Llywydd, the law consists of the rules of society that enable us to live, work and enjoy life together, and the principles that underpin our law are based on the values of our society and they are bound together in a legal framework, underpinned by what we call the rule of law. Today, I'm pleased to participate in this debate as the Chair of the first ever Welsh parliamentary committee dedicated to the scrutiny of our constitution, legislation and now justice. So, this is a historic first for Wales, not only in our development as a parliament creating laws, but also in the emergence of our own legal system.

My committee will be developing a programme of work aimed at scrutinising our existing Welsh judicial system of tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies, and exploring how areas of Welsh policy interact with the existing England-and-Wales legal jurisdiction. We will need to develop an understanding of certain underlying principles if this work is to be successful. So, the issue of the devolution of justice is not about a power grab between Westminster or between this place, so opposing change with phrases such as we heard during the Wales Act 2017, that the England-and-Wales legal system has served us well, is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the administration of justice, which is really about ensuring that cases are heard and efficiently administered as close to the people as possible, by judges and by lawyers who know the local communities and understand the relevant law.

Our current system of legal administration is not fit for purpose. Legal aid cuts by the UK Government following the 2012 legal aid Act and court closures have decimated access to justice for ordinary people. Half of all magistrates' courts in Wales have closed, local justice has become a thing of the past, the majority of the poor and vulnerable no longer have access to proper justice in many of the important areas that affect their lives. As the Thomas commission says, the significant cuts to legal aid have hit Wales hard and proper justice is not available. I agree with that comment.

When the legal aid system was set up in 1949, there was an understanding that access to justice was a fundamental component of justice. As Viscount Simon said in that debate all those years ago, establishing access to justice is an essential reform in a true democracy. So, we must now examine how we might create our own new Welsh legal aid and advice and representation system.

We must also re-establish the link between social policy and the administration of justice. This Parliament has responsibility for children, social care, housing, social services, drug and alcohol policy, education, training and so many other areas. The administration of these services goes hand in hand with the legal system we operate. Poverty and social policy are key factors in the delivery of social and administrative justice that the separation of responsibility for devolved policy in these areas from justice makes absolutely no sense. They need to work and to develop hand in hand.