Earlier this year, Counsel General, you will know that—it seems like two or three Prime Ministers ago now, in fact—the committee that I chair actually carried out a stakeholder engagement exercise on access to justice to Wales. One of the points that came out on that was the well-known impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the effect that has had of diminishing access to legal aid. Despite what was welcomed by stakeholders in terms the investment of the Welsh Government, it also picked up on the impact of the reduction in access to courts and tribunals, and the geographic disparities that we have in Wales as well denying access to justice. It also picked up on the accessibility of Welsh law and the need to have clarity in Welsh law, particularly in areas that were regarded as progressive—on aspects of social law and so on. Can I just briefly ask him—? One of the respondents said to us:

'This is the problem with us not having a devolved legal system...the trouble is, legal aid is controlled by the Ministry of Justice in London'.

And this is a direct quote from a practitioner:

'they don’t care about what goes on in Wales frankly...and in actual fact, sometimes legal aid is refused on grounds which are not relevant to Wales'.

Counsel General, do you agree with me that these issues will continue to cause scars within Wales on society at this jagged edge of justice, and that, frankly, ignoring this will not make it go away?