Written questions by Hussain.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the role of structured sport and physical activity in supporting rehabilitation outcomes.

We recognise that structured sport and physical activity can play an important role in supporting rehabilitation by improving physical and mental wellbeing, supporting positive behaviour, and encouraging engagement with wider rehabilitative activity.All prisons are required to provide physical education. HMPPS promotes participation in activities supervised and organised as part of an establishment’s agreed physical education programme. While Prison Service Instruction 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners requires prisons to offer a range of sport and gym-based activity for a minimum of one hour per week for adults and two hours a week for children and young people, establishments are encouraged to align with the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week. Provision is tailored across the adult and children’s secure estate. This includes developmentally appropriate physical education for children and young people delivered in partnership with the Youth Custody Service.HMPPS works with national and community partners, including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, to complement physical activity delivered by PE staff. These partnerships support rehabilitation by improving health and wellbeing, building skills and encouraging positive engagement in custody and on release.In the community, the Probation Service works with a range of partners to support access to physical activity as part of a wider rehabilitative offer.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) staffing and (b) caseloads in the probation service.

This Government inherited a justice system in crisis, but we are gripping the situation and have taken immediate action. Both staffing levels and caseload are regularly monitored and analysed, and we remain committed to providing manageable workloads for staff. Recruitment and retention, along with our long-term plans for a sustainable Probation Service through targeting the most vital work are a priority.Following recent recruitment campaigns the Probation Service has seen an increase in staffing levels (from 20,412 FTE to 21,022 FTE between March 2024 and March 2025). We are committed to onboarding 1,300 trainee Probation Officers in 2025/26, in addition to the 1,057 onboarded in 2024/25, and have secured £8 million in the Spring Statement to invest in new technology for front line staff.

What steps her Department is taking to expand access to community-based rehabilitation services.

The Probation Service will receive up to £700 million more by 2028/29, a 45 percent increase on current spending. It will see tens of thousands more offenders tagged, monitored and rehabilitated. We are currently in the process of re-procuring our commissioned rehabilitative services contracts. Our new contracts will improve on our current offering with expanded and improved consistency of service availability in both custody and community. However, decisions on the future scale of accessibility to these services will be determined by departmental funding allocation decisions following the Spending Review.