Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

Lord Mohammed of Tinsley Excerpts

Wednesday 25th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (LD)]

My Lords, I start by thanking Adam in the Lib Dem office for his help and support, and my good and noble friend Lord Clement-Jones for his support in guiding and helping me navigate around this Bill. As we have heard, this is emergency legislation and there are question marks on whether it should have been, given the issues that the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, raised.

I put on record my thanks to the Minister for her engagement during the course of the Bill, finding time to speak to us individually not only before the Bill arrived here but since, and even on the very last day, at the beginning of this week.

Many issues were raised during the passage of this Bill. The Minister was right to point out that this is not the silver bullet that will deal with the workforce issues. I and my colleagues from this side of the House will be keeping a close eye on the progress of this Bill, particularly when it comes to the issue of Queen Mary University and the medical school in Malaysia linked to Newcastle University.

As the Minister says, there is an issue here and the Government have now come forward with a possible solution. We had some alternatives, but clearly, in a democracy, we did not win on this occasion. We wish the Bill well. More importantly, to those students who have been watching our debates, I wish every one of them all success in their future careers.