RHUN AP IORWERTH MS

PLAID CYMRU’S HEALTH SPOKESPERSON

WHEN Health Minister Eluned Morgan brought the Health Service Procurement Bill to the floor of the Senedd for the first time in early February, she described it as: “Not the most exciting bill that this Senedd has ever seen.”

But despite this being a rather technical piece of legislation, this bill is far from unimportant.

Its purpose, in essence, is to replicate Section 79 of the UK Government’s Health and Social Care Act 2022, which removes what UK Government calls the “burdensome and wasteful processes” involved in procuring health services that existed under EU law.

The Welsh Government’s Health Minister suggested that she thought the UK Government were acting with good intentions. I am not so sure.

The UK Government’s attitude towards private contracts in recent years could, at the very least, be described as generous. The pandemic was the clearest example, with a reported £30 billion of public money being awarded in private contracts as part of the pandemic response.

What was most concerning was the ease with which the government could partake in acts of explicit cronyism due to an unregulated and less restrictive tendering process.

And so, when UK Government decide to introduce a “lighter touch” procurement tendering process for health services, and Welsh Government decide they have to arm themselves with the same kind of regime, just in case, forgive me for being nervous about what this could mean for future health services in Wales.

My nervousness isn’t because I fear this Welsh Government is intent on embarking on wholesale privatisation of the NHS.

In fact, I understand the rationale behind the creation of this Bill – not least because I want procurement law affecting Wales to be made in Wales, rather than having to automatically follow England’s lead.

I also understand and acknowledge the real concerns of numerous stakeholders that changes in procurement law in England could potentially impact our ability to procure some important specialist services (although I’m yet to see firm evidence of the extent of that risk).

However, I want to ensure that this doesn’t facilitate new avenues for privatisation within Welsh health service.

The Minister is adamant that this bill is designed to protect us, but whilst this is a framework bill, which would pave the way for actual new procurement rules to be brought in through regulations at a later stage, it does potentially offer routes to a lighter touch procurement regime here too.

Private healthcare providers will no doubt be keen to exploit that, so in working on Plaid Cymru’s amendments to the Bill, my job is to try to build in as many safeguards as possible.

I’m also eager to distinguish between outsourcing to the private companies and outsourcing to the third sector or volunteer sector. If we can streamline contract arrangements for providing health services through charities that have long been NHS partners, for example, that could bring positive results.

I also take issue with the curtailed process through which Welsh Government has brought forward this bill.

Whilst I hear Welsh Government’s arguments for needing legislation in place quickly in the face of perceived risks, this could have been done sooner, allowing a full legislative scrutiny process to follow its usual course.

Yes, this is a framework bill, and government promises full scrutiny at when they bring forward subsequent regulations, but that process is far more limited, and as Senedd members we are unable to bring forward amendments to regulations as are with a Bill.

It’s a very short Bill, and I’d agree with the Minister that it’s not the most exciting. But we treat it with the seriousness it deserves, because the NHS means so much to us.