Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on banning the use of antibiotics in healthy farm animals.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues.
The Government takes a ‘One Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the UK National Action Plan on AMR. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate meet regularly to consider appropriate actions to address AMR across the human and animal health sectors. This has included discussion on the use of antibiotics to prevent disease in farm animals.
Defra is a co-signatory with DHSC of the UK's AMR five-year National Action Plan (2019-2024) and the UK's 20-year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040. Defra leads on the animal, plant and environment elements of the National Action Plan. A key ambition of these strategies is the appropriate use of antibiotics in humans and animals so that they continue to be an effective tool to treat infections when needed. The Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. It has been our position for many years that we do not support the routine or predictable use of antibiotics, including where antibiotics are used to compensate for inadequate farming practices.
To date in the UK, collaborative working between the Government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors to focus on these issues has resulted in our national sales of veterinary antibiotics reducing by 55% since 2014, and in 2021 we recorded the lowest antibiotic use to date. The UK is one of the lowest users of veterinary antibiotics across Europe, with only seven other European countries having sold fewer antibiotics in 2021 (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia). Changes to the law on veterinary medicines represent one tool which can be used to help effect reductions in antibiotic prescribing in animals. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 are currently under review, and the feedback from the recently closed consultation public consultation will be analysed and considered.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care published on 9 May, what steps they are taking to ensure that the training provided to pharmacists and pharmacy staff equips them with the necessary skills to prescribe antibiotics.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The delivery plan for recovering access to primary care will enable community pharmacies to supply prescription-only medicines for seven common conditions under Patient Group Directions (PGDs). PGDs are written instructions enabling certain health care professionals to supply or administer medicines to patients without a prescription. Any pharmacy offering this service will have to declare they are competent to deliver the service and pharmacists supplying medicines under PGDs must have undertaken the training set out in those specific PGDs.
Antimicrobial stewardship is a priority for the Government and NHS England. Action to embed antimicrobial stewardship principles in community pharmacy teams has formed part of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme in the National Health Service contractual arrangements.
The supply of antibiotics under the new service will be monitored by collecting and analysing data about the supply of medicines, including antibiotics, in the same way that data is collected on prescribing in general practice.
In addition, in May, the National Institute for Health and Care Research issued a research call for a robust wrap around evaluation of the Pharmacy First service to understand its impact, safety, cost effectiveness, acceptability and implications for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care published on 9 May, what measures are in place to ensure proper monitoring and surveillance when community pharmacists prescribe antibiotics.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The delivery plan for recovering access to primary care will enable community pharmacies to supply prescription-only medicines for seven common conditions under Patient Group Directions (PGDs). PGDs are written instructions enabling certain health care professionals to supply or administer medicines to patients without a prescription. Any pharmacy offering this service will have to declare they are competent to deliver the service and pharmacists supplying medicines under PGDs must have undertaken the training set out in those specific PGDs.
Antimicrobial stewardship is a priority for the Government and NHS England. Action to embed antimicrobial stewardship principles in community pharmacy teams has formed part of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme in the National Health Service contractual arrangements.
The supply of antibiotics under the new service will be monitored by collecting and analysing data about the supply of medicines, including antibiotics, in the same way that data is collected on prescribing in general practice.
In addition, in May, the National Institute for Health and Care Research issued a research call for a robust wrap around evaluation of the Pharmacy First service to understand its impact, safety, cost effectiveness, acceptability and implications for antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what safeguards her Department plans to introduce to minimise the risk of insect farming contributing to antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals, while safeguarding animal welfare. Since 2014, the UK has reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics by 55% making the UK one of the lowest users of veterinary antibiotics across Europe.
The government takes a ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the UK’s current National Action Plan (2019-2024) on AMR. The next five year NAP is currently under development, and will be adaptable to deal with evolving and emerging AMR risks to support the UK Government’s 20 year vision to contain and control AMR by 2040. There are no antibiotic veterinary medicines authorised for use in insects. All applications for marketing authorisations for veterinary medicines are assessed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate for quality, safety and efficacy and must demonstrate a positive benefit-risk balance. If the application is for an antibiotic, data on the potential emergence of resistant organisms of clinical relevance and measures to limit resistance development must be provided as part of this assessment.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the joint report from the APPG for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene and the APPG on Antibiotics entitled Prevention first: why clean water and hygiene are the best medicine against the spread of drug-resistant infections, published February 2023, what steps the Department is taking to help improve water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare facilities to prevent antibiotic resistance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO recognises the importance that clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities has in preventing the spread of infection and reducing the need for antimicrobials globally.
