Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does he expect the next phase of the review of the UK Foundation programme to be concluded.

The first phase of The Medical Training Review has concluded. Phase 1 identified key challenges and areas for improvement across postgraduate medical training, including for foundation training, alongside what currently works well. The Phase 1 diagnostic report can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/the-medical-training-review-phase-1-diagnostic-report/

Phase 2, which is already underway, will involve working with a wide range of stakeholders across the system to design a package of reform.

NHS England is also conducting a review of the Preference Informed Allocation (PIA) method, which was introduced in 2024 as the process for allocating applicants to the UK Foundation Programme to foundation schools.

Timelines for Phase 2 of the postgraduate medical training review and the PIA review will be confirmed in due course.