6. Statement by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution: Justice in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:08 pm on 24 May 2022.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 5:08, 24 May 2022

Firstly, thank you for those comments. They very much agree with all the sentiments that you have expressed and, of course, the importance of the developments that have been taking place and the engagements that are there, but also how much further we actually have to go.

In terms of your last point, in terms of the progress that's being made, what I can say is that I'm engaging on a very regular basis with the Minister for Social Justice, and we work through these in terms of our respective portfolios. I'll come back to you in terms of perhaps some more detail on that. But also to say that, of course, part of the purpose of this paper is about this isn't a sort of 'end of the road' or 'this is where we are' et cetera. This is actually where we're starting from in terms of where we want to go.

Can I add one thing that probably I didn't mention properly in response to, again, Mark Isherwood, but is to some extent relevant, and that is in terms of the issue of policing? Can I say how much I welcome the actual co-operative work that has been taking place between the police and Welsh Government and agencies, and between the police and crime commissioners, because many of the joint efforts that are taking place, the joint work, and some of the progress that's been made, has actually been a direct result of that co-operation? So, it's actually showing things that are happening.

And can I also say, I very much welcome the statement that has come from the police and crime commissioners today in response, which is actually supportive of the devolution of justice, and indeed supportive of the devolution of policing? So, the four elected police and crime commissioners, a position that was created by a Conservative Government to reflect and to input into policing in communities, have come out 100 per cent in support, I believe, of the direction of where we're going. I think the argument in terms of cross-border—it hasn't impacted in terms of Northern Ireland, it hasn't impacted in terms of Scotland, there's no reason why those issues shouldn't equally apply within Wales. Cross-border working takes place in all sorts of areas, devolved and non-devolved. It takes place in the health service, which is devolved on cross border, so I don't think those are valid issues. But I think we really should pay attention to, effectively, the democratic elected voice of the police and crime commissioners, and also to welcome the fact that the police federation themselves see no reason why justice should not be devolved. Their position has developed over the years and again, I believe, is a very positive one.

Minister

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