Written question asked by Greg Knight (Conservative) on Tuesday, 23 April 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 26 April 2024 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Friday, 26 April 2024. A substantive answer was provided by Andrew Stephenson (Conservative) on Monday, 29 April 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Medicine: Higher Education

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress she has made on increasing the number of medical student places; and whether she expects to meet the commitment to double the number of medical school places by 2031.

Answer: We are on track to meeting the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan’s aim to double the number of medical school places in England, from 7,500 to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32. We have accelerated this expansion by allocating 205 additional medical school places for the 2024/25 academic year, and have provisionally allocated a further 350 additional places for the 2025/26 academic year. Final allocations will be published shortly. This will build on the expansion of medical school places in England to 7,500 per year, a 25% increase, that the Government completed in 2020, and which delivered five new medical schools.

Secondary information