The VMD has agreed to a request from the Marketing Authorisation Holder Zoetis UK Limited to change the legal distribution category of this anthelmintic (i.e. wormer) for sheep.

Startect Dual Active Oral Solution is authorised for the treatment and control of mixed gastro-intestinal nematode infections and associated diseases of sheep.

The legal distribution category of this product was changed from POM-V to POM-VPS on 24 August 2017. This means that pharmacists and suitably qualified persons (SQPs), as well as vets, are now legally permitted to prescribe this anthelmintic.

Increasing the availability of this anthelmintic should help it to be incorporated into strategic worm control programmes on farms in line with best practice guidance on worm control. This could result in long term health benefits for sheep, for example by reducing the development and spread of anthelmintic resistance, thereby prolonging the effective use of anthelmintics.

Prescribers should contact Zoetis UK Limited if they require more information regarding the availability of this product.

Making sure anthelmintics are used properly

Making sure anthelmintics continue to be effective is essential for the long term health, welfare and productivity of animals. The volume and appropriateness of use of all anthelmintics significantly influences the rate of development of anthelmintic resistance in the target parasites. Anthelmintics must therefore be used appropriately to minimise further development of resistance.

Farm animal SQPs will have additional training to ensure they are sufficiently familiar with Startect and how to prescribe it effectively and responsibly so that it is used appropriately. A new compulsory training module is being implemented by The Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority (AMTRA) to augment the skills of all AMTRA-registered SQPs permitted to prescribe farm animal products. New SQPs will be required to undertake a revised and extended module before gaining their farm animal registration with AMTRA.

Monitoring anthelmintic resistance

Farmers and prescribers should report any suspected adverse events or lack of efficacy to any anthelmintic to the VMD. This is essential in order to understand the prevalence and nature of anthelmintic resistance and to inform prescribing decisions.

Both companies supply pay-to-use and free-to-use cashpoints (ATMs) at sites across the UK.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) began investigating the merger in January, referring it for a phase 2 inquiry by an independent group of panel members in May.

This group considered whether the merger would reduce competition and result in higher surcharges at pay-to-use cashpoints.

In their provisional findings, published today, the inquiry group found that the presence of free-to-use ATMs, and the availability of alternative non-cash payment methods, are likely to constrain such surcharges at pay-to-use machines.

The group also provisionally found that contracts and relationships with the owners of sites at which ATMs are installed would limit the merged company’s incentives to increase surcharges.

There was also evidence that ATM surcharges are not set according to local competition and that the merger would be unlikely to change this.

Alasdair Smith, CMA Inquiry Chair, said:

We’ve looked carefully at the scope for the merger to result in cashpoint users paying higher charges at pay-to-use ATMs. As part of our in-depth inquiry, we surveyed consumers and spoke to the owners of a wide range of premises at which these machines are installed.

We’ve provisionally found that the merger does not provide the merged company with an incentive to increase surcharges for people using pay-to-use ATMs, not least because of the increasing use of non-cash payment methods and the decline in the use of pay-to-use ATMs relative to free-to-use ATMs.

We’re now asking for views on these provisional findings and will assess all the evidence before making a final decision.

All information relating to this merger inquiry can be found on the case page.

Anyone wishing to respond to the provisional findings should do so in writing, by no later than 5:00pm on Friday 15 September 2017.

Please email cardtronics.directcash@cma.gsi.gov.uk or write to:

Notes for editors

1. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law.
2. The summary of provisional findings can be found on the case page. The full provisional findings report will be published shortly.
3. The CMA referred the case for in-depth investigation on 15 May 2017.
4. The members of the inquiry group are: Alasdair Smith (Chair), Rosalind Hedley-Miller and Gavin Robert.
5. All the CMA’s functions in phase 2 merger inquiries are performed by independent inquiry groups chosen from the CMA’s panel members. The appointed inquiry group are the decision-makers on phase 2 inquiries.
6. The CMA’s panel members come from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, law, accountancy and business; the membership of an inquiry group usually reflects a mix of expertise and experience.
7. For more information on the CMA see our homepage or follow us on Twitter @CMAgovuk, Flickr and LinkedIn and like our Facebook page. Sign up to our email alerts to receive updates on mergers cases.
8. Media enquiries should be directed to press@cma.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3738 6798.

Arts Minister John Glen has placed a temporary export bar on a Scottish two-part seal matrix to provide an opportunity to keep it in the country.

The seal matrices are at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £151,250.

The front is engraved with St Margaret, Dunfermline Abbey’s founding saint, and the reverse bears the royal arms of Scotland. It carries an inscription that translates as “Robert, by the Grace of God, King of the Scots”.

It is thought that the seal matrix pair could date back to the the reign of Robert I, King of Scotland, known as Robert the Bruce, although some experts believe it could be a later replica of a lost original from the late Middle Ages.

Arts Minister John Glen said:

This incredibly rare item is of outstanding significance to the study of seals, and is all the more fascinating for its potential association with Robert the Bruce.

I hope that a buyer comes forward to help keep this unique object in the UK so we may learn more about its history.

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the [Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by The Arts Council. It was previously subject to an export deferral in 2016, which was suspended to allow new information about its history to be considered.

RCEWA member Leslie Webster said:

This remarkable two-part seal matrix is unique, and if it indeed dates to the reign of Robert the Bruce (1306-1329) it is an item of outstanding importance, as one of the few objects directly associated with his reign, a decisive period in the history of the Kingdom of Scotland.

An alternative possibility, that it might be a later copy of a lost original, does not diminish its considerable significance for the study of medieval seal-dies, and opens up new avenues of research.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the seal’s outstanding significance to Scottish antiquarianism and sigillography (the study of seals).

The decision on the export licence application for the seal will be deferred until 24 November 2017. This may be extended until 24 February 2018 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £151,250.

Offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements, where appropriate, may also be considered by John Glen. Such purchases frequently offer substantial financial benefit to a public institution wishing to acquire the item.

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the seal should contact the RCEWA on 0845 300 6200.

Images of the seal matrix pair can be downloaded via our flickr site.

Notes to editors

1. Details of the seal are as follows: A two-part cokete seal matrix for the Abbey of Dunfermline, within a 19th century presentation box. The matrices are made of copper alloy, in a wooden presentation box. Each matrix is 55mm in diameter, weight 337 grams. Date unknown.
2. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by The Arts Council, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.
3. The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. www.artscouncil.org.uk.