The Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Registration) Regulations Order of Council 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order approves the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Registration) Regulations 2014 (“the 2014 Regulations”) made by the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“the RCVS”) under section 11 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (“the Act”) and which replace the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Registration) Regulations 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”). This Order also revokes the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Practitioners (Registration) Regulations Order of Council 2010 which approved the 2010 Regulations.

Part 2 of the 2014 Regulations makes provision about the keeping of the register of veterinary surgeons and the supplementary register of veterinary practitioners (maintained under section 8 of the Act.) Regulation 3 provides that the registrar may refuse to make an entry into the registers until the appropriate fees are paid, and sets out the circumstances in which a person’s name can be removed from a register for non-payment of fees.

The requirements to pay various fees are set out in Part 3, and the exact fees are set out in tables in Part 4. The fees are the same as in the 2010 Regulations but there is a change in the circumstances in which a registration fee of £150, rather than £299, is payable on temporary registration under section 7 of the Act. Under the 2010 Regulations that fee is applicable to nationals of developing countries undergoing certain courses of study lasting six months or less. The 2014 Regulations provide for that fee to be payable if practice by the registrant is restricted to a period of six months or less, regardless of the circumstances.

Regulation 8 continues to provide that no retention fee is payable by certain veterinary surgeons resident in the Republic of Ireland. The circumstances in which this applies are, however, now specified by reference to the Veterinary Surgeons (Agreement with the Republic of Ireland) Order 1988, SI 1988/784, rather than being set out in the Regulations.

Regulation 18 provides that where the circumstances of registrants change during the retention fee year, so that lower fees become payable, they may qualify for a credit (rather than a refund, as under the 2010 Regulations). The rules on adjustment of retention fees during the course of the year are also changed so as to provide that a lower fee is only payable if the relevant conditions are satisfied for the whole of a six-month period (1st April to 30th September or 1st October to 31st March) (see regulations 16 and 17.).

Under regulation 19, fees payable on restoration to the register are set at £299 or £75, as under the 2010 Regulations, but the higher rate is no longer applicable on the restoration of a name which was removed at the direction of the Disciplinary Committee. Regulation 20 provides for 50% of any registration or retention fee paid to be refunded to a registrant (other than a temporary registrant) whose name is removed voluntarily from the register before 1st October.

No impact assessment has been produced for this Instrument.