As we all know by now, the solution to every problem in Wales is to form a committee. The more serious committees are called commissions or conventions instead.
The recent announcement of a new Welsh Government-backed constitutional commission chaired by Prof. Laura McAllister and The Rt Rev. Rowan Williams has generated a lot of buzz; given the credentials and profiles of the chairs that’s to be expected. I don’t think there’s any question that this is going to be a serious piece of work even if there’s some confusion over the terms of reference.
Nevertheless, the sobering reality is that Wales is currently averaging a commission to look at the Senedd’s powers, electoral reform or constitutional reform roughly once every three to four years. Yes, that often.
That’s before including the other non-constitutional committees, conventions and commissions – for example, the Diamond Review (student finance), the Senedd-commission review into digital media and the Burns Commission (Newport bypass alternatives).
What everyone needs to keep in mind before they get too excited about the latest commission is the poor track record we have in Wales of turning pages in a report into real things.
- Report: Justice in Wales for the People of Wales (pdf; Senedd Home summary).
- Chaired by: Lord Thomas of Cwmgweidd.
- Tasked with: Reviewing the criminal justice system in Wales and make recommendations on its long-term future.
Wales is an anomaly when compared to Scotland and Northern Ireland in having few powers over criminal justice and no separate legal jurisdiction from England. Devolution of criminal justice would be the single biggest step towards Wales achieving parity with Scotland within the UK.
The Commission recommended the devolution of criminal justice (including policing, courts, a greater proportion of criminal law, prisons, probation etc.) to the surprise of nobody. The report also recommended the introduction of problem-solving courts – particularly concerning alcohol and drugs. The Commission’s findings were published around the same time as academic research highlighted serious problems within the prison estate in Wales.
Outcome: While the Senedd backed the recommendations, the UK Government flatly rejected all of them. That means the chances of anything happening are dependent on a change of UK Government – though some Welsh Labour MPs have historically been lukewarm on (or even opposed to) devolution of policing and/or criminal justice. The only noticeable outcomes to date are the formation of a Welsh Government committee to consider the recommendations and the recent establishment of a Law Council of Wales (effectively another committee).
Verdict: Unsuccessful (to date).
