Found: As I am sure you are aware, we have the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill coming to Parliament

Found: Correspondence from SoS- Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill Correspondence

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to set a target of 50 per cent of NHS doctors to be educated in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government has no plans to set a specific target for the proportion of National Health Service doctors educated in the United Kingdom.

The Medical Training Prioritisation Bill, introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026, delivers the Government’s commitment to prioritise UK medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant NHS experience for specialty training places. The bill will ensure a sustainable medical workforce that can meet the health needs of the future and give homegrown talent a path to become the next generation of NHS doctors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the allocation of NHS training places included in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on UK medical students studying at foreign campuses of UK universities.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

Under the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the potential impact of prioritising UK medical graduates in the 10 Year Health Plan on staffing levels.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

The bill extends and applies across the UK. Health workforce planning and access to medical training are devolved matters. However, the process of recruitment and the allocation of foundation and specialty training places is undertaken on a UK-wide basis, and we are committed to keeping that consistency.

Department ministers have worked closely with their counterparts on the draft bill and alongside this, officials have been working closely and constructively with colleagues across all devolved administrations as we shape these proposals, and will continue to do so.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of including individuals on spouse visas who have the right to work and contribute to the NHS among the priority groups for NHS specialty training offers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales, or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.

Individuals on spouse visas are not included in the prioritised group for specialty training posts starting in 2026, because it is not a good indicator of likely NHS experience. The Department of Health and Social Care worked closely with the Home Office on the development of the bill.

Applicants on spouse visas will still be able to apply and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on the ability of UK-resident graduates of UK medical schools who studied at overseas campuses to work in the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

Subject to the parliamentary passage of the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland or Wales, or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will be prioritised for medical training places in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training

Under the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.

For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status, as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on International Medical Graduates already working in NHS, particularly those in non-training and service roles.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.

Subject to the parliamentary passage of the bill, for 2026, international medical graduates with specific immigration statuses will be prioritised when making offers for specialty training. These statuses, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain, are being used as a proxy for NHS experience because individuals who hold them and are eligible for specialty training are likely to have already worked in the NHS for a substantial period.

From 2027 onwards, these immigration categories will no longer apply automatically. Instead, the Government will set out in future regulations additional persons who will be prioritised based on criteria indicating they are likely to have significant NHS experience, or based on their immigration status.

International medical graduates who are not prioritised will still be able to apply and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers. In particular, there are likely to be opportunities in specialties such as general practice, core psychiatry, and internal medicine. Historically, these attract fewer applicants from the groups we are prioritising for 2026.

International medical graduates will also continue to have opportunities in locally employed doctor roles, which could lead to NHS experience that might count towards future prioritisation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support all medical graduates to access employment.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Last year, all eligible medical applicants were offered a place on the UK Foundation Programme, which provides medical graduates with employment as a doctor and which continues of their training.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, set out that over the next three years we would create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need.

On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. The Government will consider its next steps.

The Government will introduce the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill in Parliament, which will prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. Subject to parliamentary passage, this will apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that. This will reduce competition ratios for UK medical graduates and other prioritised applicants.

This is in addition to the steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council’s registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

Found: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: HL Bill 165 of 2024–26

Found: The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill 2024-2026

Found: The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill implements the commitment in our 10 Year Plan for Health to

Found: Impact statement: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

Found: Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill – information for applicants to medical training