the UK. In designating existing bodies as
members of the NPM, the government
explicitly required that they have a statutory
basis and be able to make unannounced
visits to places of detention. The government
concluded that 18 bodies operating in
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland met those requirements, and they
were formally designated in a statement to
Parliament on 31 March 2009. During
2012–13, the members of the NPM were:
England and Wales
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP)
Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB)
Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA)2
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC)
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW)
Office of the Children’s Commissioner
for England (OCC)
Care and Social Services Inspectorate
Wales (CSSIW)
Office for Standards in Education,
Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)
Scotland
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons for
Scotland (HMIPS)
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
for Scotland (HMICS)
Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC)
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
(MWCS)
Care Inspectorate (CI)3
Northern Ireland
Independent Monitoring Boards (Northern
Ireland) (IMBNI)
Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI)
Regulation and Quality Improvement
Authority (RQIA)
Northern Ireland Policing Board Independent
Custody Visiting Scheme (NIPBICVS)
The bodies which make up the UK NPM
monitor different types of detention across
the jurisdictions, including prisons, police
custody, court custody, customs custody
facilities, secure accommodation for children,
immigration facilities, mental health and
military detention, as follows:
2 Although the ICVA is listed as an organisation operating in England and Wales, its membership includes independent custody
visitors who operate in Scotland (ICVS). It is anticipated that ICVS will be formally designated as a distinct member of the
NPM in 2013.
3 The Care Inspectorate’s detention monitoring role was formerly the function of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation
of Care, or Care Commission. In April 2011, the Care Commission, the Social Work Inspection Agency and Directorate 6 of HM
Inspectorate of Education became Social Care and Social Work Inspection Scotland (known as the ‘Care Inspectorate’). It is
anticipated that the Care Inspectorate will be formally designated as a member of the NPM in place of the Care Commission.
10