English: Prison is the sharp end of our justice system, and an important and integral part of the criminal justice system in every country. Depriving someone of their liberty for a period of time is one of the most significant powers available to the state. Prison plays a crucial role in upholding the rule of law, by helping to ensure that alleged offenders are brought to justice, and by providing a sanction for serious wrongdoing. Its core purpose is threefold: protection of the public; punishment, depriving offenders of freedoms enjoyed by the rest of society and acting as a deterrent; and rehabilitation, providing offenders with the opportunity to reflect on and take responsibility for their crimes, and prepare them for a law-abiding life when they're released. As we heard in Parc prison, few prisoners would either use a right to vote or see it as an incentive to rehabilitate. The committee admits in the report that the empirical evidence to support the theory that voting aids rehabilitation is 'limited'. The report also notes that when Cardiff prison took steps to encourage prisoners on remand to register to vote at the last election, not one took up the opportunity. Our focus should instead be on giving offenders opportunities to build positive lives. Rights go with responsibilities, and not voting is just one of the facts of life arising from being in prison, reflecting a decision by the community that the person concerned is not suitable to participate in the decision-making process of a community. Following the European Court judgment referred to, some 17 per cent of prisoners are already eligible to vote. Prisoners in the community, on a temporary licence, can now vote, and both unconvicted prisoners being held on remand and civil prisoners jailed for offences such as contempt of court also already have the right to vote, although very few do. The UK Government has also said that it should be made more clear to people given prison sentences that they will not have the right to vote while in prison. This report quotes a Welsh Government consultation, in which 50 per cent agreed that prisoners should be allowed to register to vote, and an Assembly Commission consultation, in which 49 per cent agreed that prisoners should be able to vote in Assembly elections if they were due for release during the period for which Members were being elected to serve. However, both these consultation responses were self-selective, rather than weighted representative samples. In contrast, only 9 per cent of people in Wales said that all prisoners should be allowed to vote in a 2017 YouGov survey. It is not having boundaries that contributes to offending, but a lack of them. It is concerning that some committee members believed in the principle of votes for all prisoners. But despite that, the committee, as we've heard, only recommended that the Welsh Government and National Assembly legislate to give Welsh prisoners serving custodial sentences of less than four years the right to vote in devolved elections. For the reasons already outlined, Mohammad Asghar and I could not agree with that recommendation. Responding to this report, the Welsh Government stated that it will work to introduce legislation in this Assembly to enable prisoners from Wales serving a custodial sentence of less than four years to vote in devolved local government elections. Responding on behalf of the Assembly Commission, the Llywydd stated that it does not consider that amendments should be introduced to the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill to address this issue. In a letter to the committee Chair last week, the Welsh Government added that it is committed to the principle of prisoner voting in all local elections, and it will seek an appropriate legislative vehicle at the earliest opportunity to enable prisoners from Wales to vote in Assembly elections on the same terms as will apply for local government elections. To be clear, according to the Law Pages, giving the vote to prisoners serving a custodial sentence of less than four years will include those convicted of having a blade or sharp point in a public place, racially aggravated common assault, racially aggravated criminal damage, procurement of a woman by threats, attempted incest by a man with a girl over 13, abduction of an unmarried girl, causing prostitution of women, soliciting by men, ill-treatment of patients, assault with intent to resist arrest, and procuring others to commit homosexual acts, and many more. It is this that Labour and Plaid Cymru are supporting, further evidencing, dare I say, the growing gap between the expressed will of the people of Wales and their elected so-called representatives here.
