Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many foundation year doctor posts were unavailable to newly appointed foundation doctors this year because they were occupied by doctors granted extensions to complete training competencies; and how many such posts are scheduled to become vacant from 1 December 2026.

The information requested for Question 29058 is not held centrally in the format requested.

Recruitment to the 2026 UK Foundation Programme has now concluded. Total numbers of Foundation Programme places in the United Kingdom are agreed through a four-nation workforce planning process and take into account the fact that a proportion of applicants withdraw from the Foundation Programme each year. The Government therefore has no plans to backfill any vacant posts that may arise for 2026.