Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Accepted in Part
New 2024-29 AMR Action Plan targets are less ambitious and potentially insufficient
Recommendation
The 2024–29 National Action Plan (NAP) includes new targets which are less stretching than the targets in the 2019–24 NAP. While the government previously set targets for reductions of 50% in Gram-negative bloodstream infections and 10% in drug-resistant infections, the corresponding targets in the 2024–29 NAP only seek to prevent an increase in the number of these infections from a 2019–20 baseline.31 NHS England told us it believes these targets are still challenging due to changing demographics, in particular an increasing and ageing population with comorbidities.32 However, it is not clear that the new targets are ambitious enough to achieve a meaningful mitigation of the threat of AMR in the UK.33 Lord O’Neill told us that he believed that the 2024–29 NAP could be more ambitious in some areas.34 UKHSA told us that it considers that the targets are challenging. It promised that if government was overachieving and able to hit targets early then it would review and reset those targets during the course of the 2024–29 NAP.35
Government Response Summary
The government agrees to monitor progress against NAP human health targets biannually and review them annually, with potential for revision if deemed appropriate, but states that preventing an increase in drug-resistant and gram-negative bloodstream infections from the 2019 baseline is already ambitious due to demographic changes.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2025 2.2 Progress against NAP human health targets is closely monitored, using data to assess effectiveness, guide future action, and ensure alignment with broader public health objectives. The government conducts formal reporting on these targets biannually. Additionally, 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. 2.3 Analysis of surveillance trends will inform recommendations on the range and ambition of targets. UKHSA will also model trends in specific drug-resistant infections, accounting for population changes, to project counterfactual trends. Expert advice on target revisions will be sought from the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Prescribing, Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection. 2.4 The government supports achievable targets being set, to help secure support from the healthcare system and contribute to long-term change. UKHSA predicts the incidence of drug-resistant and gram-negative blood stream infections will continue to rise due to 20 increasing age, medical comorbidities, and population demographic changes. Therefore, preventing an increase in these infections from the 2019 baseline is currently ambitious. 2.5 The government has previously supported targets developed by the livestock sectors through the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) Targets Task Force on AMR, which have resulted in a 59% reduction in antibiotic use in livestock since 2014. The livestock sectors, coordinated by RUMA, are developing a new set of sector-specific targets, which are due to be published in late 2025. If sufficiently ambitious, the Vetinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) will incorporate them into the NAP delivery programme.