4. Statement by the Counsel General: The Welsh Government Prosecution Code

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:47 pm on 9 January 2018.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 3:47, 9 January 2018

Thank you. In relation to the publication of consultation responses, they have in fact been published, so I can make sure that they should have been emailed again today, but I'll make sure that the Member has a copy of that. He's right to say that there were a number of points raised in relation to the scope, as it were. Stakeholders wanted further clarity on who the code applies to, for example, and therefore there have been amendments to make it specifically clear that it relates to Welsh Government functions only as opposed to third-party bodies who may have their own prosecution functions.

You mentioned the prosecution test in particular, and, again, various stakeholders commented on the public interest stage and had some specific suggestions to make about amendments to that, and several of those have been taken into account.

You asked about the question of the impact of the code on capacity generally to pursue some of the prosecutions. You may be aware that the Welsh Government has previously been applying the CPS prosecution code, which sets out its own stages, so what this represents is a sort of evaluation of that that is particular to the Welsh Government. Obviously, decisions in relation to prosecutions are taken on the facts of each individual prosecution, and the volume of prosecutions in different areas varies, and of course varies over time. It is part of the public interest calculation or analysis that relates to proportionality of decisions taken to prosecute, and one of the factors there is cost, although you wouldn't make a decision based simply on that.

On the question of capacity more generally, other devolved administrations have separate prosecution agencies, of course, and you might regard that in the long term as a natural part of the devolution journey, closely related to the devolution of justice responsibilities. Those agencies exist in Scotland and in Northern Ireland and, I dare say, over time, as our prosecution responsibilities grow, that will be part of the considerations that we might wish to have here in Wales as well.