Surveillance work, or ‘eyes and ears on the ground’, is vital to help detect new and re-emerging disease threats quickly and stop their spread. The Department’s and APHA’s approach to managing disease outbreaks is through a ‘surge capacity’ resourcing model, where staff switch priority from business-as-usual activities to outbreak response. Responding to recent outbreaks has meant reduced capacity to undertake important 13 C&AG’s Report, para 3.7 14 Q 9; Letter from Defra to Committee, 18 September 2025 15 Qq 6-8 16 Qq 8, 13 10 work such as disease surveillance activities. In 2022–23, APHA missed its corporate key performance targets for visiting animal markets and inspecting animal by-products.17