Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 30
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)
Another challenge relates to the NHS workforce. There is a shortfall of professionals in this area, including of medical microbiologists and virologists.77 According to the Royal College of Pathologists, there is a 20% shortfall in consultant medical microbiologists and a 14% shortfall in consultant virologists.78 UKHSA told us that these scientists are essential to ensure that national guidelines on AMR are used by hospitals, training staff and providing input into infection control and the built environment.79 NHS England said that workforce shortfalls will be addressed through the long-term workforce plan and that it was reviewing postgraduate medical training to ensure enough people were going into these specialties.80 We also heard that there are — and testing — in the UK which had to be revolved so that own could be properly
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".