Devolving prisons to Wales could help reduce the number of Welsh prisoners, according the Paul Silk, former chairman of the Silk Commission into Welsh devolution.

Mr Silk was speaking at the inaugural Mather-Jackson Library Lecture, which was held at the restored Victorian courtroom at the Sessions House, Usk, which also houses the Mather-Jackson Library.

He told the audience: “There are real practical difficulties in calling for devolution of prisons. At present Wales exports prisoners and has no provision for female or for category A offences. A self-contained Welsh prison estate might lack flexibility and might cost more.”

But he said that one solution was to the follow the example of countries like Belgium which exports prisoners to the Netherlands.

“Arrangements like this could easily be made within the United Kingdom,” he said.

“I personally would like to see a Welsh Government empowered to make a similar choice and to diverge from the rather vindictive criminal justice policies which have seen prisoner numbers increase in England and Wales from under 40,000 in 1985 to almost 90,000 at the latest count. There are currently around 148 persons imprisoned per 100,000 of population in England and Wales compated with 98 in France, 82 in the Netherlands and 79 in Germany.

“If a different penal policy were able to be adopted in Wales, a possible future is therefore quite conceivable where Wales will have a more than adequate custodial provision – perhaps smaller, local prisons more widely distributed.”

Mr Silk was speaking on ‘Devolving Justice’ and he gave the audience a detailed explanation about how the Silk Commission worked and how it came to its conclusions.

During his speech, he said: “There seems nothing intrinsically frightening about devolving the criminal and civil law to Wales.

“But it does seem to me strange that we in Wales might think so poorly or ourselves that we could not manage policing and justice competently and in the interests of the people of Wales.

“Indeed, it would seem really quite odd to an Australian, a German or an Indian that policing and justice matters need to be resolved at a federal level. In each country, the states have some jurisdiction in these areas. But even in the British isles it is Wales which is the exception – Guernsey has its own policing and justice system after all.

“The necessary wide public debate on the desirability of this fundamental potential change in the relationship between Wales and England has not yet taken place but I am sure that it needs to begin. The move to the reserved powers model will make it imperative,” he said.

The lecture was organised by Jonathan Stephens, of Gwent-based law firm Everett, Lloyd, Tomlin and Pratt, who is also a trustee of the Mather-Jackson Library in Usk.

Mr Stephens said it was hoped that the lecture would become an important part of the legal calendar and that it would aid the wider discussion on devolution.