Section five Lay monitoring parties about the future of prison monitoring in Scotland. The NPM seeks to ensure that any future arrangements are OPCAT-compliant and has welcomed a review of proposals for prison monitoring against OPCAT by Professor Andrew Coyle, commissioned by the Scottish government. Lay monitors within inspectorates In addition to monitoring by lay bodies, some of the professional inspectorate members of the NPM also use lay monitors in their work. For example, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, which monitors secure children’s homes as well as other residential care settings, uses ‘lay assessors’. Lay assessors are people that use, or have used, services, or their carers, who volunteer to take part in inspections. The assessors talk to those who use the care services and their carers and make observations based on their own personal experience. This information is then used by an inspector to report on the service and make an assessment. Lay assessors are supported and trained by a dedicated team in the Care Inspectorate. The involvement of lay assessors in inspections demonstrates the Care Inspectorate’s commitment to developing the participation of service users in monitoring services. Other NPM members, including Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, involve lay monitors in a similar way. Recommendations To the Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland 7 Non-designated police cells in Northern Ireland should be brought within the remit of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Independent Custody Visiting Scheme. To the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland 8 Future arrangements for prison monitoring in Scotland should be OPCAT-compliant. To the Scottish Police Authority 9 The Scottish Police Authority should consider how the independent visiting of police custody in one national police service can best be supported and administered, taking into account the requirements of OPCAT. To the Secretary of State for Justice 10 Custody visitors in Scotland should be separately designated as an additional member of the NPM. 41