NPM Bulletin – May 2026
Welcome
Welcome to the UK NPM’s May bulletin.
It was a great pleasure to see so many colleagues at the UK NPM’s Annual Conference in Manchester, and a rare appearance from the sunshine too! We presented our new Business Plan and Communications Plan for 2026/27, which builds on many of the projects developed over 2025/26 and strengthens our educational, advisory and collaborative role, ensuring understanding and fulfilment of OPCAT across the UK.
The conference brought together a wide range of insightful speakers, including Dr Alan Mitchell, President of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, international NPM colleagues, duty bearers and colleagues from within the UK NPM. This year’s focus on mental health highlighted the common challenges we face across deprivation of liberty sectors, while showing the potential for collaborative solutions. For those of you that attended, we would love to hear your thoughts on the Conference which you can share by filling out this form.
The 2026 Conference also sadly marked the end of Sherry Ralph’s tenure as Chair. The UK NPM Secretariat is hugely grateful to Sherry for her expertise and direction during her time as Chair, as well as her good humour! Sherry leaves us in very safe hands as Rachel Lindsay (CJI) steps into the role of UK NPM Chair. We look forward to working with Rachel as we take forward our Business Plan for 2026/27.
The Secretariat Team has jumped straight back into business as usual, preparing for the CPT’s visit to the UK this week and making a start on the new Business Plan! We also invite you to read our article in the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s newest issue of the Learning the Lessons magazine. Using good practice examples from a variety of deprivation of liberty settings across the UK, Sherry and Sarah share how the UK NPM’s Reporting Dashboard can help identify learning and improve practice in relation to use of force in police custody.
We are also happy to announce that the Welsh translation of our 16th Annual Report has been published! You can find the Adroddiad Blynyddol on our website.
We encourage you to share this bulletin with your staff, volunteers and any other interested colleagues, so they can stay up to date with the latest NPM news. If you have received this bulletin as a forwarded email and would like to subscribe, you can subscribe here.
With best wishes,
Martin, Jane, Chelsea and Sarah
The UK NPM Secretariat Team
National Subgroups
Under the leadership of incoming Chair Rosemary Agnew, the Scotland Subgroup are currently developing their strategic priorities for 2026-27 and a post-election engagement plan following the Scottish elections on 7 May. This will support timely engagement with new parliamentarians and help ensure NPM concerns are visible. The next Scotland subgroup meeting will take place on 11 June.
The Northern Ireland subgroup looks forward to its upcoming roundtable on personality disorder in prisons, taking place in Antrim on 1 June, which will feature interventions from justice and clinical experts, followed by a discussion to share best practice and challenges in provision for people with personality disorder. The next Northern Ireland subgroup meeting will take place on 18 June.
Blog: UK NPM Annual Conference 2026
This month’s blog looks back at the 2026 UK NPM Annual Conference, which brought us together under some unexpected sunshine in Manchester. This conference focused on mental health, and we heard from international colleagues from the CPT and other NPMs, as well as duty bearers and NPM colleagues. The conference also marked the end of Sherry Ralph’s tenure as Chair of the UK NPM, and we warmly welcome Rachel Lindsay to the role.
Using the Reporting Dashboard & Quarterly Analysis
Did you know you can use the Reporting Dashboard to do analyse data over time?
Every quarter, Sarah uses the dashboard to produce a quarterly analysis of the data uploaded during that period. The Dashboard page allows you to collate and explore the data in a number of ways. After filtering by date, you can see how many records have been populated and break these down by recommendation or best practice. You can also view the top tags and tag categories for the quarter, and explore these further by setting. This information can then be compared across previous quarters or other time periods to help identify recurring or emerging issues. For example, in Q4 of 2025/26, top themes in good practice in immigration detention were staff-detainee relationships, detainee access to information and wellbeing support. These themes were the same in Q3, suggesting that relational practice and detainee-focused activity are consistently strong in this setting. To see this in practice and in more depth, read Q4’s Quarterly Analysis.
For anyone who would like to learn more, you can watch this instructional video, which walks you through some examples of how to use the Reporting Dashboard.
Please let us know how you are using the Dashboard by sending us an email.
Good Practice: Mental Health
With the UK NPM’s Annual Conference focus on mental health, and Mental Health Awareness Week, this month’s good practice thematic looks at how deprivation of liberty settings are strengthening mental health care through practical action. Drawing on examples from April 2025–March 2026, it highlights what works best: early identification, coordinated support and low‑threshold options people can access before distress escalates.
