Section two The NPM in 2018-19 • HMICS submitted joint written evidence with the NPM to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee’s post-legislative review of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. It highlighted the need for a statutory basis for HMICS’s custody work. As a result of its 2018 inspection, HMICS also provided feedback on appropriate adult services to Scottish Government policy officers working on reviewing and revising these arrangements. • ICVS has informed Police Scotland’s policy by providing input to the Care and Welfare Standard Operating Procedure. ICVS gave specific advice on sanitary provision in police custody and on gender-specific care. • HMI Prisons has used its inspection findings to make observations and recommendations to the following: Commission on Justice in Wales, Review of the Criminal Justice System in Wales (1 June 2018); Health and Social Care Committee, Prison Healthcare (1 June 2018); Joint Committee on Human Rights, Youth Detention: Solitary Confinement and Restraint (19 June 2018); Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs, CustodyCommunity Transitions (20 June 2018); Joint Committee on Human Rights, Immigration Detention (6 September 2018); Home Affairs Committee, Macpherson: 20 Years On (15 February 2019); Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, Call for evidence: ‘Adults at Risk’ in immigration detention (7 March 2019).106 • Representatives from all three independent monitoring boards in Northern Ireland met the Director General of Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) to discuss issues raised in previous annual reports and provided feedback on NIPS plans for a ‘no smoking’ policy, young leadership programme and new changes to pre-release testing arrangements. IMBNI at Hydebank Wood responded to the NIPS consultation on Prison Services Estates 2020 in December 2018 and attended a meeting with the Director General of NIPS on the consultation in February 2019. IMBNI made recommendations regarding the building of a women’s prison within Hydebank Wood. • CQC provided a contribution to the 2018 Health and Social Care Select Committee inquiry into prison health through written submission and committee attendance. CQC took this opportunity to raise concerns over the vulnerability of people detained within the criminal justice system, including their restricted choices and the impact of the Care Act 2014, which removed statutory independent scrutiny by local safeguarding adult’s boards. Subsequent government recommendations stressed the importance of strengthening CQC’s role in regulating prison health and social care services. • CQC continued to engage with the independent review of the Mental Health Act 1983, chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessley. CQC welcomed the review report, published in December 2018, and committed to providing assistance and advice to government in drawing up its priorities for change. As part of this commitment, CQC has continually suggested that a three-month period for a second opinion appointed doctor is too long a wait to be an effective safeguard or to meet the developing expectations of 106 For more information on HMI Prisons’ submissions see: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/about-hmiprisons/chief-inspectors-submissions-and-letters/ 49