Justice 1 Committee, 03 Sep 2002
Meeting date: Tuesday, September 3, 2002
Official Report
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Scottish Parliament Justice 1 Committee Tuesday 3 September 2002 (Afternoon)
[The Convener opened the meeting at 13:46]
Leave the cups on the table—we need fortification on our first day back. I remind members to turn off their mobile phones and pagers. I have received apologies from Donald Gorrie.
Before we move to the first item, I inform members that I intend to place on the agenda in succeeding weeks a discussion of the convener's brief, whether or not I have one. That will allow me to refer to the item that members can find in paper J1/02/28/11—a letter from the Peterhead prison officers partners committee on the costings of a prison that was built at the United States penitentiary at Coleman, Florida. I will not refer to the substance of the letter, which was sent to me as the convener. I am not sure whether the minister has received a copy of it. However, as the minister asked us to come up with alternatives, is the committee in agreement that I should write to him, asking whether he has received this correspondence and whether we can receive a copy of the response? I do not know whether members would like the item to be on next week's agenda. My view is that we should wait to hear what the minister has to say.
Do we have a copy of the letter?
You have one in your papers. I will not go into the substance of it. It simply describes an alternative prison build, which the partners committee claims could be utilised in Peterhead. I want to ensure that the minister has a copy of the letter and that he responds to us. Are we content with that?
Members indicated agreement.