Thursday, October 24, 2019
Devolution of justice to Wales essential, but not straightforward
I believe that I have warned previously that advocating the further devolution of powers to the Welsh Government as a means of solving a specific issue or problem can be helpful, but is by no means a panacea.
Nevertheless, today's report by a Welsh Government commissioned review, led by the former lord chief justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, advocating the devolution of powers to control justice, policing and prisons to Wales, is to be welcomed.
As the Guardian reports, Lord Thomas calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to at least 12 years, says “advice deserts” are appearing due to cuts in legal aid, and condemns high imprisonment rates as unsustainable:
The 555-page report, titled Justice in Wales for the People of Wales, sets out the findings of an independent study commissioned by the Welsh government in 2017. Commission members included Juliet Lyon, the former director of the Prison Reform Trust, legal academics, serving judges and a former chief constable of south Wales, Peter Vaughan.
The laws of Wales were codified in the 10th century during the reign of Hywel Dda, long before the English conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1282. The first UK parliamentary statute in modern times to apply only to Wales was the 1881 Sunday Closing (Wales) Act, which shut public houses in Wales on the sabbath – marking political acceptance of the separate identity of Wales.
The report’s most radical recommendation is the transfer of power from Westminster to Cardiff. It declares: “There should be legislative devolution of justice. Restrictions and reservations governing the [Welsh] assembly’s power to legislate on all forms of justice, including policing and offender management and rehabilitation, should be removed, so that it corresponds more closely with the position of the Northern Ireland assembly and the Scottish parliament. Responsibility for executive functions in relation to justice in Wales should be transferred to the Welsh government.”
A separate judiciary, up to the level of the court of appeal, should be established in Wales and the supreme court in Westminster should be required to appoint a justice with knowledge of the increasingly divergent laws of Wales in the same way it selects Scottish and Northern Ireland judges.
Thomas said: “The people of Wales are not well served by the current arrangements. Justice needs to be aligned with other policies and spheres of activity if it is to play the proper role it should in Wales. Devolution of justice functions is necessary. While the legislation is prepared, there is much that can and should be done to improve the delivery of justice in Wales.”
The report states: “Under the current scheme of devolution there is no properly joined up or integrated approach, as justice remains controlled by the Westminster government. Consequently, the people of Wales do not have the benefit which the people of Scotland, Northern Ireland and England enjoy by justice being an integral part of overall policymaking. There is no rational basis for Wales to be treated differently, particularly as Wales has its own long legal tradition.”
Many of the proposed solutions are sensible and much-needed. Wales is rapidly developing a separate body of law and taking different approaches to our English neighbours on youth justice, substance misuse problems and a whole host of other issues. It makes sense to establish a separate system here to reflect that policy divergence and to allow Welsh solutions to be developed to Welsh justice problems, administered.by Welsh courts.
But, a note of caution: if devolution does not come with sufficient new funding then Wales will struggle to make a difference. There is no guarantee that the Welsh Government will be able to restore nearly two decades of legal aid cuts for example. Access to Welsh justice after devolution could well prove to be as unequal as it is at present.
The last time the UK Government tried to reform Welsh police forces, they faced huge resistance from the police themselves, and the Welsh Government. It makes sense for policing in Wales to be controlled in Wales, but will ministers here really bite the bullet and try to create savings to be directed into front-line policing, by amalgamating forces - something they fought previously?
And finally, the Welsh prison estate is hardly fit for purpose. It needs capital investment. Some prisons need replacing. There is no adequate youth provision, no category A prison and no women's prison this side of Offa's Dyke. Obviously the Welsh Government will want to adopt legislation and sentencing policies that will reduce the prison population, but there will still need to be reciprocal arrangements with England.
I look forward to seeing how this debate develops.
Nevertheless, today's report by a Welsh Government commissioned review, led by the former lord chief justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, advocating the devolution of powers to control justice, policing and prisons to Wales, is to be welcomed.
As the Guardian reports, Lord Thomas calls for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 to at least 12 years, says “advice deserts” are appearing due to cuts in legal aid, and condemns high imprisonment rates as unsustainable:
The 555-page report, titled Justice in Wales for the People of Wales, sets out the findings of an independent study commissioned by the Welsh government in 2017. Commission members included Juliet Lyon, the former director of the Prison Reform Trust, legal academics, serving judges and a former chief constable of south Wales, Peter Vaughan.
