'Westminster includes a arrange for Wales, it simply doesn't involve us'

Last month, the folks of Wales voted with a margin of more than two to one for parties that stood on the platform of greater powers for the Senedd. Westminster's reaction to this mandate to date has been not just to neglected but to find to reverse it.

They have a plan for Wales; it just does not involve us.

Today we have one message to send to Westminster: Hands off our Senedd, and hands off our powers.

Plaid Cymru believes the Welsh Government must have the levers to enhance the lives in our citizens and to rebuild as a greener, fairer, and much more prosperous Wales after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coronavirus pandemic indicates when Wales takes its own decisions on public health it always is far more effective than following Westminster's lead.

The threat posed to Wales' current powers by the Westminster elite attitude towards us has become increasingly evident.

Just this week, under plans being drafted to bolster the union, the Westminster Government has said staff should stop talking about Wales like a country, with civil servants told to change how they make reference to the united kingdom – referring to it as one country rather than talking about “the four nations from the UK,”.

There isn't any doubt that Boris Johnson's government is applying the post Brexit settlement like a tool to reimpose London treatments for the devolved nations from the UK by grabbing powers and chipping away at our devolution settlement.

Do we accept this?

Plaid Cymru will not accept this.

We usually have said that Wales should have full treatments for itself – which means full powers over our economy, infrastructure, our future. Not only as a “nice to have” but to enable us to control our destiny and to result in the lives of the people of Wales better, richer, fuller.

And hasn't the Coronavirus pandemic shown that whenever Wales got its own decisions on public health it always is far more effective than following Westminster's lead?

There is really a road map for that newly elected Welsh Government to begin to boost our powers.

Ministers in Cardiff Bay could initiate the procedure outlined in the Government of Wales Act 2006 to seek powers for Wales over matters currently reserved to Westminster, including policing and justice, rail, welfare, broadcasting, energy projects, the Crown Estate, and the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

If we'd powers over Welsh police forces here in Wales, we would get an additional lb25 million annually, the equivalent of 900 extra police officers, to protect our communities. Without powers over policing, Wales is at the mercy of Westminster's police funding formula which gives more money to big cities in England.

After over Two decades of devolution, it's also bizarre that the Welsh Government doesn't have full treatments for criminal justice matters.

Putting aside the unworkable anomaly of Wales having a legislature although not a justice system, and therefore being without the way of effectively putting the laws we pass into action, imagine just how much better we could do if we could manage criminal justice for the greater good of victims, offenders, and also the communities by which they live?

Proper rehabilitation, a highly effective and compassionate victims' charter and preventative try to sweep aside the main cause of crime – that is what our communities need. Sadly, each one of these principled aspirations will remain beyond our control until we've the way to make Welsh justice in Wales.

Devolution of powers over justice is important to provide a fairer, more humane, and much more accountable justice system. It would let us implement initiatives such as 'problem solving courts' which require close cooperation of probation and health care professionals.

After swingeing cuts through the Conservative Party in Westminster, the Welsh Government now constitutes a huge contribution towards the functioning from the justice system with as many as 40 percent of expenditure on justice originates from Welsh funds, but with no necessary scrutiny.

With enhanced powers we could steer clear of the Police Crime and Sentencing Bill in the tracks. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently taking its legislative get a hearty Westminster is another example of why we have to devolve justice to Wales. The Bill's raft of significant changes, including new powers to restrict protest and expand stop and search, are certain to exacerbate the present inequalities within our criminal justice system.

More powers for Wales are not only a “nice-to-have” – it is a necessity to help make the lives of the people of Wales better and also to ensure we are able to fully recover from the pandemic.

It 's time for those who worry about Wales and also the people who live here to won't allow Westminster to consider our powers – and demand instead the powers that we're due.

Rhys ab Owen is Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central, Liz Saville Roberts MP represents Dwyfor Meirionydd