Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
30th Report - Antimicrobial resistance: addressing the risks
Published 13 Jun 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Antimicrobial resistance: addressing the risks All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The government deserves credit for introducing an antibiotic subscription model, and it now needs to evaluate its impact on the usage of antibiotics and pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to bring new antibiotics to the market. The UK was one of the first countries to develop a subscription model, under which pharmaceutical companies are paid a flat-rate subscription for recently-licensed antibiotics. The first round of contracts is expected to cost £1.9 billion over 16 years. This is intended to encourage investment in developing new antibiotics while also facilitating reductions in their use. However, the UK is only 3% of the global market for antibiotics and pharmaceutical companies will remain free to decide whether to invest more in research and development of new antibiotics. However, as part of Government funding of the subscription model, we would expect these companies to do so. recommendation The Government should encourage other countries to introduce an antibiotic subscription model, including by disseminating the results of its monitoring and evaluation of the UK model. The evaluation should include an assessment of the impact on pharmaceutical companies’ focus on developing new antibiotics.
From: Public Accounts Committee, 30th Report - Antimicrobial resistance: addressing the risks (HC 646), 13 June 2025
Government response
Latest Treasury Minutes progress report to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirtieth Report of Session 2024-26
The government responded to the whole report on 4 June 2026 (deadline 13 August 2025).
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirtieth report from Session 2024-26
Published 18 September 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it agrees with the Committee's recommendations on antimicrobial resistance, and sets out target implementation dates ranging from Winter 2025 to Autumn 2027.
- On progress against targets, the government agrees, and says targets are subject to annual review over the summer, "with the potential to revise, if deemed appropriate and agreed by the UK AMR Strategy Board".
- On transparency, it agrees and says the government "will publish the first of these reports by the autumn", describing activity during the first year of the 2024-2029 National Action Plan.
- On diagnostics, it agrees (target date Spring 2027) and says engagement will inform an "infection diagnostics framework" by 2027, with point-of-care test pilots reporting in 2026-2027.
- On wastewater, it agrees (target date Autumn 2027); the department "will provide a full response via a White Paper in Autumn 2025" and "will commission further research" on evidence gaps "by Summer 2026".