The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill will prioritise doctors from the UK and Ireland, and those who have worked in the NHS for a significant period, for specialty training places.

Graduates from the UK and Ireland would also be prioritised for foundation training under the bill.

The move forms part of health secretary Wes Streeting's bid to resolve the dispute with resident doctors in England.

The government plan has sparked warnings of a potential ‘exodus' of overseas doctors. However, Streeting argued that British medics will ‘turn their backs on the NHS' without urgent action to secure their career paths. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs also raised serious concerns about the impact on international doctors who have already committed to working in the UK.

In response to the bill's passing, Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's UK RDC, said: ‘We welcome the Medical Training (prioritisation) Bill passing to the Lords which marks a progression of legislation that we believe is a step forward in addressing the doctors' jobs crisis and rightfully prioritising UK graduates.

‘However, without creating thousands of training posts, thousands of UK graduates will continue to be rejected from specialty training each year.

‘We also need better terms, progression and secure contracts for both UK graduates and internationally trained doctors in locally-employed roles as a result of these training bottlenecks.

‘This legislation alone will not fix the critical shortfall facing our health service and the deliver the workforce patients urgently need, but it signals the government is engaging seriously with the scale of the problem.'