Minister denies Labour 'strung along' by UK on youth justice

Work is underway looking at the devolution of probation and youth justice, the Welsh government's senior legal advisor has insisted after a UK minister played down the prospect.

Prisons minister Lord Timpson said on Monday it was not "a priority" to devolve either probation or youth justice.

Counsel General Julie James said a more senior minister has authorised officials to work on the "beginnings" of the devolution of youth justice - and she said devolution was not in Lord Timpson's remit.

Former Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said Lord Timpson's comments amounted to "paternalism".

The Welsh government has been calling for criminal justice to be devolved for some time.

Wales is the only nation with its own parliament which shares a legal jurisdiction with England - with policing, the courts and prisons all the responsibility of Westminster and not Cardiff Bay.

UK Labour has not agreed to full devolution of criminal justice but has said it would explore giving the Welsh government powers over youth justice and probation, promising that in its general election manifesto.

Those who call for a transfer of powers argue it would mean that prisons and probation can be better integrated with devolved services, or could allow ministers to change policies to make improvements.

The Welsh government has commissioned work from the Wales Centre on Public Policy on probation devolution, and from former north Wales chief constable Carl Foulkes.

On Monday Prisons Minister Lord Timpson told a Senedd committee that handing control over of either was not a "priority" while the criminal justice system was in "crisis".

One Labour backbench MS said Lord Timpson's comments had been "pretty appalling".

Blaenau Gwent MS Alun Davies described Lord Timpson on social media network X as an "unelected peer telling our parliament what powers we are allowed to hold".

In the Senedd on Tuesday Adam Price asked Julie James if Wales was "being patronised by Westminster".

"I don't agree with that characterisation at all," James replied.

She said Huw Irranca-Davies, the deputy first minister, had "an extremely good meeting with the Lord Chancellor", Shabana Mahmood, "in which she authorised officials to work together on the beginnings of the steps for the the devolution of youth justice".

James said an official had been appointed as a "head of youth justice devolution", and meetings on probation were occurring.

She said Lord Timpson had done "an enormous amount of work on the absolute shambles the Conservative government left the court and prison system".

"To be fair to him, the devolution process is not within his remit," she said.

"The manifesto of the UK government said that it would explore the devolution of youth justice and probation, and we are doing that.

"I am confident that we will get the steps towards that that we expected in this first year and a bit of the UK Labour government, and I'm sure that that journey will continue."

Price said in a statement: "Every commission - Silk, Thomas - has reached the same conclusion. Justice powers must align with devolved services. Scotland governs its own justice system with distinction, Northern Ireland shapes its own path with pride, Wales alone is told to wait.

"After one full year of supposed partnership, we have no draft legislation, no target date for the transfer of power, no outline budget with which to plan, and now we have Labour themselves saying no. This isn't partnership - it's paternalism."

The first minister Eluned Morgan said things were "edging" forward on youth justice and probation.

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "We have had productive discussions with the UK government on youth justice and probation and we are exploring options where responsibilities in the youth justice system could be realigned.

"The deputy first minister will update the Senedd on developments in this area soon."