The Government recognises the importance of veterinarians who want to live and work in the UK and make a significant contribution to animal health. It is important that we do not just attract undergraduates but also provide for existing veterinary staff to have a fulfilling and satisfying career. The dropout rate from the profession is concerning. Therefore government officials are considering what can be done to attract and retain staff in the veterinary sector.<\/p>
We are currently considering the proposals received from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for a new Veterinary Surgeons Act and are also exploring how best to revise veterinary legislation accordingly.<\/p>
Following advice from Defra and the veterinary sector, the veterinary profession was added to the Government's Shortage Occupation List in September 2019. This has enabled employers to recruit overseas veterinary surgeons more easily. We will provide expert analysis and advice when the Shortage Occupation List is next reviewed.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4055", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mark Spencer"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sherwood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mark Spencer"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-09-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "44954"} , {"_value" : "45153"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-09-20T08:48:30.253Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-09-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Veterinary Medicine: Vacancies"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle staffing shortages in the veterinary sector.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4755", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mick Whitley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birkenhead"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mick Whitley"} ], "uin" : "45148"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1453868", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1453868/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government is working with the veterinary profession, including the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, to help ensure that there will be an adequate number of vets across all sectors of the veterinary profession.<\/p>
<\/p>
Defra, alongside the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association, was successful in campaigning for the addition of the veterinary profession to the Shortage Occupation List by the Home Office in September 2019. This enabled employers to recruit overseas veterinary surgeons more easily. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons continues to accept the vast majority of European veterinary degrees as well as maintaining mutual recognition agreements with many English-speaking countries that allow automatic registration for overseas vets.<\/p>
<\/p>
Defra is also strongly considering proposals from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to increase the range of activities that can be delegated to allied professionals who work with animals to ease the pressure on the workload of the practising vet.<\/p>
<\/p>
We are also looking forward to an increase in UK-trained vets thanks to several new veterinary schools opening across the UK. These include Surrey University, which saw its first cohort graduate in 2019, Harper Adams and Keele University, the University of Central Lancashire, Scottish Rural College and a collaboration between Aberystwyth University and the Royal Veterinary College. The increase in veterinary schools will lead to an increase in UK-trained vets graduating in the longer term.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1547", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Benyon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Benyon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-04-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-04-05T10:50:57.587Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-03-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Veterinary Medicine: Vacancies"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage veterinary surgeons to work in the UK to ensure that there is adequate cover for (1) animal welfare, and (2) public health.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1850", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Masham of Ilton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Masham of Ilton"} ], "uin" : "HL7291"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1362638", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1362638/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
There are no current plans to discuss extending the waiver on level 7 language requirements for official veterinarians supporting the delivery of official controls in abattoirs. Nor are there any plans to discuss relaxing the technical supervisory conditions imposed because of that waiver. Defra has therefore not raised these proposals in discussion with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4401", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Prentis"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Prentis"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-01T15:53:52.857Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "13"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Environment, Food and Rural Affairs"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-10-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Veterinary Medicine: Vacancies"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions officials in his Department are having with representatives of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons on (a) extending the waiver on level 7 English language requirements for Official Veterinarians introduced in June 2021 and (b) relaxing the technical supervisory conditions imposed as a condition of that waiver.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3997", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alec Shelbrooke"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Elmet and Rothwell"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Alec Shelbrooke"} ], "uin" : "61143"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }