Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce additional measures to (a) verify and (b) validate the medical qualifications of non-UK trained doctors working in the NHS.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has no current plans to introduce additional measures to verify and validate the medical qualifications of non-United Kingdom trained doctors working in the National Health Service.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK. The GMC is independent of the Government and directly accountable to Parliament. The GMC sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to and is responsible for ensuring that doctors have the necessary skills and knowledge to join the UK medical register. All doctors must register with the GMC and hold a license to practice in the UK.