Despite the Welsh Government’s long-term commitment to devolving justice, progress has been slow since the Commission on Justice in Wales published its report over six years ago.
The report concluded “the people of Wales are being let down by the [justice] system in its current state” and recommended full devolution of justice powers and the creation of a Welsh legal jurisdiction.
As we approach the end of this Senedd term, this article looks at what progress the Welsh Government is making to deliver in this area.
The Thomas Commission
The Commission on Justice in Wales (“the Thomas Commission”) was established by the Welsh Government in 2017 and was chaired by former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd.
In its report, the Commission made 78 recommendations including legislative devolution of justice to the Senedd, executive devolution of justice functions to the Welsh Government, and formal recognition of Welsh law as distinct from English law.
If the Commission’s recommendations were fully implemented, it would mean that the Senedd and the Welsh Government would have responsibility for things like policing, prisons and the courts.
The Welsh Government’s approach to the devolution of justice
Since the Commission’s report, the Welsh Government has consistently argued for the full devolution of justice. It featured in the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru in 2021 and the Programme for Government 2021-26.
The Welsh Government set out its response to the Thomas Commission’s report in ‘Delivering Justice for Wales’ (2022), alongside a programme of work to take forward the recommendations in the areas the Welsh Government is already responsible for. In April 2023, it appointed Dame Vera Baird KC, a former Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, as an Independent Expert Advisor on justice devolution.
In its progress report (2024) on the justice work programme, the Welsh Government said:
Devolution of justice is an essential part of the necessary reforms that need to be implemented if we are to deliver a modern, progressive and effective legal and justice system for, and accountable to, the people of Wales.
This was reaffirmed by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies MS, in a written statement in August 2025:
We continue to support the devolution of justice in its entirety, as recommended by the Commission on Justice in Wales. As outlined in our 2022 publication Delivering Justice for Wales, a change of this scale requires a phased approach.
The UK Government’s role and current commitments
Despite the Welsh Government’s position, progress on devolution requires the support of the UK Government. It is the UK Government that would propose the necessary legislation to enable the devolution of any powers.
The previous UK Government was opposed to any devolution of justice. However, an agreement was reached between the Welsh and UK governments in 2022 to work together on 14 recommendations of the Thomas Commission. However, the Deputy First Minister has said that there was “limited progress” and only in areas that the Ministry of Justice was already committed to.
The change of government following the 2024 UK General Election led to renewed questions about whether progress would be made. The 2024 UK Labour manifesto pledged to explore devolving probation services and consider youth justice devolution. In June 2025, the Deputy First Minister met the Lord Chancellor to discuss these commitments, calling it a “significant step” towards strengthening collaboration.
Early candidates for devolution: youth justice and probation
Youth justice and probation are seen as early candidates for phased devolution due to their links with devolved services like health and housing.
There have been some affirmative statements made by the Welsh and UK governments on these areas. This did not stop the Equality and Social Justice Committee warning in July 2025 that the UK Government could “row back its promises” on the devolution of youth justice and probation in Wales.
Youth justice: exploratory work ongoing
Despite criminal justice remaining a reserved matter under the current devolution settlement, the Welsh Government has been able to influence youth justice policy through devolved areas such as education, health and social services.
This distinct approach compared with England includes initiatives like the Youth Justice Blueprint and the adoption of trauma-informed practice. The Welsh Government has also commissioned an informal review of the youth justice system in Wales and established a Wales Youth Justice Academic Advisory Group.
The Welsh Government has said that it has agreed with the UK Government for officials in both governments to work together to “explore options” where responsibilities in the youth justice system could be “realigned”. This includes:
- Strategic oversight
- Partnership and governance arrangements
- Funding of youth justice services; and
- To explore formalising the governance through which both governments engage.
Probation: Memorandum of Understanding in development
The Welsh Government has long argued for devolution of powers over the probation service, which would allow policy to be aligned between other services that support individuals serving sentences in the community. In 2024, it tasked the Wales Centre for Public Policy with conducting research to prepare for the devolution of probation.
Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, told the Senedd’s Equality and Social Justice Committee in July 2025 that whilst he wasn’t ruling anything out, devolving probation to Wales is not a priority for him while the justice system faces “massive pressure”.
Ahead of any potential devolution of probation services, the Welsh Government is working with HM Prison and Probation Service to adopt a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on probation. A similar approach is already in place in Greater Manchester, where the Authority can co-commission probation-related services, such as housing support or drug treatment programmes. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Alex Davies-Jones MP, confirmed in December 2025 that this MoU will not just be a “replica” of the model in Greater Manchester but would be “Wales-specific”.
What about the rest of the justice system?
Whilst there appears to be some limited progress made towards the future devolution of youth justice and probation, any further transfer of powers over matters such as policing or the courts look unlikely to happen in the near future.
The recent announcement that Police and Crime Commissioners are to be abolished in England and Wales led to questions about whether policing should be devolved to Wales.
Answering a topical question on the issue in November 2025, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Trefnydd, Jane Hutt MS, confirmed that she had written to the Home Office in response to the announcement to outline the Welsh Government’s long-standing commitment to the devolution of policing.
In 2024, the Welsh Government published a report outlining the proposed benefits and risks of a devolved policing model for Wales but its unclear how much progress has been made in this area.
With time running out in this Senedd term, it seems unlikely that considerable progress will be made on these issues before May’s election. Therefore, it will likely be for the next Welsh Government to decide whether it wishes to continue to pursue the devolution of justice.
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This article is part of a series exploring key aspects of criminal justice in Wales, from the current devolution settlement and intergovernmental working, to probation, youth justice policy, and policing. |
Article by Josh Hayman, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
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