CAT/OP/GBR/ROSP/1 60. In accordance with international standards,34 the Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that persons who have been remanded in custody are segregated from convicted persons and are subject to separate treatment, in conformity with their status as unconvicted persons. 4. Impact of austerity measures 61. The Subcommittee received information that the austerity measures adopted by the Government of the United Kingdom since 2010 had resulted in severe cuts in the public sector, including in the penitentiary system, and had had a negative impact on the enjoyment of the rights of persons deprived of liberty. For example, the understaffing of prisons had hampered the delivery of health services and increased waiting times for prisoners to access treatments. Staff shortages had also been linked to extended lockdowns and a lack of prisoner access to purposeful activities. Moreover, material conditions of detention had deteriorated, owing to the cuts in public funds. 62. The Subcommittee notes the information provided by the authorities that important investments are being currently made, such as staff recruitment and improvement of prison infrastructure. While welcoming these measures, the Subcommittee notes that more needs to be done to reverse the negative effects caused by the long-standing austerity measures. 63. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party analyse the consequences of the austerity measures on the right of persons deprived of their liberty, take steps to reverse the negative impact and ensure full compliance with international standards for the treatment of prisoners, including with regards to health services, regime and other rights at all times, in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules. B. Overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system 64. The Subcommittee is concerned at the overrepresentation of the ethnic minorities in the criminal justice system of the United Kingdom, as acknowledged by the authorities during meetings. The Subcommittee notes that overrepresentation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups is attributable to a broad range of factors requiring targeted responses, which go well beyond those currently provided by the criminal justice system. 65. In this connection, the Subcommittee is concerned about the numerous reports received that: (a) Persons from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups were over four times more likely to be detained than people from White ethnic groups. Black Caribbean people experienced particularly high rates of detention;35 (b) Persons from ethnic minorities are more likely to be subject to restraint and other restrictive practices and to experience disproportionate numbers of deaths in custody and/or in mental health care;36, 37 (c) Persons from ethnic minorities, both male and female, are significantly overrepresented in prisons, 38 which has been attributed to a number of factors including discriminatory sentencing. 39 According to data collected between October and December 34 35 36 37 38 39 12 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 10 (a); and United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), rule 11. United Kingdom, Home Office, Arrests (Ethnicity Facts and Figures), 2019. United Kingdom, Home Office, Modernising the Mental Health Act – Increasing Choice, Reducing Compulsion: Final Report of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act (December 2018). United Kingdom, Home Office, Detentions Under the Mental Health Act (Ethnicity Facts and Figures), 2019. Modernising the Mental Health Act – Increasing Choice, Reducing Compulsion: Final Report of the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act. David Lammy, The Lammy Review: An Independent Review into the Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System, September 2017.