Official Development Assistance

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, antimicrobial resistance is a huge security threat to the United Kingdom, as well as a health threat and an economic threat. The noble Lord, Lord O’Neill, from these Benches, was commissioned by the Government in 2014 to conduct a review on AMR, and that led to the foundation of the Fleming Fund, which has now been killed off. In the other place, the Government said:

“While the Fleming Fund itself is not continuing, the partnerships, the information and the expertise are”.


Can the Minister help me to understand what that actually means, given we have killed a major institutional organisation, which has been genuinely world-leading in the field of AMR?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I think those comments were made by the Minister for Public Health, Minister Dalton, at the International Development Committee last week. I would invite the noble Baroness to look at how we are focusing on function and not form. The decision from the Department of Health and Social Care, led by Chris Whitty, on research and development, is that the work and benefits of the Fleming Fund, which she quite rightly points out have been outstanding in its work on antimicrobial resistance, must continue. Much has been learned through the Fleming Fund, but it is right that we evolve that into other agencies so that we can get the benefit from that.