THE leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies will tell a party conference today that he does not support the devolution of policing and justice, as well as a series of criticisms of First Minister Carwyn Jones.

Mr Davies AM will tell delegates at the South Wales Conservative Policy Forum that there is "no current evidence" to support the idea of devolving policing, and "serious questions" must be answered before it can be considered.

He is expected to welcome the "principles behind recent progress" on future devolution, but will claim that the First Minister has "forgotten his day job".

Mr Davies will tell those gathered: "Let’s look at the evidence on policing. Since 2010, crime in Wales has fallen by 15 per cent. In many ways, the Conservatives have gone beyond police devolution in England and Wales with the creation of Police and Crime Commissioners.

"So today, I want to say clearly, the evidence is yet to be made for the devolution of policing.

"We know that the Welsh Labour Government and the other parties want these powers, but the question is, do Welsh Labour MPs support these moves? I think not. Just take a look at the comments of some Welsh Labour MPs and you’ll see very clearly that they disagree."

Before the Welsh Tories will support any change they need assurances that front line services "cannot be affected", he will say.

"Secondly, I want to know what the police themselves think," he is expected to say.

"They are the ones who go out every single day to protect our communities and it’s absolutely right that they have their say. Thirdly, how would operation change if responsibility was transferred to Cardiff?

"The operational costs of policing in Wales current represent around £1.2 billion. If costs were to rise, where would the Welsh Government prioritise?"

Mr Davies is expected to be critical of Labour's management of health, education and economic policy as well as making direct criticisms of Carwyn Jones.

"Labour’s First Minister is so wrapped up in the constitution he can’t see the wood for the trees," Mr Davies is expected to say.

"He’s forgotten his day job. He talks of Blu-Tack funding formulas when his own NHS is coming apart at the seams.

"He’s forgotten the bread and butter issues."

A Welsh Labour spokesman responded by describing the Tories in Wales as a "busted flush".

"They attack us on the economy in the same week that youth unemployment is again shown to be falling faster in Wales than elsewhere in the UK," he said.

"They disparage our NHS in the same month we invest nearly half a billion extra. And this year, in education, we’ve achieved record exam results, closing the gap with England at GCSE and A-level.

"We are delivering on the bread and butter issues, while the Tories in Westminster denigrate disabled workers. That is the difference between us."