Spilt the Home Office - and devolve it too!

John Reid's intention to split the Home Office has confirmed what we devolutionists have been saying for a long time and also supports the claims made last week by the Presiding Officer, Dafydd Elis-Thomas, that we in Wales could do at least as good a job on our own (it would be difficult to do worse!) if not better.

Terrorism and Immigration are rightly areas which are best dealt with on a UK level and could be terms of reference for a UK Parliament. The other sections however, including domestic policing, are those which are much better dealt with on as local a level as possible and should be the remit of the Welsh Assembly or an expanded Welsh Parliament, as they are already in Scotland.

It is plainly stupid that education (or parts of it at least) is devolved to Cardiff but that the Probation Service, as part of the Home Office, is remote-controlled from London. It is difficult to have "joined-up thinking" if we are unable to have joined -up policies. It's like knitting a jumper in Cardiff only for the sleeves to be attached in London, when neither knitters are looking at the same pattern!