CAT/OP/GBR/RONPM/1 the national preventive mechanism designation.7 Furthermore, only 2 of the 21 members of the mechanism have a specific reference to their Optional Protocol mandate written into the legislation that created them.8 20. The Subcommittee has raised on several occasions the issue of the lack of legislation that sets out both the mandate of the national preventive mechanism itself and that of its constituent bodies. Since 2009, the mechanism has been raising similar concerns. Likewise, the Committee against Torture has recommended that the United Kingdom set out in legislation the mandate and powers of the secretariat and members of the mechanism and guarantee their operational independence (CAT/C/GBR/CO/6, para. 17). 21. With regard to financial independence, the mechanism’s coordination is funded in part by the Ministry of Justice, through Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, and in part by its members, who make annual contributions. For the year 2017/18, the Inspectorate received a nominal income of £61,155 for mechanism coordination from the Ministry of Justice and £19,500 from members of the mechanism. In 2019, the mechanism’s budget from the Ministry of Justice amounted to £135,000. 22. Given the multi-body complexity of the mechanism, working across the four nations of the United Kingdom, the mechanism established a working relationship with the other bodies through a mechanism secretariat, a Chair and a steering group, holding business meetings for the mechanism members. 23. The secretariat was created within Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, taking into account the Inspectorate’s coordinating function. The secretariat aims at promoting and developing cohesion and a shared understanding of the Optional Protocol among members of the mechanism. Given the scale and complexity of the national preventive mechanism’s multi-body structure, the coordination function is essential to the implementation of the Optional Protocol. The mechanism’s secretariat also supports the Chair and the steering group. 24. In 2016, the members of the mechanism appointed, by agreement, an independent Chair from outside the mechanism membership to advise and support the mechanism in fulfilling its Optional Protocol mandate. The term in office of the mechanism’s Chair was renewed in October 2017 for a period of four years. The Chair reports to the mechanism’s steering group and members, and works closely with the mechanism’s secretariat. However, a lack of legislation means that the Chair has no official legal status, job description, powers or immunities and is thereby inhibited in fully discharging the mechanism’s Optional Protocol obligations. 25. The steering group facilitates decision-making and joint work, and also represents the interests of the national preventive mechanism as a whole. The steering group is comprised of five members, elected by mechanism members. 9 Members of the steering group are appointed for an initial term of two years and are limited to two two-year terms. 26. The mechanism’s twice-yearly business meetings are its main forum for members to share their findings, best practices, experiences and lessons from monitoring different types 7 8 9 6 The Subcommittee takes note of the protocol between the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, approved on 10 October 2019, which indicates in its paragraph 3.1 that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons was designated as one of bodies designated to the national preventive mechanism, in accordance with the Optional Protocol. The text of the protocol is available at www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/10/Updated-MOJProtocol-October-2019.pdf. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 refers explicitly to the Subcommittee and the Optional Protocol (sects. 93–96). The Public Services Reform (Inspection and Monitoring of Prisons) (Scotland) Order 2015 introduces references to the Subcommittee and Optional Protocol into the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989. The members of the steering group at the time of the visit were: Peter Clarke (Chief Inspector of Prisons (England and Wales)), John Powell (Healthcare Inspectorate Wales), Colin McKay (Chief Executive, Mental Welfare Commission Scotland), Katie Kempen (Chief Executive, Independent Custody Visiting Association) and Rachel Lindsay (Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland).