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 with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure sufficient placements are available to meet the needs of all UK medical graduates.

We have introduced the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill to deliver the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training places, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors with significant National Health Service experience for specialty training places. We expect that all eligible prioritised applicants for the foundation programme in 2026 will be offered a place.

This bill will ensure a sustainable medical workforce that can meet the health needs of the population, and will mean we are less reliant on an unpredictable labour market and can make best use of the substantial taxpayer investment in medical training. It will reduce competition for places and give homegrown talent a path to become the next generation of NHS doctors.