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Discussions are still taking place with the Convention about possible new burdens for 2000-01. New burdens for 2001-02 will be assessed at the time of next year's settlement.
The Scottish Prison Service's response was that one new prison has no completion date until the contract is awarded "in due course", and that one new prison is now under the planning appeal process, which could take some considerable time.
Although we have previously considered sentencing policy, we have not done so in respect of young people; we have not considered Christmas opening hours; and