The Commission on Justice in Wales

Part of 2. Questions to the Counsel General and the Minister for the Constitution – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 20 October 2021.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 3:00, 20 October 2021

Well, thank you for that and, yes, I do agree with the recommendation. Of course, the recommendation was made within the context of the further devolution of justice. I'd also perhaps reaffirm the comments that you made with regard to the impact of cuts to legal aid. This is something I've raised nearly every time I've had meetings with relevant judiciary and law officers. It's a matter that is regularly raised in this particular Chamber, because we have, effectively, I believe, a two-tier justice system now: a justice system for those who can afford it and very little justice for those who can't.

We as a Welsh Government have stepped in with resources that were not intended for this in terms of the single advice fund that the Minister for Social Justice was referring to earlier, how important that is, but it is not a substitute for a properly funded justice system and a properly funded legal aid system. I hope, though, that the single advice fund and the investment that we are making into that support provides the base for the establishment eventually of a Welsh legal aid fund.

I think it is also worth referring to the comments that have been made recently by the previous Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, who basically talked about the way in which justice has been underinvested for decades, and I agree with that and I think the cuts in respect of legal aid were almost the worst example of that. But there is no doubt that there has been a long-term failure to evaluate the importance of the justice system and that the justice system is ultimately about the empowerment of people in our communities. So, I think it is another matter that comes back to a point that was made earlier in terms of the commission and the need for the review that is likely to be taking place.