Rob Jones
robdjones.bsky.social
Rob Jones
@robdjones.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in the Welsh Criminal Justice System at Cardiff University

Prisons | Devolution | Prisoner Rights | Welsh Criminal Justice
Reposted by Rob Jones
🚨 NEW: 'FROZEN 2': 🧊 Here's the Wales Fiscal Analysis team's first breakdown on what the 2025 Autumn Budget means for Wales

🚨NEWYDD: Beth mae Cyllideb y Hydref 2025 yn ei olygu i Gymru? Dyma ddadansoddiad cyntaf o'r newidiadau sydd ar y ffordd

blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
Frozen 2: Tax Freezes, the 2-Child Limit (and what the 2025 Autumn Budget means for Wales)
Showcasing current research, comments and analysis on the law, politics, history, culture, government and political economy of Wales from the Wales Governance Centre.
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
“The glaring weaknesses of prisoners’ Welsh language rights also demand fresh consideration of the anomalous constitutional arrangements governing prisons in Wales. The only
common law country in the world to have its own legislature and executive without its own justice system.” 1/2
Commissioner to investigate HM Prison and Probation Service
Stephen Price The Welsh Language Commissioner has announced that an investigation will be conducted to consider how HM Prison and Probation Service implements its Welsh language scheme following claim...
nation.cymru
November 22, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
NEWYDD - Adroddiad gan @robdjones.bsky.social yn dadansoddi'r data diweddaraf ar garchardai a charchariad yng Nghymru 👇

NEW - Report from Dr Robert Jones analyses the latest data on prisons and imprisonment in Wales 👇 #Wales #Cymru #Senedd26
www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-n...
Women in Wales are being jailed more often
Research has been carried out by a team at Cardiff University
www.walesonline.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Almost a decade on, Wales' fiscal reforms deliver nearly £1 Billion windfall but fall short on empowering the Senedd

Major new report calls for tripling of borrowing powers and full income tax control as Fiscal Framework reforms deliver unprecedented budget boost:👇
www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/asset...
www.cardiff.ac.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Mae diwygiadau cyllidol Cymru yn darparu mantais ariannol o bron i £1 Biliwn 📈💷

Mae adroddiad mawr yn galw ar Gymru i dreblu pwerau benthyca ac ennill rheolaeth lawn dros dreth incwm wrth i ddiwygiadau'r Fframwaith Cyllidol ddarparu hwb cyllideb ddigynsail. 👇
www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/asset...
November 6, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Fel hyn y mae yng nghyfundrefn Cyfiawnder Droseddol Cymru - cyfundrefn sy'n methu ym mhob ffordd bosib gan gynnwys hyn...

The reality of the Welsh Criminal Justice system - a system that fails on every possible metric and not just this...

1/2

www.bbc.com/news/article...
HMP Berwyn: Welsh-speaking prisoners 'told to speak English' in prison
Ex-inmates say Welsh speakers were made to use English at Wales' biggest prison.
www.bbc.com
October 23, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Research from @robdjones.bsky.social and @gjdavies.bsky.social has shed light on the attitudes towards the Welsh language inside Wales’s largest prison:

Welsh-speaking inmates 'told to speak English' in prison www.bbc.com/news/article...
HMP Berwyn: Welsh-speaking prisoners 'told to speak English' in prison
Ex-inmates say Welsh speakers were made to use English at Wales' biggest prison.
www.bbc.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
HMP Berwyn, the UK's largest prison, was once presented as an advance for the Welsh language.

@robdjones.bsky.social and I argue that it’s been a categorical failure by that measure, posing troubling questions for Welsh language rights more widely: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Rights, Pains and Illusions: The Experiences of Welsh‐Speakers at Wales’ ‘Flagship’ Prison
This article challenges claims of ‘inherent’ bilingualism in Wales’ largest prison, HMP Berwyn. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and extensive documentary research, we find that Welsh-speaking p...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
This may not seem groundbreaking on first look but it is a *huge* step forward as the UK Govt is for the first time acknowledging that the ‘England and Wales’ justice system is a binary, not a unitary arrangement.

The slow, grudging acceptance by UK Govt of this reality has begun with this step:
NEW: The UK Govt's Ministry of Justice begins routinely publishing Wales-only prison data for the first time following a decade of research exposing issues in the Welsh criminal justice system by Dr Robert Jones. 1/3
www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/29...
Release of Wales-only prison data will “enhance transparency and scrutiny of the Welsh criminal justice system”
Dr Robert Jones welcomes move by Ministry of Justice after years of campaigning
www.cardiff.ac.uk
September 29, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
NEW: The UK Govt's Ministry of Justice begins routinely publishing Wales-only prison data for the first time following a decade of research exposing issues in the Welsh criminal justice system by Dr Robert Jones. 1/3
www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/29...
Release of Wales-only prison data will “enhance transparency and scrutiny of the Welsh criminal justice system”
Dr Robert Jones welcomes move by Ministry of Justice after years of campaigning
www.cardiff.ac.uk
September 29, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Erthygl newydd ar anfodlonrwydd cymdeithasol a radicaleiddio yn Lloegr gan @ailsahenderson.bsky.social a @richardwynjones.bsky.social

New piece in the @theconversation.com from the research team at @theunionsurvey.bsky.social about contemporary social and political discontent in #England 👇
Nigel Farage and the political power of English grievance
The Conservatives and Labour have allowed resentment to fester in the biggest part of the UK – and the only region not to have its own parliament.
theconversation.com
August 29, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
We’ll continue to share articles from the special issue as and when they’re published. Diolch!
July 18, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
Renzulli finds various shortcomings, and calls for: 1) the expansion of HMIP's powers; 2) a beefed up UK National Preventative Mechanism, with a statutory basis.

These reforms, she argues, would create a more effective Inspectorate and help to ensure that OPCAT’s purpose is realised.
July 18, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
The paper evaluates the powers and functions of HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) against the UK’s obligations under the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).
July 18, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
@robdjones.bsky.social and I are guest editing a special issue of @howardjournalcj.bsky.social which explores the rights of prisoners in the UK and elsewhere.

It follows an @slsauk.bsky.social seminar held in Liverpool in 2023, and features a brilliant set of legal academics and criminologists.
July 18, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Rob Jones
🚨 Ymateb i'r cyhoeddiad am gyllid rheilffyrdd i Gymru gan dîm Dadansoddi Cyllid Cymru 🚝

🚨 Our Wales Fiscal Analysis team’s response to today’s rail funding announcement for Wales 🚝

blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
Wales Fiscal Analysis: immediate response to rail funding announcement for Wales
Showcasing current research, comments and analysis on the law, politics, history, culture, government and political economy of Wales from the Wales Governance Centre.
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
June 11, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
🚨 NEWYDD 🚨: Ymateb Dadansoddiad Cyllid Cymru i Ddatganiad Gwanwyn y Canghellor - beth fydd ei effaith yng Nghymru? 💷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨: Wales Fiscal Analysis's reaction to the Chancellor's Spring Statement - what will be its impact in Wales? 💷 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

>> blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
Spring Statement 2025 – some implications for Wales
Showcasing current research, comments and analysis on the law, politics, history, culture, government and political economy of Wales from the Wales Governance Centre.
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
March 27, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Rob Jones
The Minister knows full-well that the funding model for universities is totally broken. She and her Welsh Govt colleagues have the power to address this but are currently choosing not to - despite £1.2B+ a year of HigherEd related spending...

1/2

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Universities should use reserves to save jobs - minister
Critics say extra funding announced will not solve Wales' higher education financial challenges.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 19, 2025 at 11:22 AM