Welsh: Carchar yw pen eithaf ein system gyfiawnder, ac mae'n rhan bwysig ac annatod o'r system cyfiawnder troseddol ym mhob gwlad. Amddifadu rhywun o'i ryddid am gyfnod yw un o'r pwerau mwyaf arwyddocaol sydd ar gael i'r wladwriaeth. Mae carchar yn chwarae rhan hollbwysig yn y gwaith o gynnal rheolaeth y gyfraith, drwy helpu i sicrhau bod troseddwyr honedig yn cael eu dwyn o flaen eu gwell, a thrwy ddarparu cosb am gamymddwyn difrifol. Mae iddo dri diben craidd: amddiffyn y cyhoedd; cosbi, gan amddifadu troseddwyr o ryddid a fwynheir gan weddill cymdeithas a gweithredu fel ataliad; ac adsefydlu, gan roi cyfle i droseddwyr ystyried eu troseddau a chymryd cyfrifoldeb amdanynt, a'u paratoi ar gyfer bywyd sy'n parchu'r gyfraith ar ôl eu rhyddhau. Fel y clywsom yng ngharchar y Parc, ychydig o garcharorion a fyddai naill ai'n defnyddio'r hawl i bleidleisio neu'n ei gweld fel ysgogiad i adsefydlu. Mae'r pwyllgor yn cyfaddef yn yr adroddiad fod y dystiolaeth empirig sy'n cefnogi'r ddamcaniaeth fod pleidleisio'n help i adsefydlu yn 'gyfyngedig'. Mae'r adroddiad hefyd yn nodi, pan roddodd carchar Caerdydd gamau ar waith i annog carcharorion ar remánd i gofrestru i bleidleisio yn yr etholiad diwethaf, ni fanteisiodd yr un ohonynt ar y cyfle. Yn hytrach, dylem ganolbwyntio ar roi cyfleoedd i droseddwyr adeiladu bywydau cadarnhaol. Daw hawliau law yn llaw â chyfrifoldebau, a dim ond un o ffeithiau bywyd sy'n deillio o fod yn y carchar yw peidio â phleidleisio, gan adlewyrchu penderfyniad gan y gymuned nad yw'r unigolyn dan sylw yn addas i gymryd rhan ym mhroses cymuned o wneud penderfyniadau. Yn dilyn y dyfarniad y cyfeiriwyd ato yn Llys Ewrop, mae tua 17 y cant o garcharorion eisoes yn gymwys i bleidleisio. Gall carcharorion yn y gymuned, ar drwydded dros dro, bleidleisio erbyn hyn, ac mae hawl eisoes gan garcharorion heb eu collfarnu sy'n cael eu cadw ar remánd a charcharorion sifil a garcharwyd am droseddau megis dirmyg llys i bleidleisio, er mai ychydig iawn ohonynt sy'n gwneud. Mae Llywodraeth y DU hefyd wedi dweud y dylid ei gwneud yn fwy eglur i bobl sy'n cael dedfryd o garchar na fydd ganddynt hawl i bleidleisio tra byddant yn y carchar. Mae'r adroddiad hwn yn dyfynnu un o ymgynghoriadau Llywodraeth Cymru, lle y cytunodd 50 y cant y dylid caniatáu i garcharorion gofrestru i bleidleisio, ac ymgynghoriad gan Gomisiwn y Cynulliad, lle'r oedd 49 y cant yn cytuno y dylai carcharorion allu pleidleisio yn etholiadau'r Cynulliad os oedd disgwyl iddynt gael eu rhyddhau yn ystod y cyfnod pan oedd Aelodau'n cael eu hethol i wasanaethu. Fodd bynnag, roedd y ddau ymateb i'r ymgynghoriad yn rhai hunanddetholus, yn hytrach na samplau cynrychiadol wedi'u pwysoli. Mewn cyferbyniad, mewn arolwg YouGov yn 2017, dim ond 9 y cant o bobl yng Nghymru a ddywedodd y dylid caniatáu i bob carcharor bleidleisio. Nid cael terfynau sy'n cyfrannu at droseddu, ond diffyg terfynau. Mae'n peri pryder fod rhai aelodau o'r pwyllgor yn credu yn yr egwyddor o bleidleisiau i bob carcharor. Ond er gwaethaf hynny, fel y clywsom, dim ond argymell bod Llywodraeth Cymru a'r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol yn deddfu i roi hawl i garcharorion o Gymry sy'n bwrw dedfryd o garchar o lai na phedair blynedd i bleidleisio mewn etholiadau datganoledig a wnaeth y pwyllgor. Am y rhesymau a amlinellwyd eisoes, ni allai Mohammad Asghar a minnau gytuno â'r argymhelliad hwnnw. Wrth ymateb i'r adroddiad, nododd Llywodraeth Cymru y bydd yn gweithio i gyflwyno deddfwriaeth yn y Cynulliad hwn i alluogi carcharorion o Gymru sy'n bwrw dedfryd o garchar o lai na phedair blynedd i bleidleisio mewn etholiadau llywodraeth leol datganoledig. Wrth ymateb ar ran Comisiwn y Cynulliad, dywedodd y Llywydd nad yw'n credu y dylid cyflwyno gwelliannau i'r Bil Senedd ac Etholiadau (Cymru) er mwyn mynd i'r afael â'r mater hwn. Mewn llythyr at Gadeirydd y pwyllgor yr wythnos diwethaf, ychwanegodd Llywodraeth Cymru ei bod wedi ymrwymo i'r egwyddor o hawl pleidleisio i garcharorion ym mhob etholiad lleol, a bydd yn chwilio am gyfrwng deddfwriaethol priodol ar y cyfle cyntaf i alluogi carcharorion o Gymru i bleidleisio yn etholiadau'r Cynulliad ar yr un telerau â'r rhai a fydd yn berthnasol ar gyfer etholiadau llywodraeth leol. Er mwyn bod yn glir, yn ôl y Law Pages, bydd rhoi'r bleidlais i garcharorion sy'n bwrw dedfryd o garchar o lai na phedair blynedd yn cynnwys y rhai a gafwyd yn euog o fod â llafn neu arf miniog mewn man cyhoeddus, ymosodiad cyffredin gwaethygedig ar sail hil, difrod troseddol gwaethygedig ar sail hil, caffael dynes drwy fygythiadau, ymgais i gyflawni llosgach gan ddyn gyda merch dros 13 oed, cipio merch ddi-briod, achosi puteinio gan fenywod, llithio gan ddynion, trin cleifion yn wael, ymosod gyda'r bwriad o wrthsefyll arestiad, a chaffael eraill i gyflawni gweithredoedd cyfunrhywiol, a llawer iawn mwy. Dyma'r hyn y mae'r Blaid Lafur a Phlaid Cymru yn ei gefnogi, gan roi tystiolaeth bellach, os caf ddweud, o'r bwlch cynyddol rhwng ewyllys pobl Cymru a'u cynrychiolwyr honedig a etholwyd i'r lle hwn.