# Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026, Section 5: “UK Foundation Programme”, “UK specialty training programme” etc

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) The following definitions have effect for the purposes of sections 1 to 3.
(2) “UK Foundation Programme” means—
(a) an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors within the meaning of the Medical Act 1983 (see section 10A of that Act), or
(b) a programme that is designed to follow on from an acceptable programme for provisionally registered doctors, which lasts for up to a year and which is used primarily for the training of newly registered doctors.
(3) In subsection (2), “newly registered doctor” means a person who has been registered as a fully registered medical practitioner under section 3 of the Medical Act 1983 within the previous six months.
(4) “UK specialty training programme” means a programme of training required for or leading towards the award of a certificate of completion of training under section 34L of the Medical Act 1983 but does not include—
(a) a UK Foundation Programme,
(b) a programme wholly in the area of public health,
(c) a programme for which the majority of training takes place outside the United Kingdom, or
(d) a programme described or specified in regulations made by the appropriate authority.
(5) “Relevant qualifying UK programme”, in relation to an applicant for a UK specialty training programme, means—
(a) where their application is for the first or only stage of a UK specialty training programme, a UK Foundation Programme;
(b) in any other case, the previous stage of the UK specialty training programme or a UK Foundation Programme.
(6) “Eligible applicant”, in relation to a training programme, means an applicant who meets the eligibility criteria for the programme.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/7/section/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/medical-training-prioritisation-act-2026/section-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.