Devolution of justice and policing to Wales will not happen in the first term of a new Labour government at Westminster.
That is one conclusion to be drawn from a £300,000 Welsh government research project currently out for tender. Likely to run until at least 2027, the Welsh Justice Research Programme will 'inform and assist with preparations for the potential devolution of policing and justice functions to Wales'. It will respond to various commissions into constitutional arrangements in Wales and their findings on justice, including the Thomas Commission (2019), the Silk Commission (2014) and most recently the Commission for the Constitutional Future of Wales (2024).
Devolution’s supporters received their biggest fillip five years ago when the Commission on Justice in Wales, set up by the Welsh government in 2017 and chaired by former lord chief justice Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, recommended that Cardiff wrest full control of justice policy and funding from London. But with a Conservative government at Westminster implacably opposed, only very limited progress has been possible on the commission’s 78 recommendations. One notable exception was a Welsh government white paper last year proposing a unified and expanded system of tribunals, over which Cardiff does have power.
Labour MS Mick Antoniw, counsel general for Wales until last month, is among devolution’s supporters. He had hoped that a Labour government at Westminster would prove more sympathetic. However, devolving justice to Wales was not in Labour’s general election manifesto and during a pre-election debate in June, the now secretary of state for Wales Jo Stevens branded such a move as 'fiddling around with structures and systems'.
Speaking to S4C, Stevens said: ’No one would be forgiven for trying to rip up and reconstruct the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice at a time when crime is blighting our streets.’
Plaid Cymru has hit out at Labour’s inaction. A spokesperson told the Nation Cymru news service: 'Following various commissioned pieces of work, we know that the devolution of policing and justice is the only way to tackle the injustices in the current system. Inequality is built into the heart of our justice system, with crime in Wales at an all-time high it’s vital that we give ourselves the best opportunity to tackle these issues head on.
'Plaid Cymru are clear: there cannot be any further delay in devolving policing and justice, and we won’t accept mere crumbs on the table if we are to create a distinct Welsh legal system that answers Welsh problems. If the promise of two Labour governments working together means anything, then Welsh Labour must go beyond simply explore options for the potential devolution of policing and justice functions to Wales and secure these powers from their colleagues in the UK Labour government.’
Antoniw was one of a spate of ministerial resignations in Cardiff last month which preceded the departure of former first minister Vaughan Gething. The role of counsel general is currently being fulfilled on a temporary basis by Elisabeth Velina Jones, former chief legal adviser to the National Assembly (now the Senedd).
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