Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many currently used veterinary medicine products will not be available in Northern Ireland following the Windsor Framework proposals taking effect on 31 December.
Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period remains a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder consultation, the current situation indicates our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes. We do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations. The Government also set out two new schemes, The Veterinary Medicine Internal Market Scheme and the Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme, in its policy paper 'Protecting Animal Health' on 19 June. These two schemes are designed to build resilience and to plug any gaps that arise in the supply or availability of veterinary medicines necessary for animal health and welfare.