To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many medical students who are studying in Northern Ireland will (a) be unable to continue their studies and (b) be unable to take up positions of employment in Northern Ireland as a result of the new visa regulations pertaining to international medical students; and if he will make a statement. (79762)

The information is as follows.

(a) All overseas medical students will be able to continue their medical studies, as training up to registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) is not affected by the new immigration rules.

(b) Non-European economic area (EEA) doctors already in training posts will now be considered as being employed rather than in training, and therefore will need to meet the work permit provisions. Transitional arrangements are in place for those who have been offered a post starting on or before 4 August 2006.

The new immigration rules introduced by the Home Office that came into effect on 3 April 2006 will not prevent doctors from training in the United Kingdom, but are designed to bring the employment of doctors into line with other sectors of the UK economy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) nurse and (b) doctor training places were available in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; how many people entered training in each year; and how many people qualified in each year. (78719)

The number of (a) nurses and (b) doctors who commenced training and completed training in each of the last 10 years is presented in the following tables. All available training places have been filled in each of the 10 years.

The following table shows the number of medical places available in the period requested.

The numbers of medical students qualifying in each year is set out in the following table.