Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours per week was that a (a) child and (b) young adult aged 19 to 21 in custody spent playing sport in each year since 2010.

The requested information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service is committed to ensuring that young people in custody are given the opportunity to take part in sport. In October last year, together with a number of leading football organisations, it launched the Twinning Project, in which 40 English Football League and Premier League clubs are working together with prison establishments to help reduce re-offending. The form this work will take will vary depending on the needs of the establishment and the club, but will range from professional coaching qualifications to refereeing and employability skills. There are also plans to extend this approach to include other sports, such as Rugby League.