Systemic issues continue in detention settings across the UK, which include prisons, police and court custody units, secure children’s homes, secure mental health facilities and immigration detention settings. Despite repeated calls for improvement from scrutiny bodies, very little progress has been made on longstanding issues, including:

• overpopulation of prisons
• lack of access to meaningful, educational and rehabilitative activities in custody
• severe staff shortages, including healthcare and mental health staff
• lack of record keeping, information sharing, and analysis
• lack of timely investigation of serious incidents, including deaths in custody
• unequal treatment and discrimination, with black prisoners continuing to experience more use of force, and restrictive measures more likely to be used with black people in mental health settings

The 2022-23 annual report, which has been laid in Parliament, calls for the state and devolved governments to heed outstanding recommendations made repeatedly by scrutiny bodies over several years.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, chair of the UK NPM, said: “Taken together, the issues raised in our annual report continue to prevent some detention settings from being safe environments in which people can live with dignity.

“Systemic issues remain unaddressed, and despite their best efforts, detention settings continue to face increasing safety concerns, poor conditions, poor mental health provision, and staff turnover. Dedicated staff in detention settings across the UK are doing their best in extremely difficult circumstances, and local establishments continue to make reforms where possible to improve the experience of detainees.

“Without adequate investment from the UK and devolved governments to appropriately resource services, the recommendations and concerns expressed in reports will be impossible to fulfil.”