National Preventive Mechanism Ninth Annual Report 2017–18 RQIA, CJINI) met with staff from the Commonwealth Ombudsman of Australia (the future coordinator of the Australian NPM) to discuss NPM coordination and inspection and monitoring methodologies. International scrutiny The UK’s record on human rights was examined by a number of UN and European treaty bodies and special mandates throughout the year. Several of these made findings and recommendations relevant to the work of the NPM. European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The CPT conducted its eighth periodic visit to the UK from 30 March to 12 April 2016. The CPT delegation visited prisons, police custody and immigration detention. It also visited secure mental health establishments in England for the first time. The Committee met with government, NPM members and other stakeholders during its visit. The CPT’s report was published in April 2017 and detailed concerns including: the lack of consistent regulation and collection of data on use of force and restraint in police custody; severe overcrowding, high levels of violence, poor living conditions and lack of purposeful activity in prisons; the use of night-time confinement and the necessity for, and duration of, long-term seclusion in mental health detention; and weaknesses in Rule 35 procedures in immigration detention. The CPT found that some children at YOI Cookham Wood were effectively being held in conditions of solitary confinement, which amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. The Government’s reply to the 32 28 report was published in January 2018.32 The CPT carried out a further short visit to England to discuss its findings with the UK Government, during which the delegation also met the NPM Chair. The NPM shared the findings of the CPT report throughout the year. As noted above, the NPM drew the findings to the attention of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act 1983. NPM members discussed the recommendations made by the CPT during the October 2017 business meeting and the NPM Secretariat has included the CPT’s findings in its training materials. The NPM Secretariat has also encouraged the government to disseminate the CPT’s findings to all places of detention in the UK. In addition, the NPM Secretariat and Chair participated in an expert meeting hosted by the University of Essex, at which the CPT’s findings in relation to mental health detention were discussed. The CPT undertook a separate ad hoc visit to Northern Ireland between 29 August and 6 September 2017. The CPT examined the conditions of detention for and treatment of those detained at Maghaberry Prison, Ash House Women’s Prison Hydebank Wood, Shannon Clinic, and a number of police stations. During this visit, the CPT delegation met with CJINI and RQIA and CJINI’s Chief Inspector attended the CPT presentation of its preliminary observations to the government at the end of the visit. The report of the visit is expected to be published shortly. The report of the CPT and the Government’s reply are available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europeanti-torture-committee-publishes-response-of-the-uk-authorities, accessed 19 July 2018.