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Issue No 94 Spring 2026

Paul Laxton
INDEPENDENT MONITORING BOARDS TO DISAPPEAR


I had originally intended the piece on threats to Jury trial to form the main part of this issue’s editorial, until, quite by accident, I discovered the Government’s proposals for Prison IMB’s buried deep in the online version of the Daily Telegraph. Thus three watchdog bodies which scrutinise conditions in prisons and court custody cells are to be merged into one, as part of a Government cost-cutting drive which will see HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) and the Lay Observers who monitor police and court cells brought together into a single organisation responsible for holding prison governors and ministers to account. At the time of going to print, no public announcement has been made, but people in the organisations affected were told during the last full week of March. Chairs of IMBs received a letter from Prisons Minister Lord Timpson informing them of the decision and saying that it followed a review within the Ministry of Justice.

The driving force behind the merger is understood to be the Cabinet Office, which is examining ‘arms-length bodies’ across Whitehall to see whether savings can be made by closing or combining them. You have to wonder if the Cabinet Office knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. No details have yet been decided of what shape the new merged watchdog will take, or the extent to which it will continue to deploy IMB-style volunteers alongside the professional inspectors who visit prisons on behalf of HMIP. Whatever the ultimate structure, IMBs, whose origins trace back to the Victorian era, will no longer be ‘independent’ of the wider inspectorate. Any change will require legislation, which the Government has not yet timetabled. A Ministry of Justice source said that the merger will happen “when legislative time allows”, and insisted that it would not reduce the level of scrutiny. The source added: “The Department will now be working through the detail of what a future model will look like and how it will work, in consultation with the bodies themselves.” 

It is not clear whether the head of the merged body will retain the title of Chief Inspector of Prisons. One option considered by the MoJ review was to merge HMIP with the office of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, but this was resisted by HMIP and was eventually rejected. I can’t imagine Charlie Taylor tolerating the neutering of HMIP for one moment.

As a Deputy Governor, I valued the IMB. The Chair at Dover gave me significant personal support in a professional dispute. The Chair at Ford was a formidable county lady, and the Vice-Chair used his military rank in civilian life, yet this image of ‘hats, pearls and prejudices’ could not have been further from the reality. They were terrifically supportive of the gaol and commanded the respect of successive Area Managers. 

Welcome to Barbara Treen, our new Assistant Editor. Barbara has taken over the proof reading duties once undertaken by the esteemed Jenny Adams-Young. Just as Jenny did, Barbara will also advise on potentially controversial pieces. Finally can I thank all our contributors and encourage those of you yet to contribute to do so. I know you have some great stories to tell and how much you value the newsletter. It’s future health depends on you.

PAUL LAXTON, editor