Full justice devolution to Wales ‘not on the agenda'
But, nearly six years on, devolution has stalled, with Welsh and UK ministers suggesting a phased and piecemeal approach to transferring powers as happened in Greater Manchester.
Giving evidence to the recent Senedd equality and social justice committee ministers implied the Welsh and UK Governments will pursue the co-commissioning model.
Lord Timpson, the UK prisons and probation minister, intimated that devolution would not be a priority amid 'massive pressures' on the justice system.
Mick Antoniw, the former counsel general or chief legal adviser to the Welsh Government, pointed to 'volumes of evidence' that devolution of probation 'needs to happen and quickly'.
Lord Timpson said: 'If we lurch from problem to problem, we are just going to put sticking plasters all over everything."
He said he was more concerned about challenges in probation than prisons – warning the service is unstable, with probation officers having an average caseload of 35.
Labour's Jenny Rathbone questioned why more than 25 per cent of the 5,000 Welsh prisoners are held in English jails when Wales has nearly 6,000 prison places of its own.
Lord Timpson pointed to capacity pressures with prisons 98.2% full, security in terms of organised crime, and the lack of a category A (high risk) or women's prison in Wales.
Following the meeting on July 14, the Senedd's equality and justice committee criticised the 'deeply disappointing' evidence from Lord Timpson.
Ms Rathbone said: 'We are very disappointed to hear Lord Timpson say that the UK Government could row back its promises on the devolution of youth justice and probation.
'The Welsh Government has already started the groundwork to prepare because it believed there was a realistic prospect that these aspects could be devolved soon."
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