[The Convener opened the meeting at 14:03]
I formally constitute the meeting. The usher has gone to get the witnesses for the first agenda item, which is the Tenements (Scotland) Bill.
I raise a matter that we cannot discuss today, but I request that it be placed on the agenda for next week's meeting. The matter is the Reliance Custodial Services prison escort contract and whether there might be any aspect of that that the Justice 2 Committee would want to consider, if it could factor it into its work plan.
You are right that we cannot deal with that matter today. We have a published agenda, from which I do not propose to depart. I am, of course, aware that the minister is making a statement on the Reliance matter in the chamber tomorrow afternoon and it might be helpful to consider what she has to say. As convener of the committee, I have a degree of discretion over what appears on the agenda. It depends how tomorrow's statement unfolds. Obviously, I cannot pre-empt what the committee will discuss. However, if I believe that the committee should discuss the statement, I am certainly prepared to include it on next week's agenda, in the most general sense, for suggestion or comment to be made. The committee can make a decision at that time. Is that agreed?
I should also formally note Colin Fox's apology for being unable to be with us.