7. Debate on the 'Port Talbot Community Against the Super Prison' Petition

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:54 pm on 6 December 2017.

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Photo of Alun Davies Alun Davies Labour 4:54, 6 December 2017

I understand the point the Member's made, and he has made that point to me in our private meetings. I'm grateful to him for repeating it this afternoon. Clearly, the measures that have been taken and the debates and discussions that have taken place do not presume a successful planning application, nor do they presume the sale of the land. No actions that have been taken by the Welsh Government to date make any presumption on the conclusion of this process.

The Ministry of Justice wrote to me late yesterday afternoon regarding the Baglan proposal and the wider prison estate in Wales. They have confirmed that the proposed facility would hold category C prisoners. The Ministry of Justice have described Cardiff and Swansea prisons as reception prisons and that they, the Ministry of Justice, anticipate that there'll be little functional overlap with the Baglan proposal.

I will be considering the Ministry of Justice's response further, but believe that we do have a responsibility to undertake an open and wide dialogue with UK Ministers regarding the wider offender management agenda and, in particular, the current proposal for Baglan. And I undertake, Deputy Presiding Officer, that I will take forward that dialogue.

So, let me turn to the approach that I would wish to take as the Cabinet Secretary in this area. David Rees, in his contribution in this debate, suggested that penal policy be devolved to Wales. I would agree with him. I would agree with him that we do need a justice policy in Wales that is a holistic policy, but isn't simply a policy for the incarceration of people in the way that Jenny Rathbone outlined. I hope that we would see justice policy as part of our overall policy for safe communities, to ensure that people who have offended are rehabilitated and able to live lives as a part of our communities across the whole of Wales.

I would like to see a prison estate that is modern, that is functional, that is able to deliver safety and security for prisoners and for the wider community; a prison policy that isn't based on simply a punitive desire for revenge, but a policy that is based on safe communities; and a holistic approach to bringing together services such as education, skills and healthcare, which are already devolved.

At the moment, the current devolution settlement does not serve Wales well. It means that our administration of justice policy is poor in comparison with England and Scotland. It does not deliver the policy that meets Wales's needs. I hope that the justice commission that the First Minister has established will begin the job of creating a structured approach to justice policy that will meet Wales's needs for the future. I hope that we will be able to continue to bring together all of the community services that already lie within our devolved responsibilities, with a justice policy that will enable us to move forward and move away from the rather sterile debates of the past.

I met with an Under-Secretary of State within the Ministry of Justice last week to begin this conversation. I will say to Members that it was a positive conversation and it was a conversation that I hope we will be able to progress. We discussed a wide-ranging agenda, including youth and female offending. I hope that we will be able, with the Ministry of Justice, to conclude an agreed way forward in the short term that will ensure that both devolved and non-devolved services are able to work together in a way that, perhaps, we have not done in the past. For the future, I hope that we will be able to have a single justice policy for Wales that will be a holistic policy, and one that will focus on the people and the individuals and the communities. 

So, let me say this in closing: the Welsh Government is committed to providing business and economic support for the people of Port Talbot and elsewhere—[Interruption.] I won't take an intervention at the moment. The points that were made by Dai Rees were well made: the United Kingdom Government has all too often turned its back on the people of that area. Electrification and the tidal lagoon are good examples of how the UK Conservative Government has turned its back on that part of our country.

In the last two years, we have offered near £1.5 million to nine companies in the area and £30 million to Tata, which will directly benefit the Port Talbot works. Communities, too, have benefited from £20 million of Welsh Government support, including an additional £11 million of Vibrant and Viable Places funds. So, we, the Welsh Government, and the people of Port Talbot need to understand what the Ministry of Justice wish to propose in the future, but we undertake, and I undertake as Cabinet Secretary, Deputy Presiding Officer, to keep Members informed of all of the discussions we have with the Ministry of Justice, on this and other matters. I give an undertaking that I will return to the Chamber to make a further statement in due course.