7. Debate: Report of the Commission on Justice in Wales

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:25 pm on 4 February 2020.

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Photo of Jeremy Miles Jeremy Miles Labour 6:25, 4 February 2020

I would indeed agree with that proposition. We support strongly the devolution of family justice, because it enables better alignment with our priorities here as a Government, including early intervention and ensuring that the voice of the child is better heard in some of those proceedings as well.

That is one of a range of areas where the commission's work speaks to the need to integrate justice with those policy areas that are already devolved to Wales—some of them Mick Antoniw pointed out in his contribution—housing, health and education, amongst others. And it's that obstacle to integration that I think explains the dilemma with which Mark Isherwood was wrestling in his contribution, I think, which is why the justice system which is reserved isn't performing better for the people of Wales. In those areas, there is already divergence in the law that applies to England and the law that applies to Wales, and that will only gather momentum. And the conclusion that justice should be devolved speaks also to the better use of funding that can be then allocated holistically to secure better outcomes for the people that Leanne Wood and John Griffiths spoke so passionately and powerfully about, who are amongst the most vulnerable in our society. So, improving outcomes for the people of Wales must be at the heart of what we are trying to achieve.

Then, finally, there is the work that we can do now in Wales. And, for my part, I've met recently with the heads of law schools in Wales to discuss legal education and the establishment and the role of the proposed new law council for Wales. I'm pursuing the cause of the Welsh language in the system of professional legal qualifications, where, in contrast, to Mark Reckless, this Government expects parity of treatment for those seeking to qualify in Welsh. I'm meeting with law firms and with the Law Society—