National Preventive Mechanism Eleventh Annual Report 2019–20 Scotland. HMICS also recommended that SPA improve visibility of the work of the ICVS in Scotland, which SPA maintains and manages, and review governance functions as they relate to independent custody visiting. HMICS specifically queried whether it is appropriate that ICVS is managed by the SPA given the inherent conflict of interest in their roles.182 HMICS also completed an inspection of custody centres in Greater Glasgow.183 The findings reflected concerns raised in the nationwide inspections completed in 2018.184 The report, published in June 2019, found issues with: queueing and processing times; delays with a new policy allowing lower-risk detainees a period of continuous rest or sleep for three hours (rather than a blanket policy of hourly rousing); and a lack of observation and accessible cells across the region (though following inspection the number of observation cells has increased). Inspectors also found a reduced number of full-time custody centres in the division was increasing the time some officers spent travelling with detainees. Inspectors were concerned that a much greater use of constant observations in the region than elsewhere in Scotland was impacting on resources for local policing and required further analysis. HMICS also highlighted that detainees across Greater Glasgow benefitted from full-time nurseled health care provision, based at Govan custody centre, and that a number of improvements had been made to physical conditions. Nationally, HMICS continues to be concerned about ongoing deficiencies in the oversight of health care in custody, due to a lack of independent scrutiny by Healthcare Improvement Scotland. However, a bid for resourcing this has now been submitted to the Scottish Government for consideration, which would allow a joint programme of inspection to be developed and delivered. In England and Wales, NPM members found most police forces were not good enough at collating and monitoring important custody performance data, with gaps in important information or poor data quality, including the length of time detainees spent in custody and the level of care received. Detainees requiring mental health assessment frequently waited for excessive periods. In some instances, people were detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act to be sent to a health-based place of safety at the end of their police detention because an assessment had not been carried out in custody, and it was not deemed safe to release them. ICVs reported unacceptable delays in transferring prisoners out of police custody, including those waiting for mental health beds or awaiting transport to prison. 182 HMIPS, September 2019, Thematic Inspection of the Scottish Police Authority, https://www.hmics.scot/publications/ thematic-inspection-scottish-police-authority [accessed 31/08/2020] 183 HMICS, June 2019, Inspection of custody centres in Greater Glasgow Division, https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/ publications/HMICS20190612PUB.pdf [accessed 22/10/2020] 184 HMICS, October 2018, Inspection of custody centres across Scotland, https://www.hmics.scot/sites/default/files/ publications/HMICS20181019PUB.pdf [accessed 24/08/2020] 58