Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Royal College of Physicians’ 2020 census finding that 38 per cent of advertised consultant posts were unfilled in south London, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of medical school places in England.

We have funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England – a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. In addition, we have temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels in 2020 and in 2021 and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to their grades. There are currently no plans to further increase the number of places.