Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will hold discussions with the (a) Medical Schools Council and (b) British Medical Association on the effectiveness of preference-informed allocation for foundation placements for medical graduates.

The UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO) manages the national application process for the UK Foundation Programme, on behalf of the four statutory education bodies for the United Kingdom. The UKFPO changed the allocation process for the programme this year to a Preference Informed Allocation method. This consisted of applicants being given a computer-generated rank, and removed the requirement for them to sit the Situational Judgement Test. This change was based on engagement with stakeholders, including the Medical Schools Council, and the British Medical Association.

When confirming the move to the new system last year, the UKFPO set out that once implemented, it would be kept under constant review, to make sure it is working well for applicants. The UKFPO has confirmed that 75% of applicants received their first choice of programme this year, a 4% increase on last year.