Skills For Justice | The Justice sector in Wales

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The Justice Sector in Wales

Introduction to the Justice sector in Wales

The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales. Justice issues in general are not devolved, and most of the key Justice sector organisations cover both England and Wales. However, education, lifelong learning and skills are fully devolved and are overseen by Leighton Andrews, Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning. His Deputy Minister for Skills is Jeff Cuthbert AM.

The Government of Wales Act 2006 enables Wales to create a book of law of its very own for the first time since the laws of Hywel Dda in 950 A.D. The Assembly has the power to make laws - known as 'Assembly Measures' in 20 fields of government activity. These include local government, culture, economic development, education and training, environment, heath and the Welsh language. Following a referendum on the National Assembly for Wales’s legislative powers held on 03 March 2011, the people of Wales voted in favour of granting the National Assembly for Wales further powers for making laws in Wales.

There is an increasing emphasis on creating specific Welsh strategies on Justice issues so they can be responsive, and form part of the Welsh Governments vision for the creation of a fully inclusive society and Youth Justice policy remains under very active development in Wales.

The Queen officially opened the fourth session of the Welsh assembly in Cardiff Bay, on 6th May 2011. The Labour Administration said that it had "coped admirably" with its growth in powers. It marks a new era after the referendum on direct law-making powers in devolved areas including health and education.

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people, makes laws for Wales and holds the Welsh Government to account. The National Assembly for Wales is different from the Welsh Government. Whereas the Welsh Government consists only of the governing Ministers in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales consists of all 60 elected Assembly Members (AMs). The National Assembly has delegated many of its powers to the First Minister, and he in turn has delegated them to other Cabinet Ministers. However Ministers remain responsible to the National Assembly as a whole and are answerable to it. The National Assembly is the Welsh equivalent to the UK parliament in Westminster, which houses every MP from across the UK. The Senedd in Cardiff Bay is the home of the debating chamber for the National Assembly for Wales. Elections to the National Assembly for Wales are held every 4 years.

Welsh Government

The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales and is separate from the UK Government, which is based in London and headed by the Prime Minister. This means that Wales has its own government to make policy and laws for the people of Wales. The Welsh Government and the UK Government both look after different interests in Wales. The Welsh Government is responsible for most of the day-to-day issues for example health, education, and local government. The UK Government looks after other areas such as defence and taxation.

The Welsh Government consists of the First Minister, Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM , Welsh Ministers, Deputy Welsh Ministers, and the Counsel General. The provisions of the Government of Wales Act 2006 allow up to 12 Welsh Ministers and Deputy Ministers. This means that the maximum size of the Welsh Government will be 14, including the First Minister and Counsel General. The First Minister for Wales heads the Welsh Government in the same way as the Prime Minister heads the UK Government. The First Minister and Welsh Ministers together form the Cabinet.

The Welsh Government is responsible for proposing and implementing policy and laws which would apply in Wales and which aim to improve the lives of everyone in Wales. It is supported by staff who are civil servants, based in offices throughout Wales. It has a budget of over £14 billion, of which over £5 billion goes to the NHS in Wales and over £4 billion directly to local authorities.

The UK Government is still responsible for certain public services in Wales, for example police, prisons and the justice system. Matters such as tax and benefits, defence, national security and foreign affairs are also dealt with by the UK Government.

The sector in Wales

The Justice sector employs 24,600 full time staff in Wales. This is 2% of the working population (based on 1,326,000 Summer 2003, ONS)Community Justice 4,500 people (inc. volunteers); Custodial Care 3,780 staff; Police 14,400 staff; HM Revenue and Customs 450 staff; Court Management and Administration 726 staff; Prosecution 534 staff; The Judiciary and Magistracy 2,010 staff.

Policing

The Police Service in Wales forms part of the wider UK Police Service. There are four forces in Wales, covering the following geographical areas: South Wales, North Wales, Gwent, Dyfed Powys. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) also covers Wales as part of its remit of developing policing policies.

Prisons

There are four prisons in Wales, three of which are managed by HM Prison Service. These are Cardiff, Swansea, Usk/Prescoed. The fourth, Parc prison, is the only private prison in Wales. It is managed by G4S on behalf of the Prison Service.

Prosecution Service

The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for prosecuting people in both England and Wales who have been charged by the Police with a criminal offence. The four areas for Prosecution are the same as for Policing.

Wales Probation Trust

The National Probation Service for England and Wales comprises of 42 Probation Services throughout England and Wales, previously with four Probation Service areas in Wales aligned to Police Authority areas. On 1st April 2010 Wales Probation Trust (WPT) was created by the merger of the four existing Probation Areas/Trusts in Wales. Wales Probation Trust has at its core a vision of ''Delivering Local Probation Services for the People of Wales'' and will be a successful provider of probation services recognised for its effective supervision of offenders, operating in partnership with organisations based in local communities, to protect the public, reduce reoffending and increase social inclusion.

