The UK’s antimicrobial resistance response faces substantial barriers from the civil service’s structure, practices of governance, and churn

We argue that the machinery of government and the current practices of the civil service are a hindrance to the British Government’s ability to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The UK’s civil service is occasionally called the Rolls Royce of public administrations,1 and it is ranked the best in the world.2,3 However, over a decade of austerity cuts, which have reduced resource departmental expenditure limits by more than 16% (and even more in non-priority departments), has undermined the capacity of the civil service and worsened outcomes.4 Although the UK civil service might be capable of addressing immediate day-to-day issues, its current mode of operation leaves the government vulnerable to more complex (or wicked) national challenges. This vulnerability is most evident in the case of the grand pandemic of AMR and drug-resistant infections.