Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

The Northern Ireland Assembly has endorsed, via a Legislative Consent Motion, the extension to Northern Ireland of the provisions in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill. The motion, moved by the Minister of Health, Mr Nesbitt, was agreed on 24 February 2026.

The amendment would add a new clause to allow Irish medical graduates who studied at an overseas campus of an Irish medical school (still operating when the Act becomes law) to be included in the priority group if their overseas programme is approved as identical to, or equivalent to, the Irish programme—with at least 50% of training in Ireland. It explains that this ensures inclusion of Irish-qualified graduates who studied partly overseas, provided the course is deemed identical or equivalent by the Irish Medical Council. It is to be moved on report as supplementary material to the Marshalled List, dated 20 February 2026.

These Lords’ amendments would prioritise UK medical graduates in the training allocation, changing the priority order so graduates come first and delaying the implementation date from 2026 to 2027. They also propose a new, tightly defined overseas route for priority eligibility based on UK primary medical qualifications earned overseas with GMC‑approved courses, and include a cap on how many such entrants can qualify. Additionally, the amendments require affirmative procedures for regulations and provide that the Act would come into force on Royal Assent.

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill would prioritise offers to UK medical graduates and the defined ‘priority group’ (including Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) for foundation training, and to UK graduates, priority-group members, those who have completed the relevant UK programme, or certain immigration-status holders for 2026 specialty training; from 2027, regulations may add other priority applicants. The government argues the ECHR is not engaged by the Bill—but even if challenged, any interference would be justified as proportionate, with Article 14 also not engaged.

The Lords’ running list of amendments to the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill proposes: delaying the mandated offer sequence until 2027 (instead of 2026); removing conditions based on Indefinite Leave to Remain; adding a new prioritisation route for graduates with a UK primary medical qualification earned via an overseas campus (GMC‑approved as identical to the UK course) and giving the government power to cap the number of such applicants in each cycle. It also requires regulations to be approved by the affirmative procedure.

Amendments to the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill would push back the implementation date from 2026 to 2027, redefine prioritisation by requiring NHS Oriel platform registration or demonstrated NHS commitment instead of Indefinite Leave to Remain, broaden the priority group to include those with protection status, Hong Kong BN(O) arrivals, and humanitarian entrants, and require all regulations under the Act to be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.

The Senedd approved a Legislative Consent Motion for the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill, allowing provisions that affect devolved matters to be considered by the UK Parliament. The motion was approved on 10 February 2026, with the consent memorandum laid on 28 January 2026. The Bill and its supporting documents, including the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee report, are available on the UK Parliament website.

On 12 February 2026, the Scottish Parliament approved a Legislative Consent Motion (S6M-20719) for the UK-wide Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill. The consent covers clauses 1–8 that relate to matters within Scotland’s competence or affect Scottish Ministers’ powers, allowing those provisions to be considered by the UK Parliament. The motion was moved by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and agreed at Decision Time.

These amendments push for UK medical graduates to be prioritised for training places, in a defined order: UK graduates who are British citizens first, then those in a priority group, then UK graduates who are not British citizens; they also widen who may count towards priority through new categories. They delay the implementation to 2027, require a review of the Act’s impact on training places within six months of passage, and demand affirmative resolution for related regulations, with provisions on when the Act comes into force.