farage, not Marxism, risks ‘poisoning our kids’ | Letters
I am one of those proud teachers that Nigel Farage has in mind (Nigel Farage accuses teachers of ‘poisoning our kids’ on race issues, 9 October). For many years, as part of teaching media, film and journalism, I sought to educate students about basic political terms and concepts. Marxism was, and is, nothing resembling the totalitarian bogeyman that the USSR so conveniently became. Marxism is a doctrine espousing fairness, equal opportunity, redistribution of wealth and emancipation. It aims to be fully democratic
Cauliflower risotto and sausages with squash and beans: Sophie Wyburd’s recipes for autumn warmers
How to make cinnamon buns – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
Punk Royale, London W1: ‘Someone shoved mystery slop in my mouth’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Enjoying my meat that’s low on miles | Letter
‘It’s really good for the staff’: how restaurants adapt to customers drinking less
Helen Goh’s recipe for pumpkin cheesecake with maple pecan brittle | The sweet spot