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© Copyright, National Preventive Mechanism 2025.

NPM Bulletin – March 2025

Published:
Banner saying "UK NPM Bulletin March 2025"

Welcome

As I write this welcome, the sun is shining through my office window, and it feels like spring may have finally sprung! A busy period lies ahead, but I hope you can all enjoy the longer and warmer days.

Over the past month, our team has continued preparations for the NPM Annual Conference, taking place from 30 April to 1 May. We have also interviewed insightful and experienced individuals as part of the new training module for the preventive monitoring guidance and finalised testing for the new recommendations database.

My focus has been on closing the 2023-25 Business Plan, as well as financial and strategic planning for 2025-26. Chelsea and I attended a third roundtable on deaths in prison custody, where we provided advice on ongoing work in this area. Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend a lecture on the new safer drug consumption facility that opened in Glasgow in January—the first of its kind in the UK—which has already received over 1,000 visits in its first five weeks.

I was also pleased to attend the Lay Observer conference in Birmingham, where I met dedicated volunteers working to uphold detainee rights in court custody and transport. During this event, I facilitated an interview role-play and led a discussion on preventive-based monitoring. I would encourage you to read their 2023-24 Annual Report. I also had the opportunity to meet with the Short-Term Holding Facility monitors in Bristol to discuss their work. As the end of the financial year looms, I have engaged with senior civil servants across the UK, including Directors General and Permanent Secretaries in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales, to discuss the NPM remit.

Chelsea is currently leading the production of video interviews for the upcoming preventive training programme, supporting the development of the new recommendations database, coordinating the Scotland Subgroup’s 2025 work plan, and conducting desk-based research on deaths in prison custody in Scotland.

Jane has been preparing a scoping paper on deprivations of liberty related to mental health and mental capacity, outlining settings where children are deprived of their liberty, and comparing legislation and practices regarding indeterminate detention across the UK. She continues to coordinate the Northern Ireland Subgroup.

As always, we encourage you to share this bulletin with your staff and volunteers 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, please reply to this message.

With best wishes,

Sam Gluckstein, Head of UK NPM

National Subgroups

The NPM Scotland Subgroup met on 4 March for its Q1 meeting and a strategic planning session. The meeting covered a lot of ground, including reviewing the group’s approach to its two key issues: Deaths in prison custody and mental health transfer times. The group considered which issues the subgroup will address in the coming workplan, finding significant common concerns across multiple settings around use of force, segregation and isolation, the investigation of deaths of individuals in the care of the state, data management and information sharing, and other issues. Sam and Chelsea will now work with Subgroup Chair Angela O’Hagan to develop the subgroup’s workplan for the coming year.

The NPM Scotland Subgroup met on 4 March (L-R, Ray Jones, HMICS; Nick Hobbs, CYPCS; Eleanor Deeming, SHRC; Charlotte Wilson, Care Inspectorate; Angela O’Hagan (Subgroup Chair), SHRC; Cath Haley, HIS; Stephen Sandham, HMIPS; Sam Gluckstein, NPM; Chelsea Keenan, NPM)
 
The NPM Northern Ireland Subgroup met for its first quarterly meeting of 2025 on 6 March, hosted at CJI’s offices in Belfast. They welcomed Hannah Russell from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, who will join the Subgroup this year, as well as Joanne Peake and Nicola McCann from RQIA. The subgroup developed a methodology for its case study review of personality disorder in detention, which will be published and launched at a stakeholder event in September 2025. The subgroup heard an update on RQIA’s inaugural State of the Nation report, and consolidated work on closing data gaps concerning deaths and adverse incidents where people are deprived of their liberty.

The Chair of the NI sub-group and the Head of the UK NPM and the UK NPM Secretariat Officer met the Director General of the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the Director of Safety Communities, Department of Justice on the same day to discuss the UK NPM Annual Report, the work of the NI sub-group and detention issues in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Subgroup met on 6 March (L-R: Jane Kilpatrick, NPM; Sam Gluckstein, NPM; Rachel Lindsay, Chair of the NPM Northern Ireland Subgroup)

Blog: If we know the answers, what’s stopping improvements for women in prison?

This International Women’s Day, NPM Secretariat Officer Jane Kilpatrick reflects on how understandings of women deprived of their liberty, particularly in prisons, are improving. However, there are still numerous and significant barriers to overcome before we will see treatment and conditions for women deprived of their liberty live up to international standards for equality, and for the prevention of ill-treatment.

Read the full blog: International Women’s Day – if we know the answers, what’s stopping improvements for women in prison?

UK NPM Annual Conference 2025

The UK NPM Annual Conference 2025 is planned for 30 April – 1 May 2025 at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The senior NPM representative from each organisation, as well as one additional operational contact, have been invited to attend. Please RSVP using the link provided in your invitation as soon as possible. For more information, please contact us.

Spotlight reports from NPM bodies

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland – Custody Inspection Report for Greater Glasgow

HMICS and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) recently published a joint custody inspection report for Greater Glasgow, raising concerns that several children were held in police cells for an “inappropriate” length of time. On one occasion a 13-year-old was held in police custody for over six hours. Three children aged 14 years were held in custody for over six, 10 and 12 hours respectively. A 16-year-old, who was subject to a supervision order, was held overnight for more than nine hours. The HMICS report said in each case the youngsters had been charged with what they considered to be “minor offences”.

