Reconstitution for RCVS disciplinary committees
A Legislative Reform Order (LRO) has been approved to amend the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, in order to update the disciplinary system for vets.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) disciplinary committees are now to be reconstituted and separated from its council, following finalisation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Minister.
From April 6, 2013, RCVS Preliminary Investigation and Disciplinary Committees must be made up of veterinary surgeons and lay members who are not members of the RCVS Council. The changes come after extensive consultations between Defra and the RCVS.
During parliamentary scrutiny of the LRO, which will amend part one of schedule two of the 1966 Act, the aim was to improve how the RCVS regulates the profession and ensure independence of those who adjudicate on complaints in the profession.
The first external members will join the Disciplinary and Preliminary Investigation Committees from July and, after a two-year transition period, council members will be phased out of the committees.
“I am delighted the LRO has been made and I am immensely thankful for the hard work of the Defra team and my colleagues in the college," said the president of the RCVS, Jacqui Molyneux.
"The LRO is the single biggest reform to the regulation of veterinary surgeons since the 1966 Act, and it will bring the RCVS in line with regulatory best practice and improve the perception of the independence of the RCVS disciplinary processes.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
