Increase in official veterinary rate

Vets who provide disease control surveillance in farm animals on behalf of the Scottish Ministers have started to receive higher pay rates as of this month (1 August).

Official Veterinarians (OVs) play a vital role in the delivery of a range of statutory duties and provide important support to the Animal and Plant Health Agency in disease surveillance, particularly TB testing, brucellosis investigations and anthrax inquiries.

Their work ensures that disease is detected at an earlier stage which will help reduce the spread of disease on farm and ultimately reduce the numbers of animals requiring to be removed from a herd or flock.

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said:

“Official Veterinarians do essential work and I am pleased to announce that from tomorrow all rates will be increased for OVs undertaking these statutory duties. These rates will be subject to a cumulative inflationary increase of 29.9% and will be maintained going forward by offering an increase of around 2% annually from 1 April 2025.

“Despite the challenging fiscal environment, we have earmarked up to £50,000 for the next year in recognition of the important role OVs play in keeping our farms and food chain safe.

“This funding will also support new and existing OVs to undertake the necessary training to gain essential skills in statutory surveillance and tuberculin testing.”

Background

In order to undertake statutory surveillance work OVs need to hold an official control qualification (OCQ) from Improve International, the appointed training provider for all aspects of OV work.

There are currently 385 OVs in Scotland qualified for Statutory Surveillance and 351 holding the qualification for Tuberculin Testing.

In financial year 2023-24 the Scottish Government  provided funding for 39 new OVs to undertake the training to qualify for either or both of these courses along with the mandatory training in Essential Skills.

The current fees payable to OVs were last reviewed and agreed in April 2017.

Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme: participating island practices

In related activity, the Scottish Government have published a list of the veterinary practices that cover the island areas involved in the Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme (HVISS). The list can be found at: Highlands and Islands Veterinary Services Scheme: participating island practices - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)