Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the implementation of the five-year national action plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR); and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their strategies to mitigate AMR through AMR funding and research.

The Department, through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), commissioned an evaluation of the first anti-microbial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), Tackling anti-microbial resistance 2019-2024. Interim findings from the evaluation were published in September 2024 and a summary report will be published when available. The research is being undertaken by the NIHR Policy Innovation and Evaluation Policy Research Unit and builds on a similar evaluation of the 2013-18 AMR Strategy.

The Department is also planning an evaluation of the new NAP, covering the period 2024 to 2029, which will aim to identify opportunities for improvement of implementation on AMR policy, provide robust evidence of the effectiveness of the 2024-29 NAP, and inform future AMR policy development and implementation.

The governance structure for the 2024 to 2029 UK AMR NAP monitors delivery of the NAP’s commitments and targets and manages programme risks. Delivery organisations are required to provide programme assurance updates biannually to ensure delivery is kept on track and that progress is being made. This data will also be used to produce an annual report that will provide an in-depth update on the progress made towards programme delivery.