Counsel General, we both know from our legal careers of the close link between social justice and the justice system, so I'm pleased to see the joint statement between you and the social justice Minister. Factors such as poverty, health inequalities and social disadvantage play a huge role in one's relationship with the justice system. Do you agree, therefore, that the devolution of justice, equalities and even welfare needs to be pursued as a package here? Despite all the unquestionable evidence to the contrary, the Tories in Wales—and we saw it again this afternoon—the Tories in Wales and the Tories in Westminster continue the same tired argument that the jurisdiction of England and Wales is serving the Welsh people well. Well, it is not. Instead of filling clear gaps within our justice system, the Westminster Government is hellbent on restricting further rights—the right to judicial review, the right to rely on the European convention on human rights, the right to quash unlawful secondary legislation. I'll ask the Tories here present: why do you think the Welsh Government is spending £10 million on the single advice fund, an area that is reserved? They are doing so as, without it, 128,000 people—more than the population of Wrexham and Bridgend put together—will not receive legal advice otherwise. I'll ask again for the Tories here present: why do you think the Welsh Government is funding a Ministry of Justice pilot, the family drug and alcohol court in Cardiff? The answer is because these families would not have the support they need otherwise. And I'll ask the Counsel General: what proportion has the Welsh Government spent on this very important Ministry of Justice project?

As the Counsel General highlighted, we see in Wales a huge arc between Swansea and Wrexham without hardly any legal services or courts and tribunals. For example, a person needing to travel to the Aberystwyth Justice Centre from Cardigan would have a two-hour journey using public transport. There are no courts in Anglesey. To travel from Anglesey by public transport to Caernarfon would mean a 90-minute journey on two buses. In many rural areas, as James Evans, the Conservative Member, mentions very often, there is no real proper public transport. So, what are the Welsh Government doing to ensure court centres and tribunals are connected by good public transport. Remote hearings have worked well on the whole during the COVID pandemic. It doesn't suit everybody, I admit, but will virtual hearings continue in the Welsh tribunals in the future?

If Mark Isherwood thinks that the Westminster Government kept justice moving during the COVID pandemic, then obviously he has not spoken to the legal professions. There are now longer delays than ever. Yes, partly because of COVID, but the long delays existed well before the pandemic. They existed because of cuts, systematic cut, year after year, to the justice system. And you cannot ignore that. 

I can attest to the comments of Sir Christopher Bellamy about criminal law practitioners. Many of my contemporaries who started off practicing in criminal law have now moved to other areas or have left the profession altogether. In mid and west Wales, 60 per cent of the criminal law solicitors are over 50 years old. But I note, Counsel General, that for the Welsh Government, the majority of the barristers they are instructing are still based in England. Do you agree with me that Welsh Government and Welsh public bodies as a whole—local authorities, health boards—can do far more to support the Welsh legal profession? Llywydd, we are seeing the erosion of rights in the UK. We are seeing rights being taken away from the Welsh public. We need a strong justice system. We need access to justice now more than ever before. Diolch yn fawr.