A new findings paper from HM Inspectorate of Prisons has
highlighted that men and women have limited access to physical
activity in prison, despite its proven ability to help fitness
and mental health, improve relationships and behaviour, and
support rehabilitation.
Drawing on survey and inspection findings from a year of
inspections, ‘Hardly working out: barriers to physical education
in prisons' found that 18% of men could not use the gym or play
sport in their jail, rising to 25% in men's local prisons. At
28%, the proportion was even higher in women's jails. Weekend
access was particularly poor, with fewer than half of all
prisoners able to take part in exercise activities.
Provision did not always cater for those with specific needs,
such as older or disabled prisoners, and often depended on
facilities, staff and regime. Some prisons ran busy sports
schedules in well-equipped spaces, but others were unable to
cater for the size and needs of the population. Five Wells, a
prison which only opened in 2022, had been built with no
dedicated gym and had been forced to convert a workshop for this
purpose. Some prisons did not have enough qualified instructors
and PE staff were regularly deployed to other work. Regime
restrictions meant sessions were frequently cancelled, and
timetable clashes forced prisoners to choose between using the
gym or showering, attending the library or even going to
education and work. Unsurprisingly, many said this was unfair.
Despite the challenges, numerous jails were offering excellent,
targeted provision, and making the best use of their resources
and space. Gym staff at Oakwood had worked with the health team
to provide sessions for men with a history of substance misuse,
Frankland had made links with the education department to run
fitness classes which supported maths and English, the PE team at
Chelmsford delivered courses with younger prisoners to help
reduce violence, and Humber was using military-style obstacle
courses to foster better relationships between prisoners and
staff. A number of jails had developed good connections with
sports clubs and schemes in the community, many of which led to
qualifications or helped to provide resettlement support.
Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said:
“Many jails have worked hard to increase access and encourage a
wider range of prisoners to visit the gym by establishing varied
and imaginative programmes. Too few prisoners, however, remain
unable to benefit from them.
“I hope prisons will learn from what the best are doing and that
the prison service will make use of the evidence we provide in
this report to improve provision.”
Notes to editors
- The report – Hardly working out: barriers to physical
education in prisons – is published on 31 March 2026
at: HM Inspectorate of Prisons
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate,
inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and
treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and
the public.
- This findings paper draws on evidence and survey findings
from 38 inspection reports of adult men's and women's prisons,
published between 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. Analysis was
conducted on 6,281 responses from the prisons inspected.
