Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) steps he is planning to take to take to strengthen antimicrobial resistance (i) surveillance and (ii) diagnostic capacity following the conclusion of the Fleming Fund programme and (b) support his Department is providing to help laboratories maintain continuity of services while national governments build long-term capacity.

Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a priority for the UK Government, and is vital also for protecting our NHS. The UK played a key role in securing an action-oriented Political Declaration from the UN High Level Meeting on AMR last September, including on the importance of strengthening multisectoral surveillance. The UK is working with our partners to drive robust implementation of the commitments from the Political Declaration. Regarding specific UK funding, we are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments, ahead of publishing indicative multi-year allocations in the autumn.