Spotlight reports from NPM bodies
Children’s Commissioner for England – Police powers and children – strip searching and use of force
This report finds that strip searching of children by police in England and Wales has been far more widespread than previously recognised. Analysis of national data shows persistent concerns, including racial disproportionality – particularly the adultification of Black children – repeat strip searches of the same children, inconsistent use of appropriate adults, and the use of force based on subjective assessments rather than clear risk. The report notes that current practice still falls short and calls for a much higher threshold for strip searching children, strict compliance with safeguarding standards, improved data quality and transparency, and a clear focus on child protection and trust rather than enforcement or punishment.
Read here: Police powers and children
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland – Report on an announced visit to the State Hospital, Interim High Secure Female Service
Since the closure of the female high secure service at the State Hospital in 2009, Scottish women requiring high secure forensic mental health have been transferred to Rampton Hospital in England, creating longstanding challenges in access to appropriate provision for this small population. The Scottish Government committed in 2024 to restoring high secure care for women in Scotland, with an interim service opening at the State Hospital in July 2025. This report marks a largely positive first inspection of the new interim female high secure service, finding compassionate and trauma‑informed care and strong leadership. However, early challenges including staffing pressures, infrastructure gaps, and the need for clearer discharge pathways were also identified.
Read here: Report on announced visit to State Hospital
Latest news from NPM bodies
- People News:
- Sam Gluckstein has started as Deputy Chief Inspector with HMIPS! We wish Sam all the best in his new role.
- Care Inspectorate have published new inspection reports on Rossie and Good Shepherd Centre Bishopton Secure Accommodation Services. Rossie, in particular, provided an excellent service for children, offering nurturing care, innovative approaches to restrictive practices and a rich range of meaningful experiences.
- CCE has published a new report on police powers and children (see above).
- HMICFRS have published inspection reports on Humberside and North Yorkshire police forces. These are the first inspections of custody environments under the new PEEL framework. While some positive practice was found, overall, both forces need to improve their provision of safe and lawful custody environments.
- HMIP has published several inspection reports.
- HMIPS has published a report on an Inspection of Dundee Sherriff and Justice of the Peace Court, finding it to be generally well-maintained and staffed by knowledgeable and motivated personnel. However, there were concerns around privacy, risk assessment consistency, ventilation, and contingency planning.
- ICVA has published its Stakeholder Update for Q4 2025/26. These updates are published every quarter to share highlights from the quarter, reflecting the feedback from ICV visits nationwide.
- IMB has published several annual monitoring reports.
- MWCS has published several local inspection reports, including of HMP Edinburgh and the interim high-secure provision for women at the State Hospital.
- Ofsted has published an inspection report on Aycliffe Secure Centre.
If we missed anything, or if you have a report, blog post or news story you would like to share in the next bulletin, please send us an email.
Upcoming events and activities
11-15 May 2026: Mental Health Awareness Week
15 May 2026: International Day of Families
1 June 2026: Personality Disorder in Prison Roundtable, Northern Ireland
11 June 2026: Scotland Subgroup meeting
18 June 2026: Northern Ireland Subgroup meeting
External resources of interest
The newest Learning the Lessons magazine from the Independent Office for Police Conduct focuses on custody, and features an article by Sherry and Sarah on the Reporting Dashboard.
In its Annual Report for 2025, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture highlights worrying signs on the treatment and living conditions of individuals in detention in Europe. The report includes the Committee’s new standard for healthcare in prisons, and a preview of the upcoming standard on social care homes.
The UN’s Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture has also published its Annual Report, which details how an increasingly hostile global environment and the UN liquidity crisis severely constrained its core preventive visiting mandate in 2025. The report highlights both the resilience of the Subcommittee and NPMs globally, and the need for renewed political and financial commitment by States to ensure OPCAT’s preventive mandate can be fully delivered.
Being Young Inside, from the Prison Reform Trust, explores what it means to receive and serve a long prison sentence at the point of transition into adulthood. This report examines how young adults experience the shock of sentencing, adapt to life in custody and attempt to build a future while growing up behind bars.
Thank you for reading!
This bulletin is compiled each month by the NPM Central Team. If you have any news you would like to share, or would like to provide feedback, please get in touch.