Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:53 pm on 4 February 2020.
Yes, I agree with that point, because Jones's work exposed that the Government plans for additional prison places will see Wales become a net importer of prisoners. We simply don't need any more prisons in Wales, so you're absolutely right to challenge the justice secretary on that point, that he wants to build another prison.
The commission on justice notes that those charged are disproportionately more likely to come from a black, Asian and minority ethnic group. And for women, the current system is beyond inadequate. There are no facilities at all for women offenders in Wales, and it's perhaps in relation to women's justice that a public health approach is most needed. According to the Thomas report, over half the women who are in prison have experienced domestic rape—half. Fifty-three per cent have noted that they have been mistreated emotionally, physically or sexually as a child—53 per cent. Devolving justice to Wales gives us the opportunity to break that cycle by uniting our health and social services with our justice policy. Devolution of the criminal justice system would also enable us to ensure that well-trialled perpetrator programmes were fully available within prisons and within public probation teams to reduce the risk of sexual offences being repeated. Changes could be made to practices within the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the court system to address those appallingly low rape conviction rates.
Thomas concluded that only full legislative devolution combined with executive powers will overcome the failings of the current system. We can build a new system that works, a system free from the patriarchal and misogynistic binds that result in such historically low rape conviction rates. Why would we not want to do that?
Finally, I turn to legal aid. The deep cuts made to legal aid in 2012 have led to advice deserts, where justice for some people is simply not available at all. Before the cuts, there were 31 providers of publicly funded benefits advice; now there are just three. The number of firms providing legal aid has fallen by 29 per cent, compared with 20 per cent in England. This is not justice. An increasing number of people now represent themselves in courts and tribunals, which leaves them significantly disadvantaged. Large chunks of the legal profession have been destroyed, proven by the mere 68 criminal pupilages advertised in England and Wales outside the Crown Prosecution Service in this year's round of applications, and only two of those are in Wales.
In the time I've had available—and I do realise I've gone over time—I've only been able to touch on limited matters that were raised in this commission's report, but suffice it to say the current system is clearly not working. For too long, Wales has put up with the complexities that lead to the people of Wales being systematically let down. Plaid Cymru has long argued that it's time for Wales to take responsibility for justice and for us to have our own legal jurisdiction. With this report, we can collectively call for the devolution of justice, not simply because we believe in the principle, but because the evidence shows that this has the chance to dramatically improve the lives of people in this country, and we should do it.