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Current work

In April 2025, NPM bodies agreed a new, one year Business Plan to fulfil its mandate under OPCAT, and prevent torture and ill-treatment in places where people are deprived of their liberty.

The NPM pursues four organisational objectives, agreed by the 21 NPM bodies in 2022:

  1. To support NPM bodies in delivering their own responsibilities under OPCAT
  2. To undertake collective work and take joint action with a view to preventing ill treatment of detained people in the UK
  3. To promote awareness and understanding of OPCAT principles and the work of the NPM in the UK
  4. To liaise and work with international mechanism and organisations with a mandate to prevent ill treatment of detained people.

The current business plan follows a two-year programme running from 2023-2025, which implemented and developed the four NPM objectives. Alongside the 2023-25 Business Plan , the the following Task and Finish Groups were launched to develop collective work:

  • Mental health in detention
  • Menopause in custody
  • Deaths in custody
  • Definitions of places of deprivation of liberty
  • Immigration detention

The work on mental health in detention and definitions of places of deprivation of liberty continues. A roundtable on deaths in custody was held in September 2023 which informs ongoing work, and NPM guidance on menopause in custody can be found on our Resources page.