Section one Context NPM steering group The NPM steering group oversees the overall strategy and activities of the NPM. Its five members meet regularly and are representative of members in all four nations of the UK and, as far as possible, of the different remits of organisations that make up the NPM. The NPM steering group supports decisionmaking between business meetings and develops the NPM business plan and proposals to members. In the reporting year, the steering group met three times. As of March 2020, the membership was as follows: • Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, HMI Prisons; • Rachel Lindsay, Inspector, CJINI; • John Powell, Head of Regulations and Mental Health, HIW; • Judith Robertson, Chair, SHRC; and • Dame Anne Owers, National Chair, IMB. NPM sub-groups Since the NPM was designated, its members have taken the initiative to establish thematic sub-groups which allow them to strengthen collaboration, share information and prioritise topics of particular relevance to their NPM mandate. The NPM has four subgroups which worked throughout the year. The NPM’s newest sub-group is the police sub-group, which examines cross-cutting issues in police custody across the four nations. The sub-group was established because NPM members who visit police custody recognised that the issues faced by people in short-term detention are often different from those held in longerterm detention. Members decided that a dedicated forum in which custody visitors and inspectors could discuss detention in police custody, including detention under terrorism legislation, would be beneficial. The police sub-group shares good practice and identifies areas of concern in police custody units. The police sub-group met in June 2019 and January 2020. The sub-group is organised and chaired by ICVA. The Scottish sub-group met twice during the year, in October 2019 and February 2020. The group coordinates NPM activities in Scotland, provides support to NPM members, raises the profile of the work of the NPM and improves liaison with the Scottish Government. During the reporting year the group was chaired by the then Scottish member of the NPM steering group, Colin McKay, Chief Executive of the MWCS. The Scottish sub-group is supported by a part-time NPM Scottish Assistant Coordinator. As of March 2020, Judith Robertson, Chair of the SHRC, took over as Chair of the Scottish sub-group. The mental health sub-group, which brings together the NPM members that have responsibility for monitoring mental health detention in the UK, met twice during the year, in April and November 2019. This sub-group provides an opportunity for organisations with responsibilities for the monitoring and protection of people in health and social care detention settings to work collaboratively on issues with specific mental health impacts. The group is chaired by Mat Kinton, a National Mental Health Act Policy Advisor at CQC. In 2019–20, the NPM sub-group which focuses on children and young people in detention continued to serve as a way for NPM members to exchange information and intelligence, and to consider joint work on issues affecting detained children. The group is chaired by staff from the CCE and met in April and October 2019. 11