The Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, Mark Isherwood AM, has challenged the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip this week over the Welsh Government’s plans for the delivery of justice services in Wales.
Responding in the Chamber to yesterday’s Statement by the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip on ‘Justice Blueprints’ for Youth Justice and Female Offending, Mr Isherwood welcomed the Deputy Minister's recognition of the importance of working in partnership with the UK Government and the Ministry of Justice to deliver improvements and a collaborative approach to crime and justice.
He also repeated his previous call for the Welsh Government to recognise the vital role played by the third sector in preventing offending and rehabilitating offenders, referring to the work of Eagle House Youth Development, a community interest company based in North Wales, which works with young people involved with or at risk of committing crime.
Speaking in the Chamber, he said:
“When we debated Probation Service Reform here last October, I noted that last 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 'Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence' consultation paper. We heard that the proposals in Wales 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.
“The Deputy Minister referred to last week's UK Ministry of Justice response to the consultation on 'Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence', which confirmed that, in the future, the National Probation Service will have responsibility for managing all offenders on a community order or licence following release from prison. It also confirms, as we know, that the Welsh Government has legislative competence in respect of devolved matters, including health, housing, social welfare and education, and this presents a different delivery landscape for probation services in Wales.
“How, therefore, does the Deputy Minister respond to the statement by the Ministry of Justice in this response that they ‘intend for the provision of additional services and interventions to be put out to tender to enable a range of providers and voluntary sector organisations to compete to deliver them’? Very clearly, they have the expertise and connectivity on the ground to deliver that prevention and early intervention.
“The UK Ministry of Justice’s ‘Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence’ consultation paper also stated ‘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 agreed with the Deputy Minister’s statement that an urgent solution is needed for female offending in Wales.
He said: “You refer to women currently held in prison in England - around 250. Your refer to ‘the issues associated with being a long way from home facing Welsh women offenders and their families’ being ‘considerable’.
“But, of course, criminal activity doesn't always recognise national or regional boundaries, and 48 per cent of people in Wales live within 25 miles of the border with England, 90 per cent within 50 miles. And, where I live in North Wales, Styal (women's prison) is only some 40 miles away, whereas a women's centre or prison in central or south Wales would be a far greater disconnection from family.
“So, how better does the Minister consider that we can ensure that the devolved services can reach offenders within Styal prison or other prisons where women offenders from Wales are currently held, alongside the wider reforms, which I support her in seeking?”
With regards to adverse childhood experiences - ACEs, Mr Isherwood asked the Deputy Minister to respond to the statement in the Welsh Affairs Committee Report this month on ‘Prison provision in Wales’ that ‘the Ministry of Justice should tackle gang-related problems in Her Majesty's Youth Offending Institution Parc, including a consideration of introducing smaller, custodial units to place younger people closer to home’.
He added: “Going back to the question about commissioning third sector services, I mentioned this morning an example of a charity that I have taken Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service in Wales to meet, shortly after the consultation event in Wrexham last year, which specifically works with these groups of young people, and which is currently doing great work with Jobcentre Plus in North Wales and was even hosted on their stand at the Royal Welsh Show last year, Eagle House Youth Development Community Interest Company.
“This was an example of how we can reach out to expertise that does exist within the Welsh community, but which is not currently able to deliver the services it seeks to provide in preventing youth offending and supporting young people away from that route in life.”
The Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, Mark Isherwood AM, has challenged the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip this week over the Welsh Government’s plans for the delivery of justice services in Wales.
Responding in the Chamber to yesterday’s Statement by the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip on ‘Justice Blueprints’ for Youth Justice and Female Offending, Mr Isherwood welcomed the Deputy Minister's recognition of the importance of working in partnership with the UK Government and the Ministry of Justice to deliver improvements and a collaborative approach to crime and justice.
He also repeated his previous call for the Welsh Government to recognise the vital role played by the third sector in preventing offending and rehabilitating offenders, referring to the work of Eagle House Youth Development, a community interest company based in North Wales, which works with young people involved with or at risk of committing crime.
Speaking in the Chamber, he said:
“When we debated Probation Service Reform here last October, I noted that last 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 'Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence' consultation paper. We heard that the proposals in Wales 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.
“The Deputy Minister referred to last week's UK Ministry of Justice response to the consultation on 'Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence', which confirmed that, in the future, the National Probation Service will have responsibility for managing all offenders on a community order or licence following release from prison. It also confirms, as we know, that the Welsh Government has legislative competence in respect of devolved matters, including health, housing, social welfare and education, and this presents a different delivery landscape for probation services in Wales.
“How, therefore, does the Deputy Minister respond to the statement by the Ministry of Justice in this response that they ‘intend for the provision of additional services and interventions to be put out to tender to enable a range of providers and voluntary sector organisations to compete to deliver them’? Very clearly, they have the expertise and connectivity on the ground to deliver that prevention and early intervention.
“The UK Ministry of Justice’s ‘Strengthening Probation, Building Confidence’ consultation paper also stated ‘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 agreed with the Deputy Minister’s statement that an urgent solution is needed for female offending in Wales.
He said: “You refer to women currently held in prison in England - around 250. Your refer to ‘the issues associated with being a long way from home facing Welsh women offenders and their families’ being ‘considerable’.
“But, of course, criminal activity doesn't always recognise national or regional boundaries, and 48 per cent of people in Wales live within 25 miles of the border with England, 90 per cent within 50 miles. And, where I live in North Wales, Styal (women's prison) is only some 40 miles away, whereas a women's centre or prison in central or south Wales would be a far greater disconnection from family.
“So, how better does the Minister consider that we can ensure that the devolved services can reach offenders within Styal prison or other prisons where women offenders from Wales are currently held, alongside the wider reforms, which I support her in seeking?”
With regards to adverse childhood experiences - ACEs, Mr Isherwood asked the Deputy Minister to respond to the statement in the Welsh Affairs Committee Report this month on ‘Prison provision in Wales’ that ‘the Ministry of Justice should tackle gang-related problems in Her Majesty's Youth Offending Institution Parc, including a consideration of introducing smaller, custodial units to place younger people closer to home’.
He added: “Going back to the question about commissioning third sector services, I mentioned this morning an example of a charity that I have taken Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service in Wales to meet, shortly after the consultation event in Wrexham last year, which specifically works with these groups of young people, and which is currently doing great work with Jobcentre Plus in North Wales and was even hosted on their stand at the Royal Welsh Show last year, Eagle House Youth Development Community Interest Company.
“This was an example of how we can reach out to expertise that does exist within the Welsh community, but which is not currently able to deliver the services it seeks to provide in preventing youth offending and supporting young people away from that route in life.”