Politics

Time for Welsh justice for Wales

Published

5 years ago

November 5, 2019

A MAJOR report into the Welsh justice system calls for radical change.
The report, ‘Justice in Wales for the People of Wales’, says the administration of justice needs to be devolved so that justice in practice aligns with the growing body of Welsh law on social, health and education policy and other services.
Prepared by a Commission chaired by the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Report says: ‘Major reform is needed to the justice system and to the current scheme of devolution’.
The Commission found ‘under the current scheme of devolution there is no properly joined up or integrated approach, as justice remains controlled by the Westminster Government’. It says to ensure consistent treatment of the UK’s devolved administrations, Wales should have the same powers over its justice system as Scotland and England, particularly as Wales increasingly diverges from England in key areas of policy, for example on housing.
The reductions in the justice budget made by the Westminster Government since 2010 have been amongst the most severe of all departmental budget cuts.
The Commission is highly critical of the Westminster-centric nature of law-making, which largely ignores Wales’ interests and Wales’ challenges. It points out the Welsh Government has used its own money, in addition to permitting rises in council tax, to try and mitigate the damaging effects of these policies.
The result is almost 40% of the total funding for Wales’ justice system originates in Wales. This is above other tax revenue that is raised from Wales and then allocated by the Westminster Government to Wales.
The report’s authors unanimously conclude: “This position is unsustainable when the Welsh Government has so little say in justice policy and overall spending.”
Crucially, the report also says restrictions on the Senedd’s powers to legislate over policing, offender management, and rehabilitation should be removed. Such an arrangement would align the Senedd’s powers with those of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament.
On two areas of policy, the Report is particularly critical of Wales’ treatment within the current justice system.
ADVICE DESERTS
The significant cuts to legal aid made in 2012 have hit Wales hard. Proper access to justice is not available with the consequent threat to the Rule of Law.
The report says Westminster’s approach to legal aid has created:
• ‘advice deserts’ in rural and post-industrial areas where people struggle to receive legal advice;
• a serious risk to the sustainability of legal practice elsewhere, especially in traditional ‘high street’ legal services; and
• increasing numbers of people representing themselves in courts and tribunals with a consequential adverse impact on outcomes and the efficient use of court resources.
The report says although the Welsh Government spends its own funds on advice services it lacks the resources to bridge the gap caused by the cuts to legal aid.
Prosecution lawyers and prosecuting authorities are funded from the public purse. Individuals just over the legal aid limit are doubly penalised by the inability to access legal advice. If they do and are acquitted, individuals face the infamous ‘innocence tax’. Self-funding defendants in criminal prosecutions who are acquitted very seldom – if ever – recover the whole costs of their defence, leaving them often massively out of pocket.
On criminal law, the report finds, unlike in England, the number of police officers in Wales has not reduced. It explains this is because the Welsh Government provides further funds and allowed council tax rises to provide extra money to forces.
However, a significantly greater proportion of the spending on justice is now on prisons rather than crime reduction. Wales has one of the highest, if not the highest, prison populations per head in Western Europe, even though the evidence is that robust community sentences achieve better outcomes in many cases.
The lack of integration between health policy, over which Wales has powers, and policing, reserved to Westminster, means the current devolution scheme has created problems in terms of providing health services for prisoners, as well as other services such as housing which are necessary for rehabilitation on release.
The report calls for a single Minister to be given responsibility for justice in Wales and establishing problem-solving criminal courts and Family Drug and Alcohol Courts in Wales.
Predictably, the UK Government has dismissed the plans as creating over-complexity; brushed aside increasing legislative differences between English and Welsh law; and turned its back on equal treatment of Wales within the UK.
Questioned on Radio 4’s ‘Law in Action’ whether the plans would speed up the break-up of the United Kingdom, Lord Thomas gave a vigorous denial that would be the case.
He pointed out provisions within the document for a UK-wide Supreme Court with judges appointed to it from each jurisdiction. Saying the different treatment of Wales was ‘unsustainable’, he repeated the proposals within the report needed only changes to the existing devolution settlement to recognise Wales’ circumstances and to create a level playing field between the nations of the UK.

News

Fresh questions over fire that ravaged Manorbier school

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A senior Pembrokeshire councillor is to be quizzed on what progress has been made in recouping a £200,000 insurance excess paid by the council following the 2022 fire at a Manorbier school.

Manorbier Church in Wales VC School and its adjoining schoolhouse was severely damaged by a fire on October 11, 2022, which broke out in the school roof space.

Pupils and staff were successfully evacuated with no injuries, and a “school from school” was set up in Jameston Village Hall, after a brief period of sanctuary at the nearby Buttyland caravan site.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s insurers have previously said the fire was accidentally started while “hot works” were being carried out by contractors to renew an adjacent flat roof, but, as has previously been stressed, no liability had been accepted to date.

