Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will mandate junior doctors to work in the NHS for at least one year after completion of training.

In March 2017, the Government consulted on the expansion of undergraduate medical education, confirming proposals to increase the number of places at English medical schools by 1,500, with students starting to take up additional places from September 2018.

The consultation also explored ways to ensure a return on the sums of money the taxpayer invests in a doctor’s training, for example by asking them to serve the National Health Service for a number of years after they graduate.

In August 2017, the Government response to the consultation confirmed that Health Education England would consider how best taxpayer investment can be maximised and to report back by spring 2018.