Skip to content

All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated.

To view this licence, visit:
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3

or write to:
Information Policy Team,
The National Archives,
Kew,
London TW9 4DU

or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

This publication is available at:
https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk.

© Crown copyright

Too few prisoners benefitting from exercise and sport

Published:

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.

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.
Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor

Notes to editors

  1. The report – Hardly working out: barriers to physical education in prisons – is published on 31 March 2026 at: HM Inspectorate of Prisons
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.