advanced qualifications such as Advanced Practitioner status in areas such as consulting, medical and surgical roles. This could lead to greater autonomy within a specified framework.
BVNA also highlighted its members ' concerns regarding the lack of parity between VSs and RVNs under the RCVS – such as RVNs being associates rather than members of the RCVS. BVNA ' s vision for parity for veterinary nurses would include equal input into professional leadership for the profession, along with opportunities such as Fellowships, which are currently available only for VSs.
In 2021, the RCVS Legislative Working Party( LWP), in which BVNA was also involved, identified a number of areas where the VSA should be reviewed. It made several recommendations, which can be viewed at https:// www. rcvs. org. uk / news-and-views / publications / rcvs-recommendations-for-futureveterinary-legislation /.
Key areas of focus for veterinary legislation
Having considered the recommendations put forward by the LWP, Defra identified key areas for review. The review identified eight areas to investigate( Figure 1), and Defra held two meetings a week, between January and July 2025, to focus on these areas.
Defra is interested in biosecurity and food security, and growing and supporting the veterinary profession by improving access to it. It considers that ensuring the new legislation is fit for purpose is essential for improving animal welfare and allowing the profession the flexibility to react to any future challenges. Regulation, whether of veterinary practices or individual veterinary professionals, is foremost for animal welfare and public protection.
While new legislation will not address all the issues and challenges facing the veterinary profession, it is essential that it is fit for purpose, flexible and future-proofed.
What is the process for legislative reform?
In politics, everything takes time. There are a lot of processes new legislation must go through to change a Bill( a proposal) to an Act( where the King gives Royal Assent to the Bill to make it legislation). Initially, government departments complete policy work to see if a change in legislation is necessary.
Although BVNA has called for the reform of the VSA before, this time is different: it has the attention of Defra, which is proactively setting up for future legislation, as well as government ministers in the House of Commons, and peers in the House of Lords, including Baroness Hayman, all of whom are advocates for change.
The Competition and Markets Authority( CMA) investigation into veterinary services for household pets( see page 6) has increased advocacy for reform of the VSA, with the CMA investigation also adding to the call for legislative reform.
Once Defra has prepared a proposal, it will bid for one of the 20 – 30 slots in the legislative programme of each Parliamentary session. The Parliament Business and Legislative Committee will decide which Bills will be heard based on a number of factors, such as the Prime Minister ' s objectives and the complexity of the proposal. The bid for a slot is put in around 6 – 9 months before a Parliamentary session begins.
The Bill will then move through the House of Commons and the House of Lords until a consensus has been agreed( Figure 2, page 9).
Figure 1. The eight key areas for review.
Defra is looking to ensure that the new legislation supports the whole veterinary team, with appropriate utilisation of the skills of VSs, RVNs and allied veterinary professionals.
At some point, there is likely to be an opportunity to engage in the process via consultation, which means that veterinary nurses will get to have a say in what the legislation looks like.
BVNA is calling for the 25,000 RVNs and 6,000 SVNs to give their feedback and raise concerns or identify positive aspects. This is truly an amazing time to be part of the veterinary nursing profession: YOUR VOICE MATTERS.
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