Cwestiwn ysgrifenedig WQ100722

The devolution settlement should continue to evolve where there is a clear case that doing so would improve accountability, effectiveness and delivery.

The rationale for devolution includes constitutional, practical and operational service delivery reasons. The Silk Commission, the Thomas Commission and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales considered a wealth of evidence and demonstrated conclusively that the current justice system arrangements create duplication, bureaucracy, confusion and unnecessary cost, while preventing a genuinely joined-up approach to prevention, diversion and rehabilitation.

The Welsh Government and Welsh academics have been working with the Ministry of Justice for a period of years to pursue the disaggregation and publication of justice related data that has previously been published on an England and Wales basis, to get a clearer picture of the impact of the justice system and its operation within Wales. Annual publications commenced in 2025.

In January 2025, the previous Government, with agreement from Plaid Cymru, commissioned a research programme to provide evidence and analysis on the operation of the justice system in Wales. Among other things, the research programme also aims to address evidence gaps arising from the limited availability of disaggregated Welsh justice data. The programme will identify, collate and analyse relevant data to inform current practice and policy development, as well as helping inform the decisions on measurable outcomes that might be monitored as a benchmark for the effectiveness of devolution.