The ‘England and Wales’ system of law has been in place for centuries, but there have been louder calls to devolve the issue to Wales. One aspect that we could see devolved in the short term could be youth justice, but not everyone in the Senedd agrees.
00:00And I think just importantly to say that and sharing this with the UK government, we've introduced a unified prevention framework to guide youth justice activities.
00:10So we're absolutely ready for devolution. It can bring greater stability to justice services and the current devolved services are key to improving outcomes to young people in the justice system.
00:22What the Welsh Government and the Senate as a whole are responsible for is often a complicated mix. But one thing that is not the responsibility of Cardiff Bay is justice.
00:31The England and Wales justice system has been in place for centuries but there have been calls to devolve the issue to Wales and create a specific Welsh legal system.
00:39Politicians in the Senate have said that one step on that road would be the devolution of youth justice specifically. Currently it falls under Westminster jurisdiction but could soon be moved down the M4 to Wales.
00:49It would mean how people under the age of 18 who commit crimes are dealt with, including rehabilitation and custody.
00:55A lot of the issues involved in youth justice like education, social services, housing and local government are all devolved already.
01:02So it can be a complicated situation, which is exactly why the Welsh Government say they're looking to bring the issue of youth justice under Welsh control.
01:09Here in Wales, as you very well know, we've taken a very different proactive approach to England and we've seen a significant reduction in the number
01:18of first-time entrants into the youth justice system over the last decade or so.
01:24So for me, it's all about delivery now and ensuring youth justice is devolved to Wales must be a priority.
01:30So please, Cabinet Secretary, can you ensure you continue to press the UK Government to do this?
01:36Thank you very much, Leslie Griffiths, and you're absolutely right.
01:40As a result of the work that we've done in pioneering work, the child-first work we've done in Wales with our youth justice blueprint,
01:48we have seen a sharp and sustained decline in first-time entrants over the past decade.
01:55And that's a powerful reflection of the commitment, resilience and compassion of our youth justice professionals who work across Wales tirelessly to improve outcomes for children.
02:05Not everyone in the Senate, though, believes that devolving the issue is the right way to go,
02:09with Conservative members especially saying that the current backlog and ongoing problems are too much and too important to devolve.
02:16Earlier this year, I held a public meeting and, you know, we'd had a situation where 17 windows in brand new shelters on the promenade had been kicked in,
02:25fire at our local hospital, thefts from hotels, all committed by young people.
02:3135,600 proven offences committed by children in 2023-2024, an average of 430 children in custody at any one time during the year.
02:46It's just not acceptable. I've spoken to youth prevention services, I've spoken to Crown prosecution services.
02:54I don't support any further devolution to Wales of these powers or anything else.
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