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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the establishment of (i) online and (ii) centralised distributors and (b) other market concentration in the veterinary medicines supply chain in Northern Ireland after 31 December 2025 on consumer choice.

The Government is committed to ensuring the continued supply and availability of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period.

Through our extensive engagement, we are aware of multiple companies who are either already established in Northern Ireland or are planning to set up as online retailers in Northern Ireland. This is expected to ensure medicines remain available through these online channels.

From 1 January, the Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme (VMIMS) and the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme will exist to plug any supply gaps that emerge. However, based on our current assessment, we do not expect a significant number of discontinuations to occur. We are also working to ensure that the VMIMS operates in a way that reflects how consumers obtain medicines at present.