Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:58 pm on 5 November 2019.
Can I thank the First Minister for his statement this afternoon? I'd also like to add my thanks to the commissioners and Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who made himself available to Assembly Members during the course of producing this report.
Whilst there are some very admirable arguments about the devolution of justice to Wales, we on this side of the Chamber still remain unconvinced that its devolution is the right way forward. However, that's not to say that there isn't a great deal of merit in some of the findings in the commission's report. Chapter 10 of the report considers knowledge, skills and innovation, and calls for an action plan to be created to support and promote public legal education, particularly for children and young people, and that's something that I very much welcome.
Now, today's statement rightly recognises that as the Welsh Government considers the devolution of justice for the future, a much wider focus is given to the legal sector in Wales and the country's knowledge base is expanded. Therefore, perhaps the First Minister can tell us what work the Welsh Government is currently doing in this particular area to help better promote awareness and develop skills within the Welsh legal industry.
I warmly welcome the news that £4 million of funding has been made available to Swansea University for its legal innovation lab, however, as today's statement notes, Wales's law schools are challenged more to work effectively together. So, can the First Minister tell us if the Welsh Government will be developing and implementing a specific strategy at a higher education level to develop Wales's legal studies programmes in all parts of the country?
Of course, I acknowledge that in some areas there are complexities between the work done by both the Welsh Government and the UK Government, and the commission's report makes it clear that family justice is an area that struggles between the responsibilities of both Governments. The report rightly acknowledges the importance of preventative action, and this is something that the Welsh Government could and should be doing more work on, and so perhaps in his response the First Minister could tell us a bit more about the work that the Welsh Government has done around family justice.
Now, in responding to the commission's consultation, the Law Society's evidence stated that, and I quote:
'We have a world-renowned legal system with judges of the highest calibre. These benefits have developed over hundreds of years and will continue for years to come regardless of our departure from the European Union.'
Unquote. And so it begs the question that these benefits could be lost in a separate jurisdiction. So, what assurances can the Welsh Government offer to those who share that particular view?
The Law Society also raised the issue of rural practice and the need for infrastructure issues to be addressed, and, as today's statement recognises, it will be absolutely crucial that these major infrastructure issues are dealt with to ensure that those needing legal services have access to them. With high street services diminishing, waves of broadband notspots, and public transport being often unreliable and expensive, this could have an impact on access to justice and the long-term sustainability of legal services in rural areas. Therefore, given Wales's geography, how confident is the First Minister that these infrastructure barriers could be managed so that those needing access to legal services will have them in the future?
Of course, Wales's geography means that devolving criminal justice isn't entirely straightforward, and there are some understandable concerns regarding the impact that devolving criminal justice could have on the Wales-England border. Calls for the devolution of criminal justice to Wales fail to recognise that criminal activity does not recognise national or regional boundaries and that around 48 per cent of the public live within 25 miles of the border with England and—[Interruption.] And 90 per cent of people—[Interruption.] And 90 per cent of people—[Interruption.] And 90 per cent of people live within 50 miles of the border. This, of course, contrasts sharply with the fact that only 5 per cent of the combined population of Scotland lives within 50 miles of the border. Therefore, perhaps the—.