New Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody appointed
The Secretary of State has appointed Lynn Emslie as Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Rt Hon. Dominic Raab MP, has announced the appointment of Lynn Emslie as Chair of Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody for a tenure of three years. Her appointment will commence on 27 February 2023 and will run until 26 February 2026.
The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) is part of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody in England and Wales. The IAPDC is a source of expert advice to Ministers and departments/agencies with the central aim of preventing deaths in custodial settings. The IAPDC is co-sponsored and funded by the MoJ, Department of Health and Social Care, and the Home Office.
The Secretary of State for Justice appoints IAPDC members in consultation with co-sponsoring ministers. The roles are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and recruitment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Biography
With a career covering acute healthcare, mental health, health in criminal justice and local authority social services, Lynn holds several non-executive director, advisor and trustee roles across the charitable, research and regulatory sector. Focusing on mental health and people with complex needs, Lynn has championed the requirement to improve access to services, based on a person-centred approach, and reduce health inequalities.
Working strategically across the Department of Health and NHS, Lynn worked to inform policy by linking academic research into service development, including the voluntary and private sectors. She has led NHS commissioning and quality monitoring within NHS England, supported the implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), the care planning process for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm, and worked with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on Death in Custody clinical reviews.
Since 2017, Lynn has held the role of Trustee at Nacro, a social justice charity. She is Chair of Arc, a homeless charity local to Somerset.