Section one Context The steering group met four times during the year in April 2016, June 2016, December 2016 and February 2017. As of March 2017, the NPM steering group membership was as follows: • • • • • Peter Clarke, HMI Prisons; Theresa Nixon, RQIA; David Strang, HMIPS; Kevin Barker, CSSIW; and Katie Kempen, ICVA. NPM sub-groups The NPM has three sub-groups which worked throughout the year. The Scottish sub-group met twice during the year. 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. It is chaired by the Scottish member of the Steering Group, currently HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland. The mental health network, which brings together the different members who have a specialist interest in areas relevant to mental health detention in the UK, met four times during the year. 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 the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority. 6. 7. The NPM sub-group focused on children and young people in detention continued to serve as a mechanism 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 Children’s Commissioner for England and met twice during the year. The situation in detention during the year Prisons The situation in prisons across the four nations presented a mixed picture during the year, but NPM members shared concerns around the need for improved support for vulnerable prisoners and improved mental health care, and the use of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Of particular concern was the increase in instances of self-harm and assaults in prisons in England and Wales, which reached record highs during the year. The number of self-harm instances was 40,414 for the year, an increase of 17% on the previous year. Of those instances, 2,771 required hospital attendance. There were 26,643 reports of assaults, an increase of 20% on the previous year. Of those incidents, 14% were serious, an increase of 22% from the previous year.6 The number of selfinflicted deaths in prisons also continues to be of concern to NPM members. There were 121 self-inflicted deaths for the calendar year ending 2016, up from 90 in the previous year. Five of the deaths were of young adults aged 18–20.7 Ministry of Justice, July 2017, Safety in Custody Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales, Deaths in prison custody to June 2017, Assaults and Self-Harm to March 2017, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/632625/safety-in-custody-quarterly-bulletin-mar-2017.pdf [accessed 22/08/2017]. Ministry of Justice, 2017, Deaths in Prison Custody 1978 to 2016, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-incustody-quarterly-update-to-march-2017 [accessed 22/08/17]. Updated figure of 121 provided by the Ministry of Justice. 13