Part of 4. Questions to the Leader of the House and Chief Whip – in the Senedd at 4:27 pm on 11 December 2018.
Justice is yet to be devolved. That responsibility can't come to Wales soon enough, as far as I'm concerned. When it comes to the imprisonment of women, I very much agree with the Howard League for Penal Reform, who found that far too many women in Wales are being sent to prison and there is no facility here in this country. They say, and I quote:
'There is considerable scope to improve services and outcomes by developing a small network of women's centres in Wales and radically reducing the number of women sent to prison.'
Now, in addition to this network of women's centres, one way to radically reduce the numbers of women who are sent to prison would be to invest in probation services so that there can be real alternatives to custody. Given that probation is not devolved, and given that it's been practically half-privatised, how can you, in practical terms, influence this agenda?