Veterinary Surgeons Act 1948
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1948
(11 & 12 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 52.
An Act to make further provision for the teaching of veterinary surgery and for restricting the practice thereof by unqualified persons; to alter the constitution of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and of the Council of that College and otherwise to amend the law relating to veterinary surgeons; to exempt persons practising veterinary surgery from service on juries; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[30th July 1948]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Surgery.
Surgery.
1 Holders of certain university degrees to be qualified veterinary surgeons.
1. Where—
the Privy Council may by order direct that any person on whom the degree is conferred during the continuance in force of the order shall thereby be qualified to be a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and any such person shall, on application in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee, be registered in the Register of Veterinary Surgeons and become a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accordingly.
2 Revocation and suspension of orders under s. 1.
(1) If where an order under the foregoing section is in force it appears to the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons that the courses of study and examinations leading to the degree to which the order relates are no longer such as to justify the continuance in force of the order, the said Council may make representations to that effect to the Privy Council.
(2) Where any representations are made under the last foregoing subsection, the Privy Council shall give notice to the university in question that the representations have been made together with such particulars thereof as may be requisite to enable the university to formulate their observations thereon or objections thereto.
(3) The Privy Council shall consider any representations made under this section, and any observations thereon or objections thereto made by the university in question within such time not less than one month from the giving of the notice under the last foregoing subsection as the Privy Council may determine, and may if they think fit by order revoke or suspend the order under the last foregoing section.
(4) An order under the last foregoing subsection for the suspension of an order under section one of this Act may be revoked by a subsequent order of the Privy Council if it appears to them expedient in consequence of representations made by the Council of the said College or by the university in question that the order under section one should be revived.
3 Examination by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons of students of certain universities.
(1) On the application of any university in the United Kingdom, not being a university in the case of which an order is for the time being in force under section one of this Act, the Privy Council may after consultation with the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons direct that section four of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1881 (which requires that College to make provision for the examination of the students specified in that section and for their admission and registration if they pass the examination) shall apply to students in the university of such descriptions as may be specified in the direction.
(2) A direction under the last foregoing subsection shall cease to have effect on the coming into force of an order under section one of this Act, or may be revoked by a subsequent direction of the Privy Council made after consultation with the university in question and with the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
(3) If and when any of the colleges referred to in the said section four has become part of a university, then so long as an order under section one of this Act is in force in the case of the university the said section four shall not apply to students of the college except such as became students thereof before the coming into force of the order.
4 Supervisory functions of Council of College.
(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect for the purpose of securing that the courses of study to be followed by candidates for admission to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, whether in pursuance of this Act or otherwise, and the standard of proficiency required for admission thereto, shall be such as sufficiently to guarantee that persons admitted to the College will have acquired the knowledge and skill needed for the efficient practice of veterinary surgery; and it shall be the duty of the Council of the College to exercise the powers conferred on them by the said provisions so far as is necessary for the purpose aforesaid.
(2) The said Council shall have power to appoint persons to visit the universities in the case of which orders under section one of this Act are for the time being in force, and any other universities or colleges which for the time being provide courses leading to examination by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and to report upon the courses of study, staffing, accommodation and equipment available for training in veterinary surgery and the other arrangements and facilities for such training.
(3) The said Council may appoint persons to attend at examinations leading to a degree in the case of which an order under section one of this Act is for the time being in force, and to report to the Council as to the sufficiency of the examinations and as to such other matters relating thereto as the Council may require:
Provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise a person appointed thereunder to interfere with the conduct of any examination.
(4) On receipt of any report made under this section—
(a ) the Council shall send a copy thereof to the university or college concerned;
(b ) the university or college may within one month of the receipt of the copy make to the Council observations on the report or objections thereto;
(c ) as soon as may be after the expiration of the said month the Council shall send a copy of the report and of any observations thereon or objections thereto duly made, together with the Council's comments on the report and on any such observations or objections, to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Secretary of State or the Minister of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, according as the university or college in question is in England or Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
(5) Every university in the case of which an order under section one of this Act is for the time being in force shall, on a request in writing in that behalf made by the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, furnish the Council with such information as may be specified in the request as to the courses of study and examinations leading to the degree to which the order relates.
by unqualified persons.
by unqualified persons.
5 Restriction of practice of veterinary surgery by unqualified persons.
(1) Subject to the provisions of section seven of this Act, no person shall practise, or hold himself out as practising or as being prepared to practise, veterinary surgery unless he is—
(a ) registered in the Register of Veterinary Surgeons, or
(b ) registered in the Supplementary Veterinary Register kept in accordance with the next following section.
(2) The expression ‘veterinary surgery’ in the last foregoing subsection shall not include—
(a ) the doing of anything specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act and not excluded by Part II of that Schedule;
(b ) any minor treatment, test or operation specified by order of the Ministers under this paragraph made after consultation with the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, so long as any conditions specified in the order are complied with.
In this section the expression ‘the Ministers’ means the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Secretary of State and the Minister of Agriculture for Northern Ireland acting jointly.
(3) Any order of the Ministers made under paragraph (b ) of the last foregoing subsection may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order of the Ministers made after the like consultation.
(4) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds:
Provided that in any proceedings under this subsection it shall be a defence to prove that before the coming into operation of this section the defendant had duly applied for registration in the Supplementary Veterinary Register and that he had not at the time of the contravention been notified that his application had been refused.
(5) In the application of this section to Scotland the expression ‘defendant’ means an accused person.
(6) This section shall come into operation on the expiration of...
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