The CPT’s delegation was provided with information and assurances that concrete action was being taken to address the dire state of the prison system and that the Prime Minister himself had publicly committed his government to remedying the situation. 19. Finally, representatives of the CPT held consultations in London (United Kingdom) with the national authorities on 26 April. The objective of these talks was to discuss the implementation of the recommendations set out in the report on the CPT’s 2016 visit to the United Kingdom which had raised serious concerns over the lack of safety for inmates and staff in prisons in England, as well as the inadequate safeguards in place to protect patients in mental health settings. Plenary meetings and activities of subgroups 20. The CPT held three one-week plenary meetings (in March, July and November), in the course of which a total of 16 visit reports were adopted. 21. In addition to continuing its discussion of ongoing intergovernmental activities of the Council of Europe on matters within the CPT’s mandate and on its own internal working methods at all three meetings, the CPT held an exchange of views during the March meeting with judges of the European Court of Human Rights on several topics of common interest, such as prison overcrowding and solitary confinement. Following the March meeting, newly adopted standards on use of restraints in psychiatric institutions were published. Further, the July meeting was an opportunity for the CPT to revise its checklist on the inspection of a prison medical service by a CPT doctor. Both documents have been published on the CPT’s website. 22. The two standing subgroups of the CPT, the Working Group on Health (formerly known as the Medical Group) and the Working Group on the CPT’s Jurisprudence, continued to meet on the Sunday before each plenary meeting. The Working Group on Health examines substantive issues of a medical nature related to the CPT’s mandate and organises training sessions on the specific tasks that medical members of visiting delegations are required to perform. The task of the Working Group on the CPT’s Jurisprudence is to advise the CPT on developments in the Committee’s standards as reflected in visit reports and to identify areas where there is room for development of those standards. Contacts with other bodies 23. The CPT continued to promote contact with other bodies within the Council of Europe. For instance, as mentioned above, an exchange of views was held by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly to discuss the CPT’s public statement on Belgium; this took place on 12 October. The CPT was also represented at a hearing organised by the Parliamentary Assembly on 7 December in Paris on the subject of “Detainees with severe disabilities in Europe”. As usual, the President of the CPT presented the annual general report to the Committee of Ministers during an exchange of views on 19 April. Both the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers also adopted texts during Activities during the period 1 January to 31 December 2017 ► Page 11