CAT/OP/GBR/CSPRO/1 D. Human and financial resources “45. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party increase the financial and human resources of the NPM Secretariat, also as a guarantee of its independence, as per the OPCAT provisions.” 14. The UK commends the important work that the NPM carries out and is keen to support its independence, as is necessary for its role in safeguarding the human rights of detainees across the UK. The UK maintains regular communication with the NPM Secretariat to ensure they are sufficiently supported, including through financial and human resources. 15. The NPM have been awarded a budget of £138,000 for 2020/2021. A substantial uplift to the NPM’s budget was made in 2019/20 and has subsequently rolled over for the years since. This also includes funding to pay the independent Chair and is in addition to the separate funding the NPM members receive. E. Visibility “47. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure that its NPM is recognized as a key component in the country’s system for prevention of torture and ill-treatment and adopt an effective strategy to raise the NPM’s visibility and profile. In this regard, the Subcommittee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures, when establishing the formal legislative basis of the NPM, to ensure that each of its different oversight bodies/members composing the NPM exercise their mandate as NPM when they do so, in order to avoid any confusion with their other functions.” 16. The Government regularly communicates with the NPM, providing an opportunity for any issues of concern to be raised, including on the NPM’s visibility and profile. In order to ensure its independence, the Government considers that the NPM is best placed to take the lead regarding promoting its role as a key component in preventing torture and ill-treatment. The Government publishes the NPM’s annual report in Parliament on behalf of the NPM. 17. Those bodies which have been designated as NPM members are those whose existing powers are compatible with the criteria required under OPCAT. “49. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party adopt legislation enabling the NPM to present its annual report in Parliament directly and to be accountable to Parliament for the implementation of its NPM mandate.” 18. The UK welcomes the NPM’s annual reports and its finding on the conditions and treatment of those in places of detention across the UK. While the NPM’s annual report is laid in Parliament by the Government, the content of the report is entirely a matter for the NPM. In line with Article 23 (OPCAT), the UK publishes and disseminates the report, making it available on the gov.uk website. F. Conclusion “50. The SPT observes that the UK NPM’s structure, composed of multiple pre-existing bodies, represents an additional challenge for the State party’s adherence to the principles enshrined in the OPCAT on NPMs, especially articles 17, 18 and 19. In this connection, the SPT believes that a clear policy from the UK Government is required to ensure that the UK NPM, and all its composing members/bodies, is compatible with the provisions of the OPCAT. Such policy needs to address current deficiencies in the NPM’s statutory basis, ensuring the independence of each and all of its members/bodies when acting as NPM, as well as the need for sufficient resourcing of the NPM. Moreover, given the scale and complexity of the UK NPM’s multi-body structure, a robust independent coordination function is essential to the effective practical implementation of the objectives of the Protocol. In addition, in order to ensure the guarantees of independence and effectiveness in terms of prevention of torture, the independence of the NPM’s Chair and Secretariat need to be recognised in law and supported in practice through sufficient provision of resources. 6