National Audit Office: Investigation into how government is addressing antimicrobial resistance (26 February 2025)

Summary

For some years, the World Health Organization and other international bodies have urged countries to take wide-ranging measures to reduce the spread of AMR. In the UK, such action involves multiple public bodies including the Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), where AMR policy is led by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), and the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These and other public bodies have been coordinating their activities using five-year national action plans.

The National Audit Office are investigating the government’s response to AMR because it is a serious public health threat, and because the UK’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic showed the country was not as resilient to such threats as it expected to be.

This report sets out information on the risk posed by AMR and the UK government’s response. It focuses on the response in England, where the UK government has responsibility for the NHS and key aspects of animal health and environmental policy.