Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Katie Lam

Tuesday 14th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I would be delighted to. Let us arrange a date.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

T9.   The changes that the Government made in January to prioritise British graduates for NHS training places were very welcome indeed, but the current system of random allocation demoralises and disincentivises our brightest graduates, and it causes profound uncertainty for people at the start of their career. Will the Secretary of State consider changing the process, so that those places are instead allocated on merit?

[Wes Streeting]

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 is making a difference. It has reduced competition from four to one to less than two to one, a fact that the British Medical Association might wish to acknowledge. We are absolutely up for looking at that issue as part of the workforce plan. I suspect that we will have to do that without the BMA, rather than with it, since it will be out on strike while we are getting on with governing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Wes Streeting and Katie Lam

Tuesday 17th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

Can I first thank my hon. Friend the Minister for Care for the considerable amount of work he has done to support the House as it makes its deliberations on this important issue? Of course, the Government are neutral; it is for the House to decide. There is not money allocated to set up the service in the Bill at present, but it is for Members of this House and the other place, should the Bill proceed, to decide whether to proceed. That is a decision that this Government will respect either way.

[Katie Lam (Weald of Kent) (Con)]

T3.   The UK is desperately short of doctors, but thousands of applicants will be turned away due to a lack of training places. This is not a situation of the Minister’s making, but he has now been in post for a year. Can he assure us that nobody—no union, no Treasury Minister—will prevent him from doing what needs to be done and lifting the training cap?

[Wes Streeting]

I should just say for the record that it is thanks to my friends at the Treasury that we are able to do so much to invest in our health service. It is important to put that on record ahead of the Budget. The hon. Lady raises a really serious issue, and we are looking carefully at what we can do to ensure that we get great people into our health service and that they can look forward to a great career. We are not in the right place as a country now; we need to be in a better place. The 10-year plan will set out our ambitions on workforce and we will publish a new workforce plan later this year.