Housing and justice in Wales

Abstract

he Commission on Justice in Wales concluded that Welsh people are being let down by the England and Wales justicesystem.1 It found that the "jagged edged"2 reservation of courts, probation, prisons, etc alongside devolution of social justiceresponsibilities does not meet people’s needs in Wales. The Commission recommended legislative and executive devolution ofresponsibility for justice, accompanied by the transfer of financial resources.3 It also recommended that the law applicable inWales should be formally identified as the law of Wales, distinct from the law of England.4Alongside the Justice Commission, our Nuffield Foundation funded research focused on administrative justice in Wales,including studying administrative law and dispute resolution in social housing and homelessness.5 Administrative justiceconcerns how bodies providing public services treat people, the correctness of their decisions, the fairness of their proceduresand the opportunities people have to question and challenge decisions made about them.Here we present some conclusions and recommendations of our research concerning housing, and how these align with thoseof the Justice Commission.