What an amazing summer of sports we’re having so far: the Euros, the Tour De France, the British Grand Prix, the General Election (!) and pretty soon the Olympics will begin. Brilliant. An excellent reminder to us all that physical activity is so very important in staying healthy.

It is the sort of thing that one might imagine would form an important part of rehabilitation and especially so if a particular population has indicators of poor physical and mental health. A prison population, for example.

Unfortunately, in my experience of prison life, physical activity is positively discouraged and in some jails, prisoners are only eligible to go to the gym twice a week. Sure they can exercise in their cells but in the particular jail I’m thinking of, they’re only allowed a shower every two days. Can you imagine how sweaty and smelly you and your cell mate would be if you work out in the cell but then can’t shower?

I know it’s different in newer prisons like here but across the whole estate, the promotion of physical activity is extremely poor. I’m pretty sure the Daily Mail would object to prisoners engaging in “fun” activities but I would strongly argue that the skills one develops when playing, for example, basketball are the very same skills needed to function in society. Playing team sports is quite clearly rehabilitative and I would imagine there is a correlation between these types of activities and reduced offending.

In amongst all the childish nonsense from the general election, I did catch one detail which could be brilliant – the new prisons minister is the boss of Timpsons ad he is well known as someone who makes a point of employing ex prisoners. I don’t know anything more about him but I really hope that appointing someone who has experience and expertise, plus a whole load of give-a-damn will mean positive developments will be made. Of course, I understand that he can’t have responsibility for Scottish prisons but improvements may well begin to seep up here.

In Scotland, responsibility for prisons is buried within a list of remits, I guess within the “justice” brief, although the fact that I don’t know exactly whose remit it is is telling in itself because I’ve gone out of my way to wade through the layers of mud to learn the policies and procedures. In reality, the job includes justice, education and health which, I guess, is the reason for a discrete position in the UK parliament. So why not up here?

We don’t get a vote though. Why is that? I guess it means that our participation in democracy is unwanted and t also means that we don’t have representation. I wonder what the justification is. I would ask the prisons ministers but we don’t have one.

NaN.