Written question WQ98285

As the largest ever examination of the justice system in Wales, the Commission on Justice in Wales (Thomas Commission) report remains of course a very important contribution to public understanding of the condition of the justice system in Wales. Its key findings in relation to the structural failings underlying justice in Wales are as relevant as ever, hence the Welsh Government’s continuing support for the devolution of justice and policing. This position was of course supported by the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

The Welsh Government has taken a very large number of actions in response to the recommendations of the Thomas Commission. A number of these are set out in Delivering Justice for Wales and the subsequent progress report published in 2024. Delivering Justice for Wales is the main summary of Welsh Government actions related to justice during this Senedd term.

While we accept there are areas where we have not met all our aspirations, notable advancements have been made, even if arguments may be made that the recommendations in question have not been wholly completed.

For instance, in response to Recommendation 35 that Family Drug and Alcohol Courts should be established in Wales, the Welsh Government and partners funded a pilot in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, and the findings of that pilot are contributing to changes being rolled out across courts in Wales. Similarly, there has been

• a significant increase in the provision of legal apprenticeships in Wales (recommendation 40),

• considerable investment in legal technology (recommendation 43),

• activity to promote the Welsh legal sector (recommendation 44),

• greater transparency increased in procurement of legal services (recommendation 41), and

• significant progress towards tribunals reform, including the publication of a White Paper (recommendation 27)

The Welsh Government also took the lead on facilitating the creation of the Law Council for Wales (recommendation 65). However, once that process was concluded, it was for the members of the Council to determine its objectives, priorities and work programme. The Welsh Government is not a member of the Council, nor does it provide any funding to it, so there can be no questions about the Council’s independence. As an independent body, it is not for the Welsh Government to make an assessment of the extent to which it has fulfilled the functions envisaged by the Thomas Commission.

It remains the case that the significant majority of the Thomas Commission’s recommendations, including the most impactful, are ones which require the support and active participation of the UK Government. Although most of these recommendations focused primarily on the devolution of justice and how it might work, there were also suggestions that could have been implemented with UK Government support within the current devolution framework. Even on these, engagement from the previous UK Government was very disappointing, as highlighted in the progress report on Delivering Justice for Wales, where we noted that “it remains unclear whether the MoJ are intending to undertake any significant further activity [directly] as a result of the Thomas Commission discussions”.

Progress has though improved recently in these areas. For instance, in response to Recommendation 50, which sought improved Wales-specific data for evidence-based policymaking and research, we collaborated with the UK Government to secure the Ministry of Justice’s first annual Wales-specific data publication. The "Welsh Justice Data: Annual Release 2025" represents a significant milestone, providing detailed breakdowns—including prison statistics by home address origin (Welsh or English), prison establishment, local authority, offence type, age, ethnicity, religion, sentence type, and security category. This long-awaited dataset will now be routinely published on GOV.UK: Welsh Justice Data: Annual Release 2025, including an Excel file with detailed statistics.

Finally, in the second half of this Senedd we have focused increasingly on preparedness for hoped-for first steps in advancing the principal recommendations concerning the devolution of justice. Following considerable work with academics, experts and stakeholders within Wales, we have advanced this objective by working with the UK Government towards a memorandum of understanding on probation services, and in exploring the devolution of funding for youth justice services, and the related strategic oversight and governance arrangements.

Alongside this, we are working with the UK Government to establish new local police governance arrangements within Wales, following the UK Government’s announcement that the office of Police and Crime Commissioners would end at the end of their terms in May 2028. While the UK Government has ruled out devolution of policing at this time, they have acknowledged that a distinct model is needed for Wales. We are clear that this should be devolutionary in nature. We will advise the Senedd of the outcomes of these discussions shortly.