In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of
the Constitution, Councillor Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn will propose as follows:-
“The Council calls on the Westminster Government
to devolve powers over justice (the Courts, Prisons, the Police, the Probation
Service and other associated powers) and create a Welsh Legal Jurisdiction.”
Decision:
The Council calls
on the Westminster Government to devolve powers over justice (the Courts,
Prisons, the Police, the Probation Service and other
associated powers) and create a Welsh Legal Jurisdiction.
Minutes:
Submitted - the following notice of motion by
Councillor Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn in accordance with Section 4.20 of the
Constitution, and it was seconded:-
The Council calls on
Westminster Government to devolve powers over justice (the Courts, Prisons, the
Police, the Probation Service and other associated powers) and create a Welsh
Legal Jurisdiction.
The member set out the context to his motion,
noting that:-
·
Wales is the only
country with the ability to create legislation, but without its own legal authority,
and that the complications that arise from this arrangement means that
difficulties arise between the Senedd and Westminster, with the policies
crossing on key matters, and the Senedd using its budget to pay for services it
doesn't have power over, as well as expensive court cases.
·
That many negative
changes had been regarding the legal system in Wales over the last ten years,
with 23 crown / magistrate courts closing, which meant that more people had to
travel further for justice, especially people living in rural communities and
areas. Also, cutting the legal support
for people in need means that many were suffering from health and mental health
problems from worrying about court cases, and this, with time, has led to more
stress for the National Health Service.
·
That devolving the powers over justice and
creating a new system would mean that Wales could take a different route to
develop a better legal service for the people of Wales. Scotland and Northern
Ireland have their own legal authority, as well as the Isle of Man, Jersey and
Guernsey; even areas in England have more power over elements of the law than
Wales. It is time for our nation to have the same powers to move forward in
order to diminish the complicated situation that currently exists.
·
It was believed that it was important that
the Councillors push these national matters for the benefit of the people of
the country, and by bringing these matters before the Council, we start key
discussions, that move our communities forward and create systems that work for
us.
Many other members expressed support to the notice by
noting:-
·
That this was a basic
error in the way Wales was operating and that it was essential that our legal
system reflects our values and who we are as Welsh people.
·
That we needed the
power, not only over this, but everything, and that there was a need to look
after ourselves as a country and get independence for Wales.
·
That the notice by
Cyngor Gwynedd calling for independence over different systems /
administrations was a certain and necessary step forward.
·
That it was not
unusual, under the current arrangement, for court cases to be moved at short
notice from the court in Caernarfon to Chester.
·
That we have the
infrastructure, the courts, and so forth, in Wales, but that the old system was
managing it all in England.
·
That the statistics
prove that the justice system managed from Westminster was not working at all,
i.e.:-
- Number of people who re-offend soon after leaving jail - 25% - 30%
- Number of people who re-offend after being in jail for less than 12
months - 54%
- The group most likely to re-offend - young males 15-17 years of age
·
That research by the
Wales Governance Centre highlighted serious inequality between the justice
field in England and Wales. It was also
believed that there was less offending, but more imprisonments in Wales,
especially women, for some reason.
·
That the Youth Justice
Service was undertaking excellent work keeping the young people of Gwynedd out
of jail by supporting them in their communities, but that their work was
subject to 2 sets of rules - England regulations / procedures and Wales
also.
·
The recent Inspectorate
that was reviewing the Youth Justice System were not Welsh, and that the only
answer, to respect our rights, our language rights, respond to language needs
and the needs of others in our communities in Wales was to have one justice
system for Wales.
RESOLVED to adopt the motion, namely:-
The Council calls on Westminster Government to devolve powers over
justice (the Courts, Prisons, the Police, the Probation Service and other
associated powers) and create a Welsh Legal Jurisdiction.