Vets and pets: the next steps

In September 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook a market review of the veterinary sector, recognising that this is a critical market for the UK’s 16 million pet owners. The review received an unprecedented response from the public and veterinary professionals, and as a result the CMA consulted on whether to make a Market Investigation Reference (MIR). The Alliance responded to this consultation in April 2024. In May 2024 the CMA then launched a market investigation into the supply of veterinary services for household pets.  

The CMA has now (15 October) published its provisional decision report, setting out its provisional findings with respect to the competition assessment and proposed remedies. There will now be a further consultation before the CMA makes its final report. 

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the CMA's Martin Coleman said veterinary prices had increased by 63% over a seven-year period, which is nearly twice the rate of inflation.  

The provisional proposals include: 

• Empowering pet owners to help them choose between vet practices, including requiring veterinary businesses to publish comprehensive price lists, make the lists available to an online comparison service and be clear whether a practice is independent or part of a large group. The CMA plans to require a regular survey to publicise pet owners’ experiences of different veterinary businesses.
• Supporting pet owners to know what to expect and make choices by requiring veterinary businesses to give pet owners clear information when they are: choosing a treatment (with written estimates for treatments of £500 or more and itemised bills); subscribing to a pet plan (so it is easier to judge if the plan is good value for money); or arranging a cremation. The CMA wants to ensure that veterinary businesses have in place written policies and processes to ensure that vets and vet nurses can give pet owners independent and impartial advice.
• Enabling pet owners to make large savings on what they pay for medicines by requiring vets to tell them that the price of medicines can be significantly cheaper online; making it easier to use online pharmacies; imposing a cap on prescription charges; and incentivising vets to reduce their medicine prices.
• Helping pet owners when things go wrong by requiring all veterinary businesses to have the right systems in place when people need to complain and sharing data with the regulator about complaints, to build best practice. 
• Ensuring out-of-hours services are responsive by making it easier for veterinary practices to terminate out-of-hours contracts where they believe there is a better alternative for their customers.

The CMA has the power to deliver these changes, supported by an enhanced role for the sector regulator, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. However, the CMA is not only interested in the cost of veterinary treatment and medicines but also the regulatory framework. As the CMA notes: “competition alone, important as it is, will never be enough to fully protect pet owners in a complex clinical services market like veterinary services. Effective regulation is essential and the current regulatory regime, set up in 1966, is not fit for purpose. It applies to individual vets but not to the businesses in which they work and therefore fails to regulate the part of the system that gives rise to the greatest concerns… We are provisionally recommending to government that long overdue new legislation must now be put into place…This is not imposing new regulation where there was none before but replacing an inadequate outdated regime with one that works for pet owners and veterinary professionals alike”. In 2013, around 10% of vet practices belonged to large groups, but that share is now over 60% and growing. 

The CMA has published a useful summary of its proposals and anyone wishing to respond to this consultation can do so here. The deadline for submissions is 12 November 2025. 

The Alliance will continue to press for the CMA to introduce the necessary reforms and for the government to introduce the legislation needed to ensure proper regulation of the industry.