3. Will the Cabinet Secretary make a statement on preparations for the devolution of the probation service in Wales? OQ61141

Diolch. Welsh Government has been working with a range of academics and practitioners with experience in probation to advise on the future of probation services in Wales. The Wales Centre for Public Policy was commissioned to take forward specific research to outline options for devolution to Wales.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. I recently attended the annual Welsh criminology conference in Gregynog and was very heartened to see both the sense of excitement at further devolution that may well come to this Senedd, and the practical sense of grappling with the technical and administrative challenges that devolution will bring.

So, does the Cabinet Secretary agree with me that the time has come to move on from making the case for the devolution of youth justice and probation, and instead for the focus to be on the practical preparation for this Senedd taking on those responsibilities in what, if we are to place any credence on today's speculation, may be only a few weeks away?

Thank you. I certainly do agree that the case is made for devolution. We've had a variety of commissions. We've had the Thomas commission. We've had the Brown commission, and, most recently, we had, obviously, the commission that was chaired by Laura McAllister and Rowan Williams. And I think it is the time to move on now from arguing for the case to doing the preparatory work. 

We've got an ambitious work programme in place to develop our understanding of how devolution might work in the areas most likely to be taken forward, and that includes probation. And we've also commissioned the Wales Centre for Public Policy, who are taking work forward to identify potential options for probation devolution, learning from the many experts we have around the UK, and also across Europe. That work is now drawing to a close. I understand we should be getting some feedback on those findings at the end of this month, and, of course, I should thank you for your role as the former First Minister for making sure we have that significant programme of work established. 

Heaven forbid that there should be any further devolution when one considers that, after 26 years, you've failed in health, transport, education, culture, arts, social care, the economy, and I could go on. I believe that the UK Conservative Government has made it very clear that it has no plans to devolve the probation service to Wales in the near future. I think that is a wise decision. Why would we want more power devolved when the Welsh Government has shown over 26 years such poor judgment when it comes to law and order and many other matters? How could we trust this Government to implement, manage and maintain a probation service when it is being led by somebody who clearly thinks that taking money for their campaign from somebody who is polluting in the way they are—? That is unacceptable. Does the Cabinet Secretary not agree with me, at a time when the Senedd is going through its biggest transformation in history, and when its own leader displays such poor levels of judgment, that powers of policing, probation and justice are certainly best left in the wise hands of a United Kingdom Conservative Government?

I'm sure the Member won't be surprised that I do not agree with her, and that's why we need a UK Labour Government as soon as possible.