Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Rule 29 of the Prison Rules 1999, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of prisoners' (a) access to and (b) engagement in physical education.

I am passionate about the benefits that can be derived from participating in sport and physical activity in custody, which include building prisoner’s confidence, providing purposeful activity and supporting engagement with rehabilitation when prisoners are preparing for release.

My former colleague, Dr Lee commissioned Professor Rosie Meek of Royal Holloway University of London to undertake an independent review of sport and physical activity in the Youth estate – Professor Meek’s report was published on 11 August. The recommendations in this report will help us to build a range of sporting activities which engage young people in custody and support their rehabilitation.