SAFETY concerns around young people in prison in Wales has "gone beyond crisis point", a Gwent AM has claimed.

Speaking in the Senedd this week Plaid Cymru's Steffan Lewis said he was seriously concerned by the findings of a report which said "there was not a single establishment (...) in England and Wales in which it was safe to hold children and young people".

The report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons also found rates of self-harm among imprisoned young people have doubled since 2011, 46 per cent of boys in prison felt unsafe and rates of assault had increased from 9.7 per 100 children in 2011 to 18.9 at the start of this year.

Speaking during a debate on the report, South Wales East AM Mr Lewis said: "here has been a decline in the conditions in which children are detained, and levels of violence are high, both assaults on staff and on other young people.

"We’ve gone beyond the crisis point, I think."

Calling for the Welsh Government to do more to protect young people in prison, he added: "This is not due to Welsh Government policy, but Welsh children are being put in danger and are being failed by the current regime."

Mr Lewis also called for the Welsh Government to be given access to prisons in Wales to gain a first-hand understanding of the challenges faced by young people.

Cabinet secretary for communities and children Carl Sargeant replied: "My whole ethos, and my department’s ethos, is actually that when people end up in the secure estate we’ve actually failed the system.

"We should be much further up front in making sure we have prevention in place to support young people."

He added: "I’ve taken the points that the member raises and will look carefully at the recommendations in the report and if there’s any more we can do I will keep the member informed of this."

Responsibility for prisons and justice is currently not devolved to Wales.

There are five prisons in Wales, only one of which is in Gwent - HMP Usk, which has about 480 inmates across two sites in Usk and nearby Prescoed.