PROCUREMENT. It's not a word that most ordinary people use or maybe even understand; but it could be the most important devolved policy area that the UK Government will take control of for seven years after Brexit despite being devolved under the 1998 Scotland Act.

The Tory Westminster Government claim they wouldn't legislate on those retained devolved areas without some form of agreement with the devolved authorities. But wasn't the way they pushed through these changes at Westminster an example of how they would act in control of those powers?

There was only a 15 minute debate with one single UK Government Minister speaking and which ignored the vote of the Scottish Parliament. Who says they wouldn't do this when legislating on those devolved areas they have taken control of – including procurement. We already have Tory MP Andrew Bowie boasting that Westminster can legislate as it likes across the UK.

So with procurement under their control doesn't this impact on Scotland's NHS?

As this BMA says the Scottish and Welsh Governments have the power to restrict private and profit making procurement in their health services whilst in England - under a Conservative policy - we have seen it opened up to "the market".

Then we have Tory MSP Murdo Fraser arguing Brexit is an "opportunity" to change the procurement system.

And in the 1980s, before devolution, we saw how the Tories used Westminster to impose their procurement policy of “contracting out” on Scotland against the wishes of the majority of Scotland's representative.

Add to that Theresa May’s failure to rule out the NHS being opened up to US private health care firms in any putative trade deal with Donald Trump's America - twice over 11 months - and Jeremy Hunt visiting the States “to discuss the close links between the UK & US health sectors”, then the reasons behind why this Westminster Tory Government wanted power over procurement look suspicious.

Of course they will say they have no such plans, that the NHS will remain free at the point of delivery etc, etc... but then they did say they'd respect the wishes of the devolved authorities and we’ve seen how they respected that only weeks ago.

So what's to now stop them from imposing their private, profit-making system in Scotland and Wales in the name of 'preserving their version of a UK single market'? Or should that be ‘a single Westminster-Tory-market’ on offer to the cheapest bidder for a quick trade agreement?

And without a truly shared approach on these powers - i.e. Scotland and Wales having a power of veto at a UK level like Wallonia & Flanders have in Belgium - public services in England have lost the opportunity of a system that could have put a brake on Tory policy being imposed in England.

So, is it time for a mass campaign to inform the public and protect the NHS and other public services from this power grab?

JIM CONNELL.