Recommendation 3

Government has not been sufficiently transparent about what it is achieving against its AMR targets and commitments. Only one of the five domestic targets in the 2019–24 NAP was achieved, relating to reducing the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals. The other four, relating to reducing numbers of infections, reducing antimicrobial use in humans and using diagnostic tests were missed. The NAP also included 128 commitments, which were only tracked internally, with only seven of the 128 recorded as implemented. However, the government has not brought together and published information on this progress against its targets and commitments. In the AMR NAP 2024–29, the government acknowledged that progress had been slow in some areas, partly due to insufficient resources and focus. Government has also not published its chronic risk analysis of the AMR threat. recommendation DHSC and Defra should publish a regular update on their progress against the AMR targets and commitments. They should also coordinate with the Cabinet Office to include an assessment of the level of chronic risk that AMR presents.