The Reimagining Justice in Wales 2030 report highlights serious concerns around ‘legal deserts’, solicitor recruitment and crumbling court infrastructure in Wales, calling for the UK and Welsh governments to take urgent action.

Blaming a “prolonged period of underinvestment” by the UK government, it warns that the number of people eligible for free civil legal aid support in Wales has halved since 2009, while law firms are struggling with recruitment.

A significant portion of the report deals with devolution, which the Law Society believes “if implemented and funded appropriately, offers significant potential opportunities to the people of Wales, alongside significant risk if not planned, funded, and implemented in a coherent and timely way”.

Devolution of “some parts of the justice system to the Welsh government is an increasingly likely outcome”, it states.

However, it says any devolution “must be accompanied by an adequate commitment to a rigorous costing exercise followed by full funding from UK Treasury and meaningful intergovernmental collaboration with the legal sector to ensure its success”.

It also says devolution must not impose barriers or restrictions for solicitors in Wales and England to practise across the border, and preserve the single regulatory framework for solicitors across Wales and England.

The report suggests that a “sensible starting point for devolution would be youth justice and probation”, which could later be “followed by devolution of policing, with the criminal law and criminal court recovery and legal aid to follow”.

Wales does have devolved control of tribunals and is currently embarking on reforms, which the report says “must address long-standing funding and capacity issues, to both improve outcomes and demonstrate that Welsh government is able to seek further devolution of justice functions”.

Jonathan Davies, head of Wales at the Law Society, said: “The Law Society believe that the Welsh government must put the political, policy and delivery frameworks in place prior to the start of any devolution of justice functions.

“For example, we will continue to echo the importance of a minister for justice which would create a much-needed budget line for the sector.

“This idea of evolution, not revolution, will ensure that both the sector and Welsh government are fully prepared and are in a strong position to ensure that any devolved justice function delivers for the people of Wales.”

Mark Davies, chair of the Law Society’s National Board for Wales, said: “As chair of the Law Society National Board for Wales, I am deeply concerned about the growing legal advice deserts across our country.

“Access to justice is a fundamental right, yet many communities in Wales are being left without the vital legal services they need and deserve.”