The UK helped found the WASH In Healthcare Facilities international taskforce, and we push forward this agenda through our programming such as our innovative hand hygiene partnership with Unilever and through our core multilateral funding including to the World Bank and the World Health Organisation. At UN Water 2023 the UK announced £18.5 million of new funding to help strengthen WASH systems, an important step for helping improve WASH services in health care facilities.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in revising the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, they intend to ensure harmonised veterinary antimicrobial stewardship with the European region, and to enable British farmers to continue to be able to export to the EU.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. Since 2014, the UK has reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics by 55% making the UK one of the lowest users of veterinary antibiotics across Europe, with only seven other European countries having sold less antibiotics in 2021 (Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia). We are currently revising our veterinary medicines legislation in ways which will strengthen our laws to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Our legislative proposals on AMR bear many similarities to recently updated EU legislation on veterinary medicines, while being tailored to the circumstances in the UK.
The EU has introduced two new AMR-related requirements in law for countries trading with the EU to comply with: a prohibition on the use of antimicrobial medicinal products as growth promoters, and a prohibition on the use of certain named antimicrobial substances, which are important for human health, in animals. The UK’s current legislation already prohibits both of these types of use in food animals, and this will remain unchanged by the revision of our Veterinary Medicines Regulations; therefore, British farmers’ exports will continue to comply with these requirements.
Asked by: Richard Drax (Conservative - South Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent the spread of any infectious diseases in Portland barge; and what assessment she has made of the potential public health impacts of housing asylum seekers in Portland Barge on (a) Dorset Council and (b) Dorset health authority.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We take both the welfare of those in our care and our wider public health responsibilities extremely seriously. At Manston, all asylum seekers are offered diphtheria vaccines and antibiotics upon arrival. The Home Office provides 24/7 health facilities at Manston, including trained medical staff and a doctor for all those on site. All asylum seekers undergo a health check upon arrival and, if needed people are taken to hospital for further care.
The vessel will be managed by a specialist and experienced provider, which has a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation, having managed the two vessels in Scottish ports for the past year.
Asked by: Tom Randall (Conservative - Gedling)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of introducing a ban on the overuse of antibiotics on healthy farm animals on levels of antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is a co-signatory with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of the UK's Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 5 year National Action Plan (2019-2024) and the UK's 20 year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040. These plans both take a One Health, whole of government approach. Defra and DHSC work closely together at all levels, together with other government departments, to deliver this plan. The UK Government is committed to reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals, while safeguarding animal welfare. Since 2014, the UK has reduced sales of veterinary antibiotics by 55%, and over this same period the UK has seen an overall trend of decreasing antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animals.
Changes to the law on veterinary medicines represent one tool that can be used to help effect reductions in antibiotic prescribing in animals. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 are currently under review, and the feedback from the recently closed public consultation will be analysed and considered. The publicly available consultation documents for the revision of the Veterinary Medicines Legislation set out the rationale for the government’s proposed approach to the use of antibiotics to prevent disease in animals (prophylaxis). In summary, the proposed new legal restrictions on antibiotic prophylaxis prohibit this type [MG1] of use in all but exceptional circumstances to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, protect animal welfare, and allow changes to prescribing practices to be made sustainably.
Officials from DHSC, Defra and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) meet regularly to consider appropriate actions to address AMR across the human and animal health sectors. This has included discussion of the proposed changes to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for providing gender or sex-disaggregated data on antibiotic consumption in England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance report and programme aim to develop and maintain robust surveillance systems for monitoring and reporting trends in antimicrobial use and resistance.
Alongside surveillance of antibiotic consumptions trends, the report presents evidence pooled from a literature scoping review investigating the association between elements of health inequalities and risk of antimicrobial prescribing in High Income Countries. Trends were identified for sex, with females having the highest overall antibiotic use except for indications including acne, respiratory tract infections and pharyngitis, amongst others.
The report also presents data on the rate of COVID-19 therapeutics across the country by sex and age. Antibiotic prescribing surveillance data are shared with NHS England and at cross-Government boards on a quarterly basis, as well as being published on the Fingertips tool. UKHSA are committed to identifying surveillance reporting gaps to understand the impact of antimicrobial prescribing and resistance by sex, and on Core20PLUS populations.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps to help reduce the presence of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs originating from industrial farms in water courses.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Antimicrobial usage (AMU) is a key driver influencing the occurrence and emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The degree of intensification of farm production systems can have a bearing on AMU, but that is not necessarily the case. Intensive production systems can involve high health status livestock with high biosecurity to prevent entry of disease and consequently can have low AMU. The extent of risk that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) presents in the water environment is still being determined. A cross-departmental project called Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and the Environment (PATH-SAFE) was established in 2021 to strengthen our understanding of AMR in the environment, including the relative importance of different sources and potential transmission routes. Final results of this project are expected to be published later this year.
To date in the UK, collaborative working between government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors has already resulted in our national sales of veterinary antibiotics reducing by 55% since 2014, and in 2021 we recorded the lowest antibiotic use yet. Over this same period the UK have seen overall trend of decreasing antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animals. The significant achievements of the UK farming industry to reduce their antibiotic use supports the government’s ‘One-Health’ approach to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as set out in the UK National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).