Judith Cummins

With this it will be convenient to consider: Amendment 6, in clause 2, page 1, line 16, at end insert— “(e) persons within subsection (3),”. This is a paving amendment for amendment 7. Amendment 7, page 2, line 6, at end insert— “(3) A person is within this subsection if they— (a) were actively employed as a doctor in the NHS or Health and Social Care Northern Ireland on 13 January 2026; and (b) had submitted a valid application for a UK specialty training programme for a start date in 2026 before the day on which this section comes into force. (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), “actively employed” includes, but is not limited to, persons on fixed-term Trust Grade, Clinical Fellow or Staff, Associate Specialist and Specialty Doctor contracts.” This amendment would require applications to specialty medical training in 2026 from those already employed in the NHS to be prioritised. Clause 2 stand part. Clause 3 stand part. Amendment 10, in clause 4, page 3, line 2, at end insert— “unless that time was spent outside the British Islands as part of a posting with the UK armed forces.” This amendment would include within the definition of a UK medical graduate anyone who spent all or part of their training on a military posting outside the British Islands. Amendment 9, page 3, line 3, after “are” insert “a British citizen or are”. This amendment 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. Clause 4 stand part. Amendment 8, in clause 5, page 3, line 30, at end insert “,provided that the majority of training for the programme takes place in the United Kingdom.” This amendment would require a UK Foundation Programme to be a programme for which the majority of training takes place inside the United Kingdom. Clause 5 stand part. Clause 6 stand part. Amendment 2, in clause 7, page 5, line 1, leave out paragraph (a). This amendment, taken together with amendment 4, would provide that regulations made under Clause 3 are subject to the affirmative procedure. Amendment 3, page 5, line 24, leave out “section 3 or”. This amendment is consequential on amendments 2 and 4, which provide that regulations made under Clause 3 are subject to the affirmative procedure. Amendment 4, page 5, line 40, after “under” insert— “section 3 (regulations describing persons who may be prioritised for specialty training programmes from 2027 onwards)”. This amendment, taken together with amendment 2, would provide that regulations made under Clause 3 are subject to the affirmative procedure. Amendment 5, page 6, line 19, at end insert— “(6) Before laying before Parliament a draft statutory instrument containing regulations under section 3 the Secretary of State must obtain the consent of— (a) the Welsh Ministers, if the draft regulations contain provision which would be within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru if it were contained in an Act of the Senedd; (b) the Scottish Ministers, if the draft regulations contain provision which would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were contained in an Act of the Scottish Parliament; (c) the Department of Health in Northern Ireland, if the draft regulations contain provision which— (i) would be within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly if it were contained in an Act of that Assembly, and (ii) would not, if it were contained in a Bill for an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly, result in the Bill requiring the consent of the Secretary of State.” This amendment would require the Secretary of State to obtain the consent of the relevant devolved government before laying draft regulations under section 3. It is consequential on amendments 2 and 4. Clause 7 stand part. Amendment 1, in clause 8, page 6, line 23, leave out from “on” to the end of line 24 and insert “the day on which it is passed”. This amendment would bring the Act into force on the day on which it receives Royal Assent. Clause 8 stand part. New clause 1—Report on impact— “(1) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament an annual report on the impact of the provisions of this Act. (2) A report under this section must include— (a) an assessment of the impact of the provisions of this Act on the number of applications for places on— (i) UK Foundation Programmes, and (ii) UK speciality training programmes, and (b) if the assessment under paragraph (a) concludes that there has been a decrease in the total number of applications attributable to the provisions of this Act, an analysis of the potential impact of that decrease on the number of fully qualified doctors working in the NHS and Health and Social Care Northern Ireland, including specific analysis of the impact on the number of general practitioners and on each medical specialism. (3) The first report under this section must be laid before 31 December 2029.” New clause 2—Allocation of individual places on merit— “(1) This section applies to the allocation of individual candidates to specific places on a UK Foundation Programme or a UK specialty training programme, whether that allocation takes place in the course of deciding offers of places or otherwise. (2) A person who has a function of allocating places on a UK Foundation Programme or a UK specialty training programme must ensure that, once the prioritisation requirements set out in sections 1 to 3 of this Act have been applied, those allocations are based on an assessment of the applicants’ merits. (3) For the purposes of the assessment of the applicants’ merits, a person may take into account— (a) the candidates’ educational achievements, (b) the candidates’ clinical performance, (c) structured assessments of relevant skills and knowledge, (d) the candidates’ research, leadership, management, quality improvement, and teaching skills, and (e) the candidates’ knowledge relating to the place being allocated.” This new clause would require the allocation of candidates to specific training places to be decided on an assessment of the candidates’ merits, after the prioritisation requirements in clauses 1 to 3 of the Bill have been met. New clause 3—International students— “(1) The Secretary of State must report annually to Parliament on the impact of the provisions of this Act on the numbers of international students at UK medical schools. (2) This report must include an assessment of the financial impact on medical schools.” This new clause would require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament annually on the impact of the measures in this Act on the numbers of international students studying at UK medical schools.