Section three The NPM in 2016–17 following extensive public consultation. Work began on drafting revised Expectations for adult male prisons, including scoping of the relevant international human rights standards and a public consultation. HMI Prisons also continues to carry out thematic research work, with a number of reports being published throughout the year, including a review of short-term holding facilities for the period 2011–16, a report on the way forward for prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection, and a report on the impact of distance from home on children in custody. HMI Prisons made proposals to the MoJ for strengthening its powers in legislation in line with OPCAT requirements, to inform the drafting of the Prisons and Courts Bill. In addition to carrying out its overall responsibility for the monitoring of prisons in Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons Scotland (HMIPS), published standards for the inspection of court custody in March 2017. The standards were developed following a period of consultation and are based on international human rights standards. HMIPS also implemented a new database for recording the observations of independent prison monitors, which allows reports to be run and trends analysed. A free-phone confidential telephone number was established which is available to prisoners and others and allows concerns to be raised and requests to see a monitor made. During the year, HMIPS carried out a follow-up inspection of HMP & YOI Cornton Vale. The recommendations from this inspection led to the early closure of areas of the prison and the transfer of 100 women to a more suitable establishment. The Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) has continued its work collating national data on visits to police custody and the successes and challenges that volunteers face once there. This data has allowed ICVA to raise thematic findings with the Home Office and other national partners such as the National Police Chiefs’ Council. ICVA highlighted the issue of voluntary interviews, where detainees may be held in de facto detention but do not have access to independent monitors, with the Home Office and other national partners. This led to a national project that will implement new guidance and practice with the aim of safeguarding detainees and ensuring OPCAT compliance. ICVA also discussed voluntary interviews with the National Custody Forum, which it joined this year, and these discussions have led to a project to consider the independent oversight and safeguards for those attending interviews voluntarily. The Forum is a National Police Chiefs’ Council-led partnership that seeks to implement the National Custody Strategy and improve standards within custody across the UK. ICVA continued to work to support and strengthen independent custody monitoring schemes, reviewing training and developing new induction packages for schemes. ICVA held a conference which briefed schemes on new issues within custody and highlighted the work of the NPM and importance of OPCAT. ICVA also conducted a health-check of all schemes to understand compliance with its Code of Practice and, by extension, with OPCAT, which helped it to design a 2017–18 business plan that enables schemes to achieve better compliance. Finally, ICVA 61