Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 9
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 ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
There are shortcomings in data collection and sharing, hindering efforts to tackle AMR. The UK government operates a ‘One Health’ approach to AMR, encompassing human health, animal health, food safety and the environment, and intended to facilitate collaboration between these sectors. However, there are significant gaps in the collection of data on animal health relating to AMR, where routine data collection is focused on only pigs and poultry. Data sharing is also limited within the health and care sector, including between primary care and hospitals, or between hospitals and social care. This can make it harder for clinicians to make decisions on infection management and prescribing antimicrobials. DHSC also needs better data on AMR as a health inequalities issue, on which the 2024–29 NAP has a greater focus than before, to understand how groups are disproportionately affected, for example babies, the elderly, people with lower socio-economic status, and specific ethnic groups. recommendation DHSC and Defra should prioritise better data collection, sharing and analysis across human, animal and environmental health spheres. 7 1 The threat of antimicrobial resistance in the UK Introduction
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".