The laws of Wales were codified in the 10th century during the reign of Hywel Dda, long before the English conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1282. The first UK parliamentary statute in modern times to apply only to Wales was the 1881 Sunday Closing (Wales) Act, which shut public houses in Wales on the sabbath – marking political acceptance of the separate identity of Wales.
The report’s most radical recommendation is the transfer of power from Westminster to Cardiff. It declares: “There should be legislative devolution of justice. Restrictions and reservations governing the [Welsh] assembly’s power to legislate on all forms of justice, including policing and offender management and rehabilitation, should be removed, so that it corresponds more closely with the position of the Northern Ireland assembly and the Scottish parliament. Responsibility for executive functions in relation to justice in Wales should be transferred to the Welsh government.”
A separate judiciary, up to the level of the court of appeal, should be established in Wales and the supreme court in Westminster should be required to appoint a justice with knowledge of the increasingly divergent laws of Wales in the same way it selects Scottish and Northern Ireland judges.
Thomas said: “The people of Wales are not well served by the current arrangements. Justice needs to be aligned with other policies and spheres of activity if it is to play the proper role it should in Wales. Devolution of justice functions is necessary. While the legislation is prepared, there is much that can and should be done to improve the delivery of justice in Wales.”
The report states: “Under the current scheme of devolution there is no properly joined up or integrated approach, as justice remains controlled by the Westminster government. Consequently, the people of Wales do not have the benefit which the people of Scotland, Northern Ireland and England enjoy by justice being an integral part of overall policymaking. There is no rational basis for Wales to be treated differently, particularly as Wales has its own long legal tradition.”
Many of the proposed solutions are sensible and much-needed. Wales is rapidly developing a separate body of law and taking different approaches to our English neighbours on youth justice, substance misuse problems and a whole host of other issues. It makes sense to establish a separate system here to reflect that policy divergence and to allow Welsh solutions to be developed to Welsh justice problems, administered.by Welsh courts.
But, a note of caution: if devolution does not come with sufficient new funding then Wales will struggle to make a difference. There is no guarantee that the Welsh Government will be able to restore nearly two decades of legal aid cuts for example. Access to Welsh justice after devolution could well prove to be as unequal as it is at present.
The last time the UK Government tried to reform Welsh police forces, they faced huge resistance from the police themselves, and the Welsh Government. It makes sense for policing in Wales to be controlled in Wales, but will ministers here really bite the bullet and try to create savings to be directed into front-line policing, by amalgamating forces - something they fought previously?
And finally, the Welsh prison estate is hardly fit for purpose. It needs capital investment. Some prisons need replacing. There is no adequate youth provision, no category A prison and no women's prison this side of Offa's Dyke. Obviously the Welsh Government will want to adopt legislation and sentencing policies that will reduce the prison population, but there will still need to be reciprocal arrangements with England.
I look forward to seeing how this debate develops.
Comments:
<< Home
> if devolution does not come with sufficient new funding
>then Wales will struggle to make a difference
Some money will be recovered from abolishing PCCs and their swollen back-office staff. Wales can also take the lead in streamlining court procedures, over which the Lord Chancellor has been dragging his feet.
A more off-the-wall suggestion is charging Westminster for English prisoners housed in Welsh gaols.
>then Wales will struggle to make a difference
Some money will be recovered from abolishing PCCs and their swollen back-office staff. Wales can also take the lead in streamlining court procedures, over which the Lord Chancellor has been dragging his feet.
A more off-the-wall suggestion is charging Westminster for English prisoners housed in Welsh gaols.
You wont save that much from amalgamating police forces, even from PCC offices. There will be a cost running into the millions in just making sure that all police officers have common uniforms and equipment. Merger will cost money - http://peterblack.blogspot.com/2006/05/resistance-grows-on-police-mergers.html
You will note the imbalance in prison provision. I suspect any charges we make for English prisoners will be more than overtaken by what we are charged for them holding Welsh prisoners
You will note the imbalance in prison provision. I suspect any charges we make for English prisoners will be more than overtaken by what we are charged for them holding Welsh prisoners
Then maybe we should not go all the way with the commission's proposal to merge the police forces. Surely we can revert to the arrangements ante-PPCs?
I did not realise there were more Welshmen in English prisons than vice versa.
Post a Comment
I did not realise there were more Welshmen in English prisons than vice versa.
<< Home
