National Preventive Mechanism Second Annual Report 2010–11 Court custody At present, not all court custody facilities in the UK are monitored by a member of the NPM. While there are monitoring arrangements in Northern Ireland and Scotland, court custody in England and Wales remains a gap in the NPM’s coverage. The UK government has acknowledged this gap and the need for independent monitoring arrangements to be put in place, so that the UK complies with its international obligations under OPCAT. The government has therefore indicated that HMIP will soon be granted powers to inspect the treatment of and conditions for detainees held in court cells. Preparatory work has already been undertaken by HMIP. It is anticipated that two pilot inspections will take place in early 2012 before a formal inspection programme begins. However, court custody facilities in England and Wales are not without scrutiny; they are currently monitored by ‘lay observers’, volunteers from local communities who make regular visits to courts in much the same way that Independent Monitoring Boards visit prisons or independent custody visitors monitor police cells. Lay observers are not members of the NPM but the UK government has been asked to consider whether they should be added as a nineteenth member. This would result in layers of monitoring for court custody in England and Wales – by a professional inspectorate and a lay body – as is already the case for other types of detention, such as prisons. Scotland In Scotland, HMCIPS has a duty to inspect prisoner escort arrangements. This includes the conditions in which prisoners are transported from one place to another, as well as court custody facilities or any other place where prisoners are temporarily held outside a prison. HMCIPS fulfils this duty as part of its regular inspections of prisons; when inspecting a particular prison, HMCIPS will also inspect the custody facilities of courts serving that prison, and related prisoner escorting arrangements. In 2010–11, HMCIPS published reports of three prison inspections.27 These inspections included a review of custody facilities at six courts. In two courts, conditions in the cells were found to be poor, in two they were adequate and in two they were acceptable. Generally, the physical condition of cells was found to be inadequate, with cells being dirty or covered in graffiti and with no cells having natural light. While toilets were available, often there were no hand-washing or drying facilities. In some courts, it was difficult to separate men, women and young people, although special arrangements could sometimes be made. Facilities for legal visits were generally good, although in one court it was found to be difficult for detainees to speak to their solicitor in private. At all courts, there were arrangements for medical support, and all escort staff were first-aid trained. Concern was expressed that, at one court, the courtroom was inaccessible to detainees with disabilities. Instead, the sheriff and lawyers conducted the hearing in the cell of detainees who used a wheelchair. Generally, detainees were treated well by 27 HMIPS, Report on HMP Glenochil (2010); HMIPS, Report on HMP Peterhead (2010); HMIPS, Report on HMP Addiewell (2011). 30