Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Cabinet Office FOI disclosure FOI2025/05753 of 12 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of cancelling the (a) Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (b) Help Us Help You: Cancer the communications campaigns on health outcomes.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has not conducted a formal assessment regarding the potential impact of cancelling the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign. UKHSA remains committed to promoting the importance of using antibiotics correctly, and in Spring launched a new pilot campaign to re-engage priority audience groups with the correct behaviors in terms of antibiotic usage. The evaluation of this campaign will support plans to develop the campaign further, if funding becomes available. UKHSA is planning proactive public and system facing activity for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, from 18 to 24 November 2025, and is using all relevant opportunities to build understanding of antimicrobial resistance and what the public can do to combat it. For these reasons, UKHSA has not conducted a formal assessment regarding the potential impact of cancelling the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign, specifically.

NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms as well as encouraging body awareness to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. The Department has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of cancelling the Help Us Help You campaigns.