"Cost neutral": Why the argument of public finances rests with Justice for Wales

The single argument the Wales Says No campaign has made is the argument of cost. But you would be wrong to assume it is an argument that strengthens their case. The approach of the Wales Says No campaign is to deafen the public with continuous repetition of the same nonsense in the hope no-one questions its legitimacy. It is to bludgeon voters with a salvo of campaign literature - the illusion of truth by the repetition of a lie.

The current criminal justice system in Wales is complicated and difficult to understand. Although the Welsh Government claims responsibility for some areas of criminal justice - for the most part it remains within the grasp of Westminster. This arrangement has led to a lack of accountability and unnecessary expense. There are dozens of organisations, committees and boards that exist under Her Majesty’s Government and its Welsh counterpart. Let’s be clear: justice and policing devolution will cut red tape as responsibility of the criminal justice system will fall under a single roof and the redundant bureaucracy is done away with.

The impartial Commission of Justice in Wales said of cost ‘we see no reason why the devolution of the Ministry of Justice and Home Office operational functions… should not be cost neutral.’ The commission even went further to suggest ‘cost savings’ ‘in the longer term.’ Despite what Wales Says No would have you believe the argument of public finances rests with justice and policing devolution.

But the greatest benefit to the Welsh taxpayer will come when the Welsh Government seizes the opportunity to innovate and create a tailor-made criminal justice system. A system - in the words of the Institute for Economic Affairs - can never be achieved ‘under the yoke of Westminster’.

And while the Conservative Party believes Welsh justice and the public purse is best served by more prisons I believe the inverse is true. Ultimately the success of a criminal justice system is measured by the rate of incarceration. Justice devolution can explain the success of Northern Ireland in boasting a lower rate of incarceration than England and Wales. And with the consent of the people of Wales a justice system based on the Scandinavian model would see the cost of justice fall and the conditions of Welsh prisons improve.

Wales is more than up to the task of taking responsibility for its criminal justice system and reaping the benefits of efficient and effective justice: An equal status in a union of equals.