Welcome

I am so pleased to be sending the first UK National Preventive Mechanism Bulletin, a monthly internal update on the activities happening across the NPM. We are currently sending this bulletin to the official representatives of the 21 NPM constituent bodies, and invite you to please cascade it to your staff and volunteers so that they can remain up-to-date on NPM news and participate in our events. If you have received a forwarded copy of this bulletin and would like to be added to the subscription list, please reply to this email requesting to subscribe. Thank you for reading!

Sam Gluckstein, Head of UK NPM

Join us for the NPM Preventive Guidance launch

Next week, the UK NPM will be launching new guidance for leaders, staff and volunteers working in preventive-based monitoring at a free online event on Thursday, 27 June from 10:30-11:30. Participants will hear from Sam Gluckstein, Head of UK NPM, and guest speakers including Sarah Cooke OBE, Professor Rachel Murray, Alan Mitchell, President of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and more, followed by a Q&A session. We invite all staff and volunteers of UK NPM bodies to attend. Register now to book your place.

Blog: Annual Conference 2024

Our latest blog post is live on the NPM website, sharing details of the 2024 UK NPM Annual Conference (24-25 April) which focused on the theme of scrutinising culture. We invite you to read the blog which also includes the conference video and NPM chairs’ panel video.

Latest news from NPM bodies

• UK NPM Chair Wendy Sinclair-Gieben will be moving on at the end of August 2024. Wendy has been a committed champion of the UK NPM for many years, and her leadership will be greatly missed. Join us in thanking Wendy for her service and wishing her the best in her future endeavours!
• Helen Happer of the Care Inspectorate will be retiring in July 2024. Despite the NPM mandate representing only a small part of her role at the Care Inspectorate, Helen has been a dedicated, insightful and supportive NPM delegate and her contribution will be greatly missed. Join us in wishing Helen all the best in her retirement!
• Congratulations to Dr Arun Chopra of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) for receiving a 2024 President’s Medal from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in honour of his contribution to the field!
• The team at Criminal Justice Inspectorate Northern Ireland (CJI) successfully ran the 2024 Belfast City Marathon Relay on Sunday 5 May and raised over £3K (317% more than their fundraising target!) for Sarcoidosis UK, as part of their programme to mark CJI’s 20^th anniversary and because it is a charity very close to their hearts. Find more information about the why on their JustGiving page.
• CJI have several new podcast episodes available, including an interview with Sam Gluckstein, Head of the UK NPM in February 2024.
• The Care Inspectorate has released a Thematic review of prison-based social work.
• Care Inspectorate Wales and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales have jointly published their Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) annual monitoring report 2022-23.
• CJI, in partnership with HMI Prisons, the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority and the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI), have commenced an inspection of Hydebank Wood Secure College and Ash House Women’s Prison in Belfast. ETI have developed a new inspection framework and have briefed the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Belfast Metropolitan College and North West Regional College on how the new framework will inform assessment of education and skills provision and purposeful activity during the inspection.
• The Care Quality Commission have published their first three local authority assessment reports, under their new responsibility to assess how local authorities are meeting their adult social care duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Of particular interest to the UK NPM is the use of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
• HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has published a piece: Bucking the trend: what makes some jails safer and more effective than others, based on their thematic review Improving behaviour in prisons. Information about recent inspections in England and Wales can be found on the HMIP news page.
• HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services has published police efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy (PEEL) inspection reports for Derbyshire and South Wales.
• HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland have recently published reviews on the topics of Prisoner Progression in Scottish Prisons and Young People’s Experiences of the Scottish Prison Estate, and several letters regarding pressing issues in Scottish prisons which can be found on their publications page.
• HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland have recently published reports on joint inspections with Healthcare Improvement Scotland of Ayrshire Police Custody and Fife Police Custody, along with a Progress Report on Police Custody in Dumfries & Galloway.
• The Independent Custody Visiting Association have released two recent blogs on the impact of a service dog in the ICV scheme and the recent UK NPM Annual Conference.
• The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has released its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting significant concerns in places of detention.
• Lay Observers have released their 2022-23 Annual Report.
• MWCS have published several recent visit reports, including HMP and YOI Stirling, The Lilias Centre and Rohallion Clinic, highlighting the impact of staff shortages and lack of investment.
• OFSTED recently published a blog post on The importance of good planning for children moving on from the secure estate.
• Scottish Parliament have appointed a new Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission. Professor Angela O’Hagan will take her new post in August 2024.

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.

International NPM activities

Part of the mandate of all National Preventive Mechanisms is to liaise with international NPMs to share knowledge and best practices. Over the past month, Sam Gluckstein co-facilitated a training for the Australian NPM alongside Ben Buckland from the Association for the Prevention of Torture. NPM representatives have also been providing the Ukraine NPM with advice and support on methodologies, approach, skill-building, best practices and overall NPM development. Sam also attended the NPM forum in Strasbourg which included a workshop discussing the European Commission’s recommendation on procedural rights of suspects and accused persons subject to pre-trial detention and on material conditions.

Upcoming events and activities

20-21 June 2024 – IMB North and South Study Day, Sam Gluckstein will present on the work of the NPM and the value of IMBs within it, Birmingham

2-3 July 2024 – OSEC/ODIHR* Training Course on detention monitoring and the protection of human rights while preventing and countering violent extremism and radicalization to terrorism (VERLT) in prisons, Louise Falshaw (IMB & Lay Observers) and Jacqui Durkin (CJI) will attend on behalf of the NPM, Warsaw

22 August 2024 – NPM Scotland Subgroup meeting, Edinburgh

16 September 2024 – NPM Northern Ireland Subgroup meeting, Online

*Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Thank you for reading!

This bulletin will be compiled each month by the NPM Central Team, which includes: Sam Gluckstein, Head of the UK NPM, Jane Kilpatrick, Secretariat Officer, Chelsea Keenan, Secretariat Officer (Scotland), Claire Pizzurro, Summer Law Intern, and Serife Suleyman, Secretariat Assistant. If you have any news you would like to share, please let us know!

The UK NPM Central Team