Lynn Emslie appointed as new IAPDC Chair

The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) has appointed a new Chair, Lynn Emslie.

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 Social Care and NHS, Lynn worked to inform policy by linking academic research into service development, including the voluntary and private sectors. She worked with the Government Equalities Team to further the agenda and implementation of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules).

As a senior manager, Lynn gained in-depth experience of partnership working within and across a wide range of sectors, and strategic development across government departments. She has held several national lead roles and was Head of Health and Justice Commissioning at NHS England, and Head of Offender Health Development at NHS South of England. She led research and co-authored the Public Health England report on the impact on health outcomes of NHS commissioned health services for people in secure and detained settings.

Lynn worked with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s office on the development and guidance for Death in Custody clinical reviews and on Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities in the criminal justice system. Lynn also supported the implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide and self-harm.

Since 2017, Lynn has held the role of Trustee at Nacro, a social justice charity. She provides expert advice helping to set the charity’s strategic direction and improve its effectiveness and efficacy. She is Chair of Arc, a homeless charity local to Somerset. Lynn originally qualified as a diagnostic radiographer and later qualified as a social worker. She has also published the Jasper and Milo series of books for children and developed an approach to encourage reading called First Reading.

Speaking about her appointment, Lynn said:

I am absolutely delighted and honoured to be appointed to the role of Chair IAPDC. There have been many positive developments in recent times but there is still much to do so I am looking forward to working with the Panel, Ministers and all stakeholders to progress the agenda and help prevent deaths in all forms of state custody.