- 27/01/2026
- Posted by: Valerie Vaz MP
- Category: News
On Tuesday 27 January 2026, the House of Commons considered the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, which will put home-grown talent at the front of the queue for medical training posts. I am pleased Parliament has agreed to speed up this Bill’s progress, and I welcome the fact it has already completed its passage through the Commons and moved on to the House of Lords.
Resident doctors in this country are facing very real fears about their futures, and their concerns are wholly justified. UK graduates used to compete among themselves for foundation and specialty roles, but now they compete against the world because of visa and immigration changes made after Brexit. A lack of workforce planning by the previous Government has worsened the situation, resulting in the training bottlenecks that resident doctors face today. As a result, UK medical graduates – who want to pursue a career in the NHS and whose training British taxpayers fund at a cost of £4 billion a year – are moving abroad or to the private sector.
This Bill means graduates from UK medical schools and other priority groups will be prioritised over applicants from overseas during the current application round and in all subsequent years. For the UK foundation programme, the Bill requires that places are allocated to UK medical graduates and those in a priority group before they are allocated to other eligible applicants. For specialty training, the Bill effectively reduces the competition for places from around four to one to fewer than two to one.
I know that internationally educated graduates from overseas are an important part of the workforce, and it is only right that they will still be able to be recruited under the Bill. Global talent from around the world will continue to be welcomed, but in future these graduates will apply on terms that are fairer to our home-grown talent. We have people from around the world who come and work in our health and care service. But we are recruiting doctors from abroad – including from countries that are short of medical staff – when there is already a pool of applicants at home. Home-grown doctors are also more likely to work in the NHS for longer and be better equipped to deliver healthcare tailored to the UK population.
There were three amendments selected for debate and votes:
Amendment 1 would bring the Act into force on the day on which it receives Royal Assent, instead of a day at the discretion of the Secretary of State was rejected: Ayes 88, Noes 310.
Amendment 2, provides that regulations describing persons who may be prioritised for specialty training programmes from 2027 onwards are subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament, was rejected: Ayes 61, Noes 311.
Amendment 9, would require British citizens to be prioritised for places on UK Foundation programmes and for interviews and places on speciality training programmes from 2027 onwards, was rejected: Ayes 91, Noes 378.
This Bill will give the NHS the certainty and stability it needs to carry on bringing down waiting lists and keep us on the road to recovery. I hope it receives Royal Assent by 5 March, in time for the changes to benefit applicants in the current round.