Devolution of criminal justice powers
Published 16 August 2010
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Please find below information relating to FOI request ‘Devolution of criminal justice powers’.
We were asked for information on the potential for the devolution of criminal justice powers to the National Assembly for Wales.
Q1: How many written requests for the devolution of criminal justice powers have been received by the Wales Office since 5 May 2005 from :
a.) Members of the National Assembly for Wales
b.) Committees of the National Assembly for Wales
c.) Ministers of the Welsh Assembly Government
d.) Members of the UK Parliament representing constituencies in Wales
e.) Members of the European Parliament for Wales
This search highlighted only one document, a letter from Mr Roger Williams MP dated 2 June 2010, within our records. There was no reply to this letter as Mr Williams was invited to discuss the issues included in this letter with the Secretary of State for Wales and no record was made of the outcome of this meeting.
Q2: What research has been conducted by the Wales Office since 5 May 2005 into the costs and benefits of the devolution of criminal justice in Wales?
We held no records of any research having been undertaken by officials from the Wales Office into this matter.
Q3: What research has been commissioned from external consultants by the Wales Office since 5 May 2005 into the costs and benefits of the devolution of criminal justice in Wales?
We held no records of any research having been commissioned from any external consultants on our behalf by officials from the Wales Office into this matter.
Q4: What was the Wales Office’s view on whether justice should be devolved in Wales when the UK Parliament was dissolved on 12 April 2010?
This is a request for a view rather than information, and is therefore strictly speaking outside of the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. However the Wales Office currently holds no relevant records on having expressed a view on this matter.A search of other records that might be in the public domain has uncovered a transcript from Hansard of a Welsh Question in 2007 in which the previous Secretary of State for Wales was quoted as saying in the House of Commons during Welsh Questions on 21 February 2007:
“Obviously Assembly Members, including the First Minister, are entitled to have as a personal aim or ambition the devolution of policing and law in Wales. But that is not Welsh Labour policy or this Government’s policy.”
A full transcript of this session can be found on the following link:
Q5: What was the Wales Office’s current view on whether justice should be devolved in Wales?
This is a request for a view rather than information, and is therefore strictly speaking outside of the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. However, the Wales Office currently hold no relevant records on having expressed a view on this matter.