Yep thats right.
They used to issue you with a IMC when you got your IR on your CPL if you asked for it. If you didn't ask for it they forgot about it.
They also said that it was valid as long as your MPA IR was valid and it never needed to be signed.
Then someone had an accident and they decided that the reduced panel work wasn't there in the MPA IR test so it wasn't valid any more.
And now they seem to have gone back a step with the SPA IR.
Its a big con so that people convert to JAR licenses which are only valid for 5 years. There are a heap of subtle differences which will hit you in the pocket for ever more.