Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Not Addressed
Persistent barriers, including political disengagement, continue to hinder effective departmental project evaluations.
Conclusion
In our May 2022 report on evaluation, we pointed out that the same barriers to departments doing more evaluations had been in place since 2013. These include a lack of political engagement and a lack of incentives for departments to produce evaluations. HM Treasury told us that it still has more to do to address these barriers. It told us that departments have the desire to demonstrate what they have delivered for their investment. However, the time it can take for value and benefits to be realised, as well as the time it can take to carry out an evaluation means that evaluations are not always carried out. In particular, these issues of timing do not always match with the political cycle of, for example, elections and spending reviews, which can mean that departments are not incentivised. HM Treasury told us that because the cost of an evaluation is small compared to the cost of delivering a project, it does not consider cost to be a barrier.10 Cross-government working
Government Response Summary
Despite stating agreement, the government's response details actions related to monitoring healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in humans and animals, including a new data dashboard from UKHSA by Autumn 2025 and novel AMR surveillance pilots in animals until 2029. This does not address the committee's conclusion about barriers to government project evaluations.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Health sectors. UKHSA launched a new data dashboard in February 2025, including data on healthcare associated infections and AMR prevalence. Further AMR indicators for urinary tract infections will be uploaded by Autumn 2025. UKHSA has disaggregated ESPAUR report data on antimicrobial use and resistance by factors associated with health inequalities: age, index of multiple deprivation, geography (antimicrobial use and resistance data) and ethnicity (AMR data), to better understand AMR as a health inequalities issue. NHSE is working with UKHSA to develop a joint data strategy to support a coordinated approach to data collection and reporting, including exploring a new national infection management audit to help systems identify key aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infection. While current budgets preclude comprehensive surveillance in healthy animals across all major animal species, Defra’s current prioritisation of monitoring pigs and poultry is appropriate, as pork and poultry are the most consumed meats in the UK. However, research and surveillance pilots in other species are underway. The VMD’s work with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and academic partners on engagement with private veterinary laboratories to address gaps in clinical surveillance data on AMR is funded to the end of 2025–26. In parallel, VMD is developing novel AMR surveillance pilots in healthy animals, including new national projects targeting dogs, cats, and equines, stretching until 2029. Data from earlier AMR pilot studies continue to be analysed and shared across government to support One Health working. The fourth UKHSA and VMD Joint UK One Health Report on AMR and antimicrobial use is also scheduled for publication in 2026.