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AHVLA seeks views on proposals for competitive tendering for TB testing services in England and the development of veterinary partnerships

Published on Friday 19 August 2011 at 10:00

Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is seeking views from private veterinary practioners and the farming industry on its proposed approach to competitive tendering for TB testing services in England. Additionally, the agency would like to share its thinking on developing a more collaborative and strategic approach to working with private veterinary practices who carry out vital work on behalf of the agency.

From 19 September to 7 October the proposed approach to the TB tendering exercise in England will be available on the AHVLA website in the form of presentation material, including indicative information on lots, pricing, quality assurance and training. AHVLA is continuing discussions with the Welsh Government on the approach that will be taken in Wales and will make a further announcement in due course.

The material will also include the outline vision for developing veterinary partnerships. An online feedback tool will be available throughout this period and AHVLA welcomes views from all interested parties to help inform its proposals.

Supplementing the online material, AHVLA is holding three one-day stakeholder meetings during this period to listen to views on the TB tendering proposals for England, and to discuss what a strategic partnership between the agency and private veterinary practices might look like and how it might be developed. The meetings will mirror the content of the online presentation material as much as possible.

Dates and locations are as follows:

  • 20 September – Worcester AHVLA office (50 delegates)
  • 22 September – Exeter AHVLA office (50 delegates)
  • 4 October – York AHVLA office (50 delegates)

For more information about the meetings, and to register online, interested parties are referred to the Official Veterinarian section of the AHVLA website.

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Notes:

  1. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, working across Great Britain on behalf of Defra, Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

  2. Official Veterinarians (OVs) perform statutory veterinary work largely, but not exclusively, at the taxpayer’s expense. OVs working for AHVLA are private practitioners appointed and paid under the conditions of a memorandum of conditions of appointment (dated 1994) between the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and Defra.

  3. Whilst the scope of OV work is wide, the engagement of private practice OVs is most significant for the delivery of statutory testing for bovine TB paid for by the Government. During 2009/10 the agency’s annual expenditure for the supply of OV services across Great Britain was approximately £21m, 96% of which related to TB testing. Although there are nearly 10,000 OVs appointed by AHVLA, only 3,000 (from 660 veterinary practices) submitted claims for TB testing in 2009/10. The remainder carry out OV work at their clients’ expense, such as export certification of pets.

  4. The current procurement model, whereby AHVLA negotiates a standard fees structure with the BVA, does not comply with legal requirements under the European Directive 2004/18 and subsequent UK Public Contracts Regulations 2006, and consequently fails to demonstrate best value for money.

  5. In May 2010 AHVLA (then known as Animal Health) announced its intention to run an open tender competition for the OV services it purchases, in accordance with EU and domestic procurement law.

 

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Page last modified: 6 October, 2011