Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to provide legal protection for the title of veterinary nurse.

Defra recognises the important work carried out by veterinary nurses across the country, and the legal protection of the title is part of the ongoing consideration of legislative actions. Suitably qualified practitioners can sign up to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ register of veterinary nurses, which holds around 19,000 currently. Defra officials continue to work with stakeholders across the sector on possible avenues for legislative reform and will explore the inclusion of protection of the title within any future reforms, when parliamentary time allows.