Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of medical school places compared to the total number of resident doctor training places in each of the past five years for which data are available.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. This is central to the vision in our 10 Year Plan.  The following table shows the size of the medical school intake in England for each of the last five annual intakes available, the number of foundation programme trainees in years one and two in England, and the number of core and run through level one specialty training posts offered across all specialty pathways in England:

Sources: the Office for Students: Medical and Dental Students survey 2024, available at the Office for Students’ website in an online only format, the National Training Survey from the General Medical Council, available at the General Medical Council’s website in an online only format, and the Specialty Training Places: NHS England, Fill Rates dataset, available at the NHS.UK website in an online only format.

Notes:

1. 2024 entrants to university medical courses are based on initial figures and may change, and they also include medical degree apprentices for the first time, 25 in total, where the number of places are employer led;
2. the figures from the Specialty Training Places: NHS England, Fill Rates dataset include only level one specialty places and therefore do not include places available at levels three and four, where often specialty training programmes undertake further entrance points or are choices for those who have undertaken core training programmes to specialise further; and
3. the General Medical Council’s dashboard shows foundation years one and two combined.

In 2020 and 2021 the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to their grades.

The UK Foundation Programme Office works to ensure that all eligible applicants receive a foundation training place.