Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours of purposeful activity per prisoner were recorded on average in (a) each prison rated in the 2017-18 performance rating as performance is of serious concern and (b) each prisons that was rated as exceptional performance.

The Department does not currently collect data on the amount of time prisoners spend out of cell. We are examining the feasibility of developing such a measure and are exploring how this might be done, including working with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons to understand the methodology it uses in its inspections.

Data are published on GOV.UK on the number of prisoners who have completed accredited programmes in custody, the number of hours worked in prison industries, and the number of prisoners released from prison on a temporary licence.

The introduction of Offender Management in Custody, and the associated staffing, mean that prisons will be better equipped to run fuller regimes with more opportunities for purposeful activity. Our Education and Employment strategy launched last year will create a system where prisoners are on a path to employment, through increased opportunities to gain experience of work in communities while released on temporary licence.