Councillors have previously heard the majority of costs were likely to be met from the council’s insurers, with the caveat of the unknown issue of liability and its effect on the £200,000 insurance excess.

A submitted question, by Councillor Aled Thomas, to be heard at the full council meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council on May 9, will ask Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language Cllr Guy Woodham “to update the chamber on what progress the Cabinet have made in recouping the £200,000 insurance excess paid following the devastating non-fault fire at Manorbier school”.

Councillors have previously been told by Cllr Woodham: “The legal issues are not straightforward but will be robustly taken forward.

“At this stage it’s still subject to legal discussion. The excess will be covered by a fund the council holds for insurance excess.”

He said that, if liability was found or accepted, the council would “pursue for the full maximum claim of the costs associated with the fire”.

Crime

Dafydd Llywelyn retains his post as our local commissioner

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE result of the election for the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner election has been declared.

Plaid’s Dafydd Llywelyn retains his role as commissioner. He has held the role since 2016.

The result of the election is as follows:

Justin Mark Griffiths (Lib Dem) 7,719
Ian Harrison 19,134 (Con)
Dafydd Llywelyn 31,323 (Plaid)
Philippa Thompson (Lab) 18,353

Before the election, Dafydd Llywelyn promised: “As your current Commissioner, operational, front-line policing has, and always will come before party politics. I have a strong track record of delivering on my promises and of listening to the communities of Dyfed Powys. I am proud of what I have achieved since 2016, but there is still so much to do.

“I am an approachable individual and I believe in listening to all members of the community in order to shape a successful police force.

“Since 2016, I have increased resources whilst also retaining the lowest council tax levels in Wales. During that time, we’ve seen:

150 more Police Officers;

150 more Police Staff;
A CCTV system that is monitored 24/7 by police staff;
A dedicated rural crime team;
A focus on county lines drug dealing to target organised crime;
Investment in Youth Offending Teams to divert young people away from crime;
A new Offender Diversionary Scheme to reduce re-offending.

If re – elected:

I will safeguard Neighbourhood Policing resources retaining a visible local policing presence;
I will invest in the Communications Centre to ensure an accessible service;
I will continue to put the victim at the heart of the service and develop a truly victim led service;
I will work with operational staff to keep local police stations open;
I will invest in a new and refreshed School Police programme to deliver early intervention and preventative work;
I will prioritise working in partnership with organisations and agencies to safeguard the most vulnerable in society.

“Your safety is my top priority. I want to ensure that the Dyfed Powys Police Force remains one of the safest places to live in Wales and England.”

News

Pembroke Power Station hydrogen fuel production hopes rise

Published

2 days ago

May 3, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A public consultation on plans to develop a green hydrogen production facility next to Pembroke Power Station has been launched by energy company RWE Generation UK.

The technology uses the electrolysis of water to split into its constituent elements, hydrogen for fuel and power, and oxygen.

RWE, in its consultation, says: “RWE is progressing proposals to develop a green hydrogen production facility on RWE’s land adjacent to the existing Pembroke Power Station and has launched a statutory pre-application consultation to inform stakeholders and the community.

“RWE values the input of the local community and feedback will be used to inform the plans. RWE Pembroke Green Hydrogen will facilitate the generation of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced from water, using energy obtained from renewable sources.

“The hydrogen can then be used to decarbonise local industrial activities in South Wales, by displacing their current fossil fuel usage. The facility would be located on RWE’s site to the west of Pembroke Power Station and would benefit from being well-screened from local communities, while being accessed via the current power station access road.”

It adds: “It is expected that hydrogen generated by this facility for use in local industry would directly result in the reduction of approximately 93,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, helping to secure a more sustainable future for South Wales’ long-standing industrial heritage. This CO2 saving is the equivalent of removing 18,600 cars from the road each year.”

The 23.7ha development site proposed comprises of a 4ha main electrolyser area, a 1.5km hydrogen gas pipeline corridor, an electrical connection to a high voltage transformer all located to the west of Pembroke Power Station, and an area for connections into the Pembroke Power Station and a cable corridor for connection into the National Grid Substation.

The consultation documents say: “The proposed development is a green hydrogen electrolysis plant that will consume circa 100-110MW of electricity to produce around 2 te/hr green hydrogen gas for third-party uses unrelated to Pembroke Power Station. Including the balance of plant, the total energy consumption for the proposed development will be approximately 140MW.

“The consequent reduction in use of fossil fuels due to substitution by green hydrogen gas, and avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is a beneficial operational effect of the proposed development.”

It says development of the project is expected to take 24 months, and subject to as-yet unsubmitted full plans’ approval, could be built by early 2027.

The consultation runs to May 20.

A hydrogen fuel plant facility was given the backing of county planners last October, at the former Puma Energy site in Milford Haven.

H2 Energy Ecosystem UK Limited sought permission for the erection of an electrolysis hydrogen generation facility, and associated storage facilities and works at the Amoco Road site.