Are prisons and probation working in Wales? MPs launch inquiry
6 February 2025
A cross-party committee of MPs has today launched an inquiry into how prisons, probation and rehabilitation are delivered in Wales.
The Welsh Affairs Committee will examine how UK Government takes Wales into account when delivering criminal justice services, and how effectively the UK and Welsh governments work together to support Welsh offenders.
The UK Government is responsible for criminal justice in both England and Wales. But the Welsh Government delivers several important intersecting services, such as health, housing and education.
MPs will scrutinise the work in Wales of His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), a Ministry of Justice agency which oversees the delivery of sentences in custody and the community, and the rehabilitation of offenders through education, healthcare and employment.
Other topics the Committee are likely to cover during the inquiry could include the suitability of the Welsh prison estate, whether sentencing succeeds in keeping both offenders and the public safe, and how the lack of a women's prison in Wales impacts on Welsh female offenders.
The new inquiry follows a session the Committee held last year on HMP Parc in South Wales, where 17 inmates lost their lives during the course of 2024.
Chair comment
Ruth Jones, Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, said:
“England and Wales are often treated the same when it comes to prisons and rehabilitation, but Wales has its own unique challenges. The UK and Welsh governments must work together to support Welsh offenders. But how effective are they in doing so?
Our inquiry will take a broad look at how justice is being delivered in Wales. Whether in collaboration between our governments, in improvements to the prison estate or in innovative attempts to reduce reoffending: is enough being done to keep both Welsh offenders and the public safe?
I look forward to receiving evidence from a range of groups, especially those whose lives have been touched by the justice system.”
Further information
Image: House of Commons