Statement on the Medical Training (Prioritisation for Specialty Training Programmes) Regulations 2026

The UK Government has laid the Medical Training (Prioritisation for Specialty Training Programmes) Regulations 2026 before the UK Parliament. Made under the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, the Regulations set out the categories of applicants who will be prioritised for interviews and offers for UK specialty training programmes from 2027 onwards.

The Act was introduced in response to growing pressures within the UK's medical training pipeline. Demand for Foundation Programme and specialty training places has increased significantly among both UK and international graduates. This has contributed to oversubscription and delays in allocation processes for the foundation programme and increasing barriers to progression for doctors trained in the UK. The significant increase in international graduate applicants has intensified competition for the available number of post vacancies and has increased the risk of UK graduates leaving the NHS and / or the UK completely.

As a result of the urgency with which the Act was introduced for the 2026 specialty recruitment round, prioritisation was implemented only at the offer stage, after applications had closed. This has led to limited evidence being available in relation to its impact on applicant behaviour and recruitment decisions from the first year of implementation.

The 2027 Regulations retain the prioritisation arrangements used in 2026 including the use of specified immigration status categories, alongside the priority groups already defined in the Act. Scottish Ministers agreed to the inclusion of devolved matters within the 2027 Regulations to support a consistent UK-wide approach to specialty training recruitment and to provide certainty ahead of applications opening in October 2026.

Retaining the current arrangements for 2027 will enable governments across the UK to assess additional evidence on application patterns, applicant behaviour and competition ratios across specialties and geographical areas. Given the timing of recruitment and implementation decisions this evidence will primarily inform understanding of how applicants respond to the current prioritisation arrangements, rather than longer-term recruitment and workforce outcomes.

The Scottish Government recognises that some Scottish stakeholders favour a move towards prioritisation based on significant NHS experience rather than immigration status. During stakeholder engagement, two or three years' NHS experience emerged as the most suggested threshold. While no decisions have been taken on future arrangements, these views will be an important consideration in ongoing discussions with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations.

Scottish Ministers have set out their intention to take forward work to define significant NHS experience in advance of decisions on the 2028 recruitment round. Given that specialty training recruitment operates on a UK-wide basis, the Scottish Government will continue to work constructively with the UK Government and other devolved administrations to seek a common approach. However, Ministers are clear that Scotland will take forward arrangements that best support the needs of its medical workforce should UK-wide agreement not be possible.

International medical graduates make a vital contribution to Scotland's NHS and will continue to do so. The Act already prioritises international medical graduates who have completed, or are completing, the UK Foundation Programme or the relevant previous stage of a UK specialty training programme. International medical graduates who are not prioritised will still be able to apply and will be offered places if vacancies remain after prioritised applicants have received offers.

The 2027 Regulations will not prevent international recruitment to medical training, rather, they will support a sustainable and reliable future supply of doctors by ensuring that those who have worked and trained here have the opportunity to progress.

This page was last updated on: 23.10.2026 at 09.17