AQW 39143/22-27

Mr Philip McGuigan
Sinn Féin
North Antrim

Tabled Date: 27/01/2026
Answered On Date: 04/03/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the amount of the study budget for doctors undertaking postgraduate training or professional development that must be used to pay for mandatory training.

Answer:

Mandatory training costs for medical specialty trainees in Northern Ireland are included within the overall available study budget of £1,250. Where a trainee’s mandatory training costs exceed the £1,250 study budget in any given training year, the NI Medical and Dental Training Agency will meet these costs; however, this will result in a corresponding reduction in the funding available to that trainee for nonmandatory courses in the remaining years of their programme. Trainees in affected specialties are advised of this at the outset of their training programme.