Can I start by saying how much I welcome the statement this afternoon and welcome publication of these blueprints? I should also say that I'm very grateful to the Minister for her kind words in her statement. The failure of the criminal justice system to take proper account and regard of the devolved settlement is little short of a scandal, and it is an unhappy fact that the price of this scandal is paid by some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our country. It is something that I hope the United Kingdom Government will pay proper attention to in the coming weeks and months, and I hope that the publication of these blueprints ensures that that debate takes place.

I welcome also the points that have been made by the Minister on the announcement made last week on the future of the probation service. I very much agree with the criticisms made of that that have been made this afternoon by Leanne Wood. I think she's absolutely right, and what we would all like to see, I think, on different sides of this Chamber, is a return to decent public provision and public management of that service to ensure that the needs of the offender and the community are put first and that we don't go down the route, inadvertently, of putting private profit as the motivating factor for the delivery of that service.

Like others this afternoon, I read the Welsh Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons' report with some interest. The select committee was able to identify all the problems facing the services, but unfortunately weren't able to agree on any solutions to those problems. And such is the life of select committees in the House of Commons. But I think it's incumbent upon us this afternoon to understand that the identification of the problems is an initial first step, but it is our role, and certainly your role, Minister, as Government, to find those solutions.

I hope that we can move quickly, first of all to establish a system to deal with women who are in, or are at risk of being in, the criminal justice system. That means that we need to approach the sentencing policy as well. I hope, Minister, you've had the opportunity to discuss these matters with the judiciary to ensure that sentencing policy takes account of the wider development of policy in this field, and I hope that we will make the case. I do agree with the points that are being made about a women's centre that is local to women across different parts of the country, and that does argue in favour of more than one centre and not simply a centre that is built for the convenience of the service and not the convenience of the people who are receiving that service.

And I hope also, Minister, that we can agree that this women's centre will be managed by the Welsh Government. It's absolutely critical, I think, that we move away from discussions of a women's prison, which we've had in the past, and that we ensure that a women's centre is a fundamentally different institution and that it is managed by the Welsh Government, and the services provided there are provided for women as individuals and also for children and for women as heads of families, and that we ensure that we're able to deliver the services that they require not simply in a punitive way, but in a way that enables them to reach their potential and live the lives that they would choose to live. 

In terms of young people, I think it's an absolutely screaming disaster the way that we treat children and young people today. The youth offenders centre in Parc prison is staffed by people who work extraordinarily hard to do their very best for the people who are there, but we know that we need specific facilities for young people, and we also need to ensure that the young people who are within the criminal justice system today have an opportunity to forge different lives in the future, and that means training and an education that enables them to do so.

Finally, let me say this, Minister: I was very pleased to hear the statement you made earlier, but also your commitment to devolution of the criminal justice system. We're in the absurd position today where the United Kingdom Government is unable to deliver its own policy in Wales, but neither is the Welsh Government able to deliver its policy. So, we have two Governments that are unable to deliver policy in a single field. It is time—and it is incumbent on the United Kingdom Government to take responsibility for this—that the people of Wales were well served by those elected to take decisions on these matters. The failure to address the devolution of the criminal justice system is a standing rebuke to parliamentarianism at present. The people who are suffering the consequences of that are the people who are probably least able to effect change. I hope, Minister, that when you meet UK Ministers, you will make it absolutely clear to them it is their responsibility to ensure that we have a system that is fit for purpose, and that means the devolution of the system in its entirety to allow us to pursue the holistic policy that we and others want to see delivered for the people of this country.