Read the press release and the full report: Custody Inspection Report for Greater Glasgow
 
Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) – Letter with regards to children held in handcuffs for prolonged periods

ICVA the National Appropriate Adult Network (NAAN) brought to the National Police Chief’s Council’s (NPCC) attention cases in which children were held in handcuffs for between 5 and 17 hours prior to a strip search taking place, in addition to close proximity constant observation. Thanks to their collective work, NPCC Custody Lead Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet sent a letter on the topic to all forces last week, reminding them that “handcuffing is a use of force. Any use must be necessary and proportionate, with a clear justification recorded” and highlighting that “There is no requirement, either in law or national guidance, for officers to use handcuffs while awaiting an AA for the purposes of a strip search.”

Read the full letter to learn more.

Latest news from NPM bodies

  • People news:
    • Subject to approval by the Health and Social Care Select Committee, Secretary of State Wes Streeting has named Professor Sir Mike Richards CBE to take over from the current CQC Chair, Ian Dilks, once his appointment ends. Read more
  • The Care Inspectorate has published an inspection report of Rossie Secure Accommodation Services (downloads a pdf) and information on strengthening their Protection Procedures.
  • CJI will shortly be publishing the Terms of Reference for a Review of the Multi-Agency Review Arrangements in Northern Ireland to assess and manage the risks posed by terrorist risk offenders, which will include consideration of how terrorist risk offenders are managed by justice partners, including in prison custody.
  • CJI and the NIPB ICV Scheme Manager are finalising a protocol to prevent reprisals and sanctions in police custody. The Chair of the NI sub-group also met with the new Director of Impact at the Office of the Police Ombudsman to discuss police custody and how improved information sharing arrangements can be developed to inform the work of the sub-group. 
  • CQC  have published their latest Monitoring the Mental Health Act in 2023/24, raising concerns around staff shortages and specialist training, inequalities and the potential and impact of the new Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework, ward environments and access to outdoor space and a spotlight on the use of the Mental Health Act for children and young people.
  • Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW) has published their Mental Health Monitoring Annual Report 2023-24 which includes a section on youth justice services and prison healthcare in Wales. Key areas for improvement included around delays in young people having access to CAMHS support, inadequate oversight and planning of care for patients with long term conditions, long dental waits for urgent and emergency care, and inadequate pharmacy practices.
  • HIW and Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) have jointly published the annual monitoring report on how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are being used in Wales, finding that the system continues to face significant challenges and many vulnerable people are experiencing lengthy delays in receiving their DoLS assessments, with statutory timeframes regularly exceeded.
  • HMICFRS has published its Policing inspection programme and framework 2025–29 as well as a summary of consultation responses on their policing inspection programme and framework 2025–29
  • HMICS have published several strategic documents, including their Scrutiny Plan 2025-28, and their Inspection and Custody frameworks for 2025. They also published a Custody Inspection Report for Greater Glasgow, notably raising concerns that a number of children were held in police cells for an “inappropriate” length of time.
  • HMIP has published several inspection reports, including HMP Stafford, HMP The Mount, La Moye prison (Jersey), short-term holding facilities at France-UK Borders, West Midlands and Warwickshire courts and an inspection of escort and removals to Portugal.
  • ICVA and the National Appropriate Adult Network (NAAN) brought to the NPCC’s attention cases in which children were held in handcuffs for between 5 and 17 hours prior to a strip search taking place.  Thanks to their work, NPCC Custody Lead Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet sent a letter on the topic to all forces last week.
  • IMB has published several additional annual reports, including for HMP Wayland, Dungavel House IRC, HMP Dovegate, HMP Maidstone, HMP Ford, HMPYOI Werrington, HMP Doncaster and HMP The Verne.
  • Lay Observers have published their 2023-24 Annual Report, raising concerns around staffing, cell conditions and supports for children, among other things, in court custody and transport in England and Wales.
  • The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) published its closure report in relation to Mr E in January 2025. Closure report – Investigation into the care and treatment of Mr E (2024). Closure reports follow up recommendations to conclusion.
  • MWCS published Hospital is not home, finding that some people with learning disability and or mental health conditions had been living in hospital for 25 years or more. They also published an updated Supported Decision Making good practice guide with support from Professor Jill Stavert.
  • MWCS regularly carries out themed visits focused on people who have similar issues, or are in similar situations. Their current themed visit relates to carers, including young carers and is relevant to chapter 7 of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review and will be published in the autumn of 2025.
  • During 2025, the MWCS will start to consult on its strategic plan 2027-2030.
  • Ofsted published inspection reports for Barton Moss, Oasis Restore Secure 16-19 Academy, Vinney Green and Adel Beck.
  • SHRC signed a joint letter with the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland and the Equality and Human Rights Commission with regards to a unified statutory framework regulating the use of restraint and seclusion on children across all state care and education settings.

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

30 April-1 May: UK NPM Annual Conference 2025, Edinburgh
29 May 2025: NPM Scotland Subgroup Q2 meeting, Edinburgh
10 June 2025: NPM Northern Ireland Subgroup Q2 meeting, virtual

External reports of interest

The UK Government has published their annual police custody and pre-charge bail statistics for England and Wales, which includes such things as number of detentions in police custody, information regarding age group, sex and ethnicity for persons detained and all offences linked to custody record, information on vulnerability, children, and appropriate adults, and data on strip searches and intimate searches. Thank you to ICVA for sharing this report!

Follow us on Bluesky and LinkedIn!

A quick reminder to that the UK NPM has launched Bluesky and LinkedIn accounts – we invite you to follow us!

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, please let us know.

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