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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2026 No. 221 (C. 19)
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act
2026 (Commencement) Regulations 2026
Made - - - - 5th March 2026
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 8(2)
of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026(1)
Citation
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026
(Commencement) Regulations 2026.
Commencement of Act
2. The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 comes into force on 6th March 2026.
Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Karin Smyth
Minister of State
5th March 2026 Department of Health and Social Care
(1) 2026 c. 7.Document Generated: 2026-03-06
Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This
item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations bring into force all provisions of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026
(“the Act”) on 6th March 2026.
The Act introduces a system of prioritisation for the allocation of medical training places in the
United Kingdom, both for foundation training, a two-year work-based training programme for
medical graduates, and for medical specialty training programmes, which follow foundation training
and enable doctors to become a consultant or general practitioner.
In relation to deciding offers of places for both foundation and specialty training, the Act requires the
prioritisation of graduates from UK and Republic of Ireland medical schools before offering places
to any other eligible applicants, as well as prioritising international medical graduates who studied
in Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, to reflect international agreements.
For specialty training, the Act also requires the prioritisation of those who complete foundation
training, or a relevant earlier stage of training, and in 2026, the prioritisation of those with a certain
immigration status. For specialty training posts starting in 2027 onwards, prioritisation will take
place when deciding which applicants to interview, as well as when deciding offers of places.
An impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as an impact statement was published
in relation to the provisions in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on 14th January 2026.
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