Youth Justice

The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is an executive non-departmental public body with the aim of preventing offending by children and young people up to the age of 17. There are 18 Youth Offending Teams working across Wales. These are made up of made up of representatives from the Police, Probation Service, Social Services, health, education, drugs and alcohol misuse and housing officers.

Community Safety

The Community Safety Branch works primarily to Carl Sargeant AM, the Assembly Minister for Social Justice and Local Government. It is his responsibility to take forward the Assembly's agenda for creating safer communities in Wales, reducing both crime and the fear of crime. In doing this he has control over the Assembly's £100 million Crime Fighting Fund, which will provide a joined up approach to combating crime, the fear of crime and substance misuse.

The Community Safety Branch works closely with the Home Office Crime Reduction Team in Wales, headed by Gillian Baranski. In helping the Minister take this agenda forward Joanna Jordan, Director of Community Safety, is primarily responsible for ensuring that both policies and programmes on community safety are effectively implemented throughout Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government will create safer communities, reduce the fear of crime, address drug related crime and provide treatment for addicts.

Court Services

The Court Service (HMCS) is an executive agency run by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. The agency is responsible for running of most of the courts and tribunals in England and Wales, ie Crown, County, Appeals, and provides the necessary services to the judiciary and court users to ensure its impartial and efficient operation. From the 1st April 2007 the Wales Circuit was formed, having broken away from the traditional Wales and Chester Circuit.

Fire and Rescue Services

The fire and rescue service in Wales is divided into three regions, North Wales, Mid and West Wales and South Wales. The three services cover a diverse geographical area with a wide variety of risks including:

fires in homes;
outdoor fires;
fires in industrial complexes;
road traffic collisions;
rail or air crashes;
chemical spills;
building collapse; and
rescuing trapped people or animals.

Fire and Rescue Services - Wales Programme for Improvement

The Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 was passed by the National Assembly for Wales on 28th April 2009, approved by the Privy Council on 22 June 2009 and came into force 1 April 2010.

The Wales Programme for Improvement (WPI) was introduced on a non-statutory basis for Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) in 2007-08. The Measure builds on the thinking behind the WPI by expanding the definition of improvement, requiring FRAs to determine their own improvement objectives under 7 wide ranging headings:

Making progress towards its strategic objectives
Improving the quality of services
Improving the availability of services
Improving fairness by reducing inequality in accessing or benefiting from services, or improving social wellbeing
Exercising the functions in ways which contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development
Improving the efficiency of services and functions
Innovation and change which contributes to any of the above objectives

FRAs are required to consult on and publish their improvement objectives on an annual basis, and to report on their performance against these. Reporting will include performance against statutory indicators and standards.

The Measure also creates a general power for authorities to collaborate to secure improvement, simplifies the role of regulation and inspection through co-ordination between regulatory bodies, and creates a general power for Welsh Ministers to support authorities in difficulty before using intervention powers.

Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS)

DCELLS aims to improve children's services, education and training provision to secure better outcomes for learners, business and employers as set out in the Welsh Assembly Government's strategic document - The Learning Country. It helps empower children, young people and adults through education and training to enjoy a better quality of life. Leighton Andrews is the Minister responsible for the Department with his Deputy Jeff Cuthbert, responsible for Skills with Emyr Roberts as the lead civil servant.

The Department operates through four groups, which are responsible for policy, planning, funding and monitoring services in their respective areas: Children and Schools Group - the education and welfare of all children in Wales; Qualifications and Curriculum Group - the content of the school curriculum and the regulation of qualifications; Lifelong Learning and Skills Group - post-16 education and training and development of 14-19 Pathways; Higher Learning Group - Higher education, student support, practitioner development and Welsh educational interests in Europe and beyond.

In addition the department has teams operating in the following four regions:

South East Wales
South-West & Mid Wales
South Wales
North Wales.

Each Area Team assists the department in its relationship with local stakeholders and providers, and provides a source of local knowledge relevant to planning and to the configuration of provision.

The final element of the department is the DCELLS Strategy Unit, which has a pan-DCELLS remit focusing on strategy, horizon scanning and strategic policy development, and the strategic positioning of DCELLS both inside and outside of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW)

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) is an Assembly Sponsored Public Body, established in May 1992, which assumed responsibility for funding higher education in Wales on 1 April 1993. Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the Council is responsible for the administration of funds made available by the Assembly in support of the provision of education, the undertaking of research by higher education institutions, and the provision of prescribed courses of higher education at further education institutions.

Under the Education Act 1994, the Council is responsible for accrediting providers of initial teaching training for school teachers and commissioning research to improve the standards of teachers and teacher training. In addition to its funding responsibilities, the Council provides advice to the Welsh Assembly Government on the funding needs, aspirations and concerns of the higher education sector in Wales.