Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Government's 2019-24 AMR action plan progress lacks transparency and public accessibility.
Conclusion
The 2019–24 NAP’s commitments were tracked internally, and the government has not published information on its progress across all of its commitments.44 While some data on the 2019–24 NAP’s quantitative targets is available through publications by UKHSA and Defra, this information has not been brought together in one publication and is highly technical which may make it inaccessible to the lay reader.45 We received several written submissions which pointed to concerns about transparency on and accountability for the UK’s work on tackling AMR.46 This included a submission from the Microbiology Society which reported concern in the microbiology community that there was a lack of clarity on how the 2024–29 NAP will be implemented, how success will be measured and how government will be held accountable for its performance.47 38 Q 59 39 Qq 82–83; C&AG’s Report, para 3.6 40 Q 59 41 Q 36; C&AG’s Report, para 11 42 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.23–2.24 43 HM Government, Confronting antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, May 2024 44 C&AG’s Report, para 2.24. 45 UKHSA, English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance, 2023–24; Veterinary Medicines Directorate, UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Report 2022 46 AR0004, AR0005, AR0006, AR0015, AR0024 47 AR0015 13
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and commits to publishing a short annual report by Autumn, summarising progress against the 2024-2029 National Action Plan for AMR, building on existing data publications by UKHSA and VMD.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2025 3.2 The 2024-2029 NAP commits to publishing a short annual report summarising progress made against the NAP. The government will publish the first of these reports by the autumn, which describes activity during the first year of the NAP programme. 3.3 UKHSA publishes monthly data on a range of AMR indicators on the UKHSA data dashboard, and reports are provided to NHS Trusts on mandatory bloodstream infection surveillance demonstrating current performance against operational targets. 3.4 The annual report by the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR), published by UKHSA, produces national data on antimicrobial prescribing and resistance, antimicrobial stewardship implementation, and awareness activities. The report includes an annual update on England’s progress against the NAP AMR targets: Targets 1a, 1b, 2a, 4a and 4b. 3.5 VMD coordinates surveillance of antibiotic sales, usage and antibiotic resistance in animals, which are the primary indicators monitoring progress in improving antibiotic stewardship and reducing AMR in animals in the UK. The results are published in an annual report UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Surveillance Report.