Senedd should not get Welsh police powers: Senior Labour MP

The most senior Welsh Labour MP in Westminster has rejected fresh calls for the Welsh government to be given control of policing and adult criminal justice.

Shadow Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said Labour would be focusing at the next election on "the things that matter".

She spoke days after a Welsh government-commissioned report said powers were needed "urgently".

Plaid Cymru accused UK Labour of a "lack of ambition".

The policing of justice and policing has been a long held ambition of Mark Drakeford's government in Cardiff Bay, and Jo Stevens' remarks show a difference of opinion in Labour over what the future of the Welsh Parliament and Welsh government should look like.

The Welsh government has claimed it could cut the number of people in prison if it had control of law-and-order powers.

It has talked about replacing jail sentences with mental health programmes and support for drug users.

Last week the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales said policing and criminal justice powers should be devolved, beginning with the police, probation and youth justice - although the single Conservative member of the commission disagreed with the findings.

A sub-group of the commission said that there was evidence of a "strong case for change to secure better outcomes, better value for money, increased transparency and more accountability".

Unlike in Scotland, where policing is overseen by the Scottish government, in Wales it is ultimately the responsibility of the UK government in Westminster.

Speaking to BBC One's Politics Wales programme, Ms Stevens said: "We have said that we will explore the devolution of youth justice and probation.

"But we will not be looking at devolution of policing and justice.

"We will be focusing in the next election on the things that matter to people in Wales,", she said, listing "growing the economy, creating new jobs, getting cheaper bills, building an NHS fit for the future and breaking down barriers for opportunities for children and young people across the country."

She promised more police, better resourced courts and "building the prisons that the Tory government have failed to build".

However, Ms Stevens, who is MP for Cardiff Central, promised "strengthening of devolution", promising a better relationship between the Welsh and UK governments.

Gordon Brown's report on Labour and devolution in 2022 said the next UK Labour government should "embark upon the devolution of youth justice and the probation service".

But it also suggested that the ability of Welsh institutions to handle new powers in Wales could be a reason not to go further.

It said devolution should be "constrained only by reserving those matters which are necessary to discharge the purposes of the UK as a union, and in practice by the wishes of the Senedd itself... and of course by the practical challenges of transferring new powers and building the capability to operate them".

The report said it expected a future Labour government to "engage constructively" with the recommendations of the Independent constitutional commission.

Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts said that despite this Ms Stevens "has already outright rejected one of its key recommendations without any engagement".

"I challenge Jo Stevens to justify why worse outcomes, reduced value for money, and a lack of transparency and accountability would be in the interest of the people of Wales.

"The lack of ambition for Wales from the incoming Labour UK government is staggering."

In response Ms Stevens promised to deliver "more visible policing, quicker and better court outcomes - these are the priorities of the Welsh public".

The Welsh Conservatives' Darren Millar said: "By Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Wales' own admission, the Labour Welsh government are fixated on the wrong priorities."

Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, added: "The Labour party in Westminster have always been a roadblock when it comes to devolving further powers to Wales, and unfortunately it seems as though this will continue to be the case for the near future."