9. What support has the Counsel General provided the Welsh legal sector following proposed changes to working practices by the UK Government? OQ58299

Thank you for the question. It's a very practical question, and it's an important one. We have highlighted in our 'Delivering Justice for Wales' publication in May some of the measures that we're taking to support the legal sector. For example, through Business Wales we are delivering targeted support to legal practices to help them become, I think, more resilient, to innovate and grow. In partnership with the Law Society's Wales office and the national committee for Wales—I'm really pleased to see that the Law Society has now given national recognition to its body within Wales—we've developed a webinar series on business and digital support, cybersecurity, and legal technology.

We've recently invested £100,000 to help legal practices in Wales gain cybersecurity accreditation through a scheme the Law Society is managing. We're also looking at extending pathways into the legal profession to help more young people enter the law from a range of backgrounds to diversify the legal sector workforce and retain more of our Welsh homegrown talent, and, also, because of the importance of the development of the Welsh-medium legal profession.

In April, we issued an apprenticeship framework for two new Chartered Institute of Legal Executives qualifications at paralegal levels 3 and 5, and we're looking at further work on that. We're also investing in legal technology and cybersecurity—some £3.9 million of European funding towards Legal Innovation Lab Wales at Swansea law school, which will make up a total of just under, I think, £6 million that's being invested in that really exciting and important project.

So, these are the steps we're taking. We're obviously looking to do more and more to recognise the importance of the legal economy in Wales, and, again, to make the point that one of the most important things the Ministry of Justice could do would be to give us a decent civil justice centre in Cardiff.

Diolch yn fawr, Gwnsler Cyffredinol. The UK Government have been becoming increasingly hostile towards the legal profession, especially those holding them to account by stopping illegal removals from the United Kingdom and holding them to account against human rights abuses; all of this, also, whilst criminal barristers are striking. The current median annual income for a criminal barrister is £12,200, and that's due to years of legal aid cuts by the Tory Government. Legal aid, I'm sure you'll agree with me, Cwnsler Cyffredinol, is welfare; for years, it's been levelling people up so that they can have decent legal representation. As the Welsh Government's legal officer, when justice is devolved to Wales, will you give us a guarantee that lawyers will be properly respected and properly remunerated when that happens?

I've made the point many times how important access to the law is, because it fundamentally is about the rights of individuals and communities; it's about the empowerment of those two as well. Of course, I have always, I think, praised those elements of the legal profession—within the bar, within solicitors, and those who are paralegals working in Citizens Advice—who actually work in that area that is doing the best to give support to people in communities.

These are not the fat-cat lawyers that you read about in the papers; they're not the starting salaries for some solicitors in London City corporate firms of £120,000 a year. These are people who are making an absolutely valid contribution to our communities; it is the sector we want to expand and to increase throughout Wales. If people don't have access to justice, then you don't have real justice and you don't have real democracy, so I agree with all of the points you've made.

I thank the Counsel General.