National Preventive Mechanism Fifth Annual Report 2013–14 next business year and will have a greater emphasis on engaging prisoners in decisionmaking, improving evaluation of the clarity of purpose and priorities of the prison and assessing relationships both within the prison and with external agencies and communities. An earlier review of Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) commissioned by the Home Office and supported by the then Association of Police Authorities (APA) made a number of governance recommendations, including a proposal to change the status of ICVA from an incorporated organisation into a company limited by guarantee. This final change became effective from 31 July 2013. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 extended the remit of independent custody visitors to terrorist suspects in detention. The Code of Practice on Independent Custody Visiting (issued under the Police Reform Act 2002) was amended in March 2013 to set out how this would operate in practice. The changes take account of the differences between the statutory framework of powers applicable to terrorism investigations and that applicable to non-terrorism investigations. Changes were also made to the governance of the Association, including the introduction of regional representation from the former police authority regional areas and changes to the constitution. Further work to harmonise visit report forms and national application forms for independent custody visiting is being undertaken. ICVA has raised its concern that reducing budgets and competing demands on Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) has resulted in custody visiting schemes not being prioritised. Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) targeted night-time moves of immigration detainees through their monitoring, which led to increased efforts from the Home Office 22 to analyse relevant data carefully and reduce the number of moves at anti-social hours. Lay Observers, recently incorporated into the NPM, raised awareness of the need to provide prisoners with information, including ‘first night leaflets’, while still at court as essential preparation for their move to a prison for the first time. Lay Observers also strengthened efforts to review prisoner escort records to ensure the provision of information and leaflets had been recorded alongside any relevant conversations held before a prisoner had been moved to a prison for induction. Further awareness-raising among all court custody stakeholders was conducted around the importance of cleanliness, decoration and the provision of basic sanitary facilities in all court custody. Lay Observers also began a national recruitment drive, introduced regular member performance assessments and began work to develop their training regime. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS) undertook a series of visits to women with mental health needs in prison, and made recommendations to improve training, pathways and assessment of needs. The Commission reviewed the operation of restrictions in hospital on correspondence and telephones and the use of security measures for detained patients, and found that there were gaps in the knowledge and application of the legislative safeguards. It issued guidance on the use of the ‘nurses’ holding power’ in mental health law, and a report reviewing deaths in mental health detention. The MWCS also published investigations into two cases of people with mental health problems and a learning disability respectively who were in the criminal justice system, when this might have been avoided with better support from the care system.