Calls for Defra to re-think pay rate for overseas vets

MPs have backed veterinary calls for a cut to newly imposed salary requirements for the recruitment of overseas clinicians to work in the UK.

Ministers have been urged to work with professional and industry bodies to reach “appropriate” thresholds, amid fears the current rules will prevent all but the most experienced from practising here.

Defra officials said they were already engaging with the sector, though they insisted international recruitment cannot be a “single solution”.

‘Urgent’ need

But the EFRA select committee warned that there remained a “significant and urgent” need for overseas professionals while UK training capacity was expanded.

In a letter to the department, dated 7 May, committee chairperson Sir Robert Goodwill highlighted figures showing the number of EU vets registering to work in the UK last year remained below half of pre-Brexit levels.

He added: “We are concerned that the current minimum salary thresholds could further diminish our access to veterinary resources.”

Minimum salary

Concerns were raised about the £48,100 minimum annual salary threshold for overseas vets even before it came into force last month, with the RCVS subsequently warning the measure was “unsustainable” for the sector.

The committee’s letter described the issues relating to the skilled worker visa as their “most immediate concern”.

It also said the college and the BVA had suggested reducing the threshold to £38,700 per year in their own correspondence with the department.

Sir Robert wrote that, while the panel commended the development of new UK vet schools, the UK remains “reliant on recruiting veterinary professionals from overseas” until their first graduates begin to emerge.

He added: “It is important that Defra, working with the Home Office, considers the implications of the incoming salary requirements and adjusts those requirements for veterinary professionals where necessary.

“It must ensure that our biosecurity and food security are not compromised.

“Both departments, as a matter of urgency, should engage with stakeholders such as the FSA, Food Standards Scotland, the RCVS and the BVA to develop appropriate minimum salary thresholds for veterinary surgeons and nurses, meat hygiene inspectors and other allied professionals.”

Separate hearings

The letter, which followed two separate hearings held in March, raised further concerns about the current levels of funding for veterinary education.

It urged the department to examine measures including increased degree funding to enable more UK students to enrol, schemes to write off student debts to incentivise work in under-served regions and roles, plus funding of the college’s aspiration to offer direct accreditation of certain EU vet schools.

The committee has also called for a consultation process on a new Veterinary Surgeons Act to be launched during the remainder of the current Parliament, with a general election currently widely expected to take place in the autumn.

Sir Robert added that some issues, including college plans to reform the statutory membership exam for overseas vets and the BCVA’s call for an expansion of the technician’s role to support farm vets, could also be addressed through secondary legislation, without a new act.

‘Value work of vets’

In response, a Defra spokesperson said: “We value the work of vets and other professionals who work with animals, and we are considering the best way to utilise them to ease the burden on veterinary capacity both now and in the future.

“As part of our efforts, we established a Veterinary Education and Future Capacity Working Group, working with the public and private sector to help reduce workforce shortages and promote a sustainable education system capable of delivering across all sectors of the veterinary profession.”