National Preventive Mechanism Seventh Annual Report 2015–16 Political context, legislative and policy developments The UK’s general election on 7 May 2015 resulted in a return to power for the Conservative government. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party gained 50 new seats in the Westminster parliament, winning all but three constituencies. At the State Opening of Parliament on 27 May, HM the Queen announced her government’s legislative proposals, which included plans to devolve wide-ranging powers to Scotland and Northern Ireland, and to renegotiate the country’s relationship with the European Union. The Queen also announced plans to bring forward proposals for a ‘British Bill of Rights’ and to ‘improve the law on policing and criminal justice’.22 It was subsequently reported that a Bill of Rights would be ‘fast-tracked’ into law by the summer of 2016, with consultations starting in the autumn of 2015, but to date no proposals or consultation documents have been published. The year was notable for the number of reviews underway or concluded that examined aspects of detention policy or practice, all of which led to significant recommendations for change. This was particularly evident with regard to the issue of deprivation of liberty in health and social care settings. In December 2015, the Scottish government announced a review of Adults with Incapacity Legislation and deprivation of liberty, following on from the Scottish Law Commission’s report of October 2014.23 The Law Commission (England and Wales) announced its own review of the law of mental capacity and deprivation of liberty in July 2015. This responded to the widespread criticism of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) for being overly complex and excessively bureaucratic, as well as the 2014 Supreme Court case of P v. Cheshire West and Chester Council which required far greater numbers of people to be dealt with under the DoLS system than previously. In November 2015, Northern Ireland Health Minister Simon Hamilton announced significant changes to the structure and governance of health services in Northern Ireland, in response to the review of the health service conducted by Sir Liam Donaldson published earlier in the year. In January 2016 an expert panel was set up to ‘lead the debate on the optimal configuration of health and social care services in Northern Ireland’.24 A significant milestone for policy relating to immigration detention was the publication in January 2016 of an independent review into the welfare in immigration detention of vulnerable persons, commissioned by the Home Secretary and led by Stephen Shaw, the former Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.25 This review looked at Home Office policies and operating procedures that have an impact on the welfare 22. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/queens-speech-2015 [accessed 01/11/16]. 23. http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/8931 [accessed 01/11/16]. 24. https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/hamilton-appoints-expert-panel-lead-debate-delivering-world-class-health-and-socialcare [accessed 01/11/16]. 25. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-into-the-welfare-in-detention-of-vulnerable-persons [accessed 1/11/16]. 18