Speaking in today’s Debate on Probation Service Reform, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Mark Isherwood AM, spoke again against calls for the devolution of the criminal justice system and backed proposals by HM Prison and Probation Service in Wales which will allow increasing integration across prisons and probation in Wales.
Mr Isherwood also referred to the work of Eagle House Youth Development Community Interest Company, based in North Wales, with young people involved with or at risk of committing crime.
Speaking in the Debate, he said:
“On the 21st August I attended the stakeholder engagement event held in Wrexham by HM Prison and Probation Service in Wales to discuss future probation services in Wales – and the proposals contained in the recently published “Strengthening probation, building confidence” consultation paper.
“We heard that “In Wales, the proposals consulted on are that, from 2020 all offender management services will sit within the National Probation Service - and that HM Prison and Probation Service in Wales will explore options for the commissioning of rehabilitative services, such as interventions and community payback.
“They told us that they will build upon the unique arrangements they already have in Wales through their established prisons and probation directorate. As they stated, this will better reflect the devolved responsibilities of the Welsh Government and build on existing local partnerships that probation services have successfully developed. I therefore move our amendment 1 to this effect.
“As we heard, these proposals will allow increasing integration across prisons and probation in Wales - “preventing victims by changing lives” - with real input from the Third Sector, utilising people capital.
“Following this, I am, for example, taking the National Probation Service in Wales to meet Eagle House Youth Development Community Interest Company in Bangor next Friday to discuss the latter’s work with young people involved with or at risk of committing crime.
“Eagle House has already built a strong working relationship with Job Centres in North Wales.
“As the Lord Chancellor states in the ‘Strengthening Probation and Building Confidence’ Consultation, ‘we know that community sentences are often more effective than prison in reducing reoffending’.
“The consultation also notes “the devolved responsibilities of the Welsh Government and existing partnership arrangements in Wales make the delivery of probation services quite different to that in England. The legislative framework provides us with scope to develop alternative delivery arrangements which better reflect the criminal justice context in Wales. We will then consider whether the learning from these new arrangements is applicable to the system in England”.
Mr Isherwood added:
“Wrexham’s Labour MP, Ian Lucas, also attended the Wrexham event. Like me, he understands that devolution of criminal justice would be damaging, running counter to cross-border reality. He also reminded me that Delyn’s Labour MP, David Hanson, shares his concerns.
“Calls for the devolution of criminal justice to Wales fail to recognise that criminal activity does not recognise national or regional boundaries, and that over 1.4 million people in Wales (48% of the total) live within 25 miles of the border with England, and 2.7 million people (90% of the total) within 50 miles of the border.
“As my working contacts in criminal justice in North Wales repeatedly remind me, they have a closer affiliation with north-west England than the rest of Wales – and to force devolution ‘to satisfy the egos of certain Politicians should be carefully monitored’.
“In calling for the devolution of Criminal Justice, we must remember that Plaid Cymru exists only to dismember the UK and divide the British people – and Welsh Labour’s record of creeping and often intimidatory politicisation of devolved public services must be a warning to us all.”