NPM Bulletin – June 2026
Welcome
Welcome to the UK NPM’s June bulletin.
We are delighted to recognise Volunteers’ Week this month, and with that the incredible dedication of the thousands of volunteers that work across the UK NPM. Our latest blog provides some reflections from NPM volunteers on their roles as independent monitors. This month also sees the Secretariat Team begin planning the second “all mandate-holder conference”, to take place later this year, where volunteers and other operational colleagues can come together to learn from each other and share their expertise.
This Committee for the Prevention of torture visited the UK earlier this month, looking at male prisons and secure hospitals in England and Wales. The Secretariat Team and Chair Rachel Lindsay were invited to attend the closed feedback session, which outlined the Committee’s findings. We look forward to reading the final report when it is published.
Following on from the article written by Sarah and Sherry Ralph for the IOPC’s Learning the Lessons magazine, Sarah and Chelsea presented a webinar on the Reporting Dashboard to IOPC staff. This was a great opportunity to share this resource with external stakeholders, and demonstrate how it can be of use in different contexts.
The UK NPM now has a public YouTube channel! We have decided to make our videos, previously unlisted, public to increase transparency and knowledge about the UK NPM. You can find our induction video, the dashboard instructional video as well as recordings of previous events for your information.
Later this month, on 26 June, we will recognise the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which falls on the same day as the anniversary of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Preventing torture through regular, preventive visits to places where people are deprived of their liberty remains the primary function of the UK NPM. Read last year’s blog, which answers important questions about torture and ill-treatment in the UK. Keep your eyes peeled for reflections from Interim Head of Secretariat, Martin Kettle, later this month.
This will be our final bulletin before the summer, with our normal publication schedule resuming in September. With Wellbeing Week taking place this month, as reflected in our latest Good Practice Paper (see below), we would like to wish you all a wonderful summer and hope you can relax, recharge, and enjoy some (hopefully!) warm weather! We will remain active on LinkedIn, and of course you can get in touch with us by email.
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
Martin, Chelsea, and several representatives from the NPM Scotland Subgroup attended a roundtable on deaths in police custody in Glasgow, hosted by the Scottish Centre for Criminal Justice Research (SCCJR). Chelsea has also met with representatives from the SCCJR to discuss concerns related to deaths in prison custody in Scotland. The meeting report on the Scotland Subgroup’s event Behind Closed Doors: The State of Detention in Scotland has been published and shared with participants and Ministers.
The Northern Ireland Subgroup held a roundtable event on Personality Disorder in Custody on 1 June. The event was attended by NISG representatives, as well as colleagues from the health and justice sectors. Rachel Lindsay, UK NPM Chair and Chair of the subgroup has written a blog on the event. The next subgroup meeting will take place on 18 June.
Blog: Volunteers’ Week
Recognising Volunteers’ Week 2026, this month’s blog highlights the vital role that thousands of volunteers play across the UK NPM. Through conducting monitoring visits, reporting findings and giving a voice to vulnerable populations that often go unheard, volunteers continue to make a real impact to those deprived of their liberty. The blog includes some reflections from colleagues within UK NPM that showcase the importance and value of volunteers.
Using the Reporting Dashboard
Did you know you can use the Reporting Dashboard to see a geographic spread of good practice?
The Reporting Dashboard has a “map page” (accessed by going to Page 2 in the Dashboard tab) which allows users to look at records by geographic spread and establishment. This can be an especially useful feature for sharing good practice both within the same deprivation of liberty setting and in others. For example, if you wanted to see what good practice exists related to care, treatment and provision for disabled people deprived of their liberty, you could simply filter by the “disabilities” tag and by “best practice” and the map will automatically update to show you what establishments are doing well in this area. The relevant records will also appear next to the map, which you can read through and learn from.
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: Wellbeing Support
Marking World Wellbeing Week (24–30 June 2026), this month’s good practice paper highlights how wellbeing in places of deprivation of liberty must be an everyday priority, not a one-off focus. It showcases positive practice across the UK, emphasising the power of compassionate relationships, meaningful activity, creativity, and physical movement in supporting dignity, connection and, in turn, wellbeing. The examples demonstrate that wellbeing extends beyond clinical care, and embedding these approaches into daily practice is key to humane, respectful and effective environments.
Spotlight reports from NPM bodies
Independent Monitoring Board – Annual Report 2025
Under the leadership of Interim National Chair, Jane Leech MBE, the IMB has published its National Annual Report for 2025. The report brings together key findings and insights from Boards across both the Prisons and Immigration Detention Estate. The report paints a bleak picture. Across prisons, key concerns include the destabilising impact of drugs, deteriorating buildings, restricted meaningful activity, and mental health needs far outstripping available support. In immigration detention, prolonged and often unnecessary detention, routine use of force, isolation, and failures to safeguard vulnerable people are highlighted. A central theme stands out: the same warnings have been raised year after year, but rarely acted upon, and conditions are deteriorating to the point where serious failures risk becoming normalised.
Read here: Annual Report 2025
HM Inspectorate of Prisons – Children on short term remand
This thematic report finds that children are too often held in custody while awaiting trial or sentencing. It highlights the cases of 25 children, all of whom were taken into custody for seven days or less. Most were in custody for the first time, though few were given clear information about why they were being held. Many of the children had complex needs, including neurodivergence, experience of trauma and/or experience of being in local authority care.
Read here: Children on short term remand
Latest news from NPM bodies
- People News:
- Chris Dzikiti is leaving CQC to join the Nursing and Midwifery Council, he is replaced by Dr Adrian James as Interim Chief Inspector of Mental Health. We wish Chris all the best, and thank him for his guidance and commitment as part of the UK NPM Steering Group, and wish Adrian a warm welcome.
- Welcome to Joanna Milliken and Nadine Fullerton, who have joined CJI as Inspectors.
- HMIPS also welcomes John Shanks as Inspector of Prisons.
- Care Inspectorate has published several resources in their online library, including:
- CJI’s Chief Inspector Jacqui Durkin met with HMPPS’ Pre-Release Testing Review Team to discuss inspection findings related to the arrangements for pre-release testing from prisons, and also spoke at a Mothers in Justice event on CJI’s 2021 Inspection Report on Females in Conflict with the Law in Northern Ireland.
- CQC established an Expert Reference Group on organisational abuse in early 2024, hosted by Partners in Care and Health. The purpose of the group is to raise awareness and effective responses to organisational abuse and closed cultures within health and social care services in England, and it provides a forum for partners to share information and identify potential areas for development. The group has collated and published resources on organisational abuse, delivered a webinar on organisation abuse and held a roundtable event earlier this year which explored what contributes to safe and compassionate cultures, and what the enablers and barriers to that are.
- HIW has recently published its Operational Plan for 2026-2027, setting out the priorities and actions they will take over the coming year to help ensure people in Wales receive safe, high-quality healthcare.
- HMICS has published a new inspection report on police custody in Edinburgh, which found that staffing pressures could compromise the completion of routine tasks including the provision of showers for detainees and time spent with them. Limited management visibility was also raised by staff, with some expressing concern that pressures within the custody environment were not being appropriately addressed.
- HMICS has also published an assurance review assessing the state, efficiency, and effectiveness of officer and staff conduct and discipline processes within Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority. The review report highlights strengths, identifies areas requiring improvement and proposes recommendations aimed at strengthening professional standards, organisational learning, leadership behaviours, wellbeing support and accountability across policing in Scotland.
- HMIP has published several inspection reports, including a new thematic on children on short term remand.
- HMIPS has published an inspection report on an HMP Kilmarnock. The prison had successfully managed a difficult transition into the public sector, with many dedicated staff. Good work was identified in healthcare, family contact and purposeful activity. However, overcrowding, poor hygiene, food quality, equality issues and weak complaints systems are holding the prison back.
- IMB has published several annual monitoring reports, as well as its Annual Report for 2025.
- MWCS has published several local inspection reports, including of the State Hospital.
- Ofsted has published an inspection report on Clare Lodge.
- SHRC has published a Letter to SPS on the Management of Transgender People in Custody.
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
1-7 June 2026: Volunteers’ Week
11 June 2026: Scotland Subgroup Meeting
15 June 2026: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
18 June 2026: Northern Ireland Subgroup Meeting
24-30 June 2026: World Wellbeing Week
26 June 2026: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
External resources of interest
Prison Reform Trust has launched an interactive version of its online briefing of prisons in England and Wales – Prison: the facts – which presents key data about people in prison in England and Wales and highlights long-term trends and recent developments.
The Prison & Probation Ombudsman’s most recent Fatal Incident Investigations Learning Lessons Bulletin focuses on self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons, highlighting the importance of early days in reception prisons and of staff identifying and managing prisoner’s risk.
The Ministry of Justice has published a white paper – “Cutting Youth Crime, Changing Young Lives” setting out its plans to reform the youth justice system and including a delivery plan. This ambitious plan has been analysed by Russel Webster.
The Global Prison Trends 2026 report has been published by Penal Reform International, giving a snapshot of the state of prisons worldwide. The report shows that prison systems worldwide continue to suffer with overcrowding, deteriorating conditions, ongoing gaps in healthcare, including mental health provision, and limited oversight affecting people in prison most severely – all issues seen in the UK context.
A Community of Practice for queer people working in detention monitoring has been established which aims to provide a supportive space for queer detention monitors, facilitate discussion of challenges within working environments and bring shared experiences together to address the many problems faced by queer people in detention settings. Please note that this resource is for NPM detention monitors only, and not for wider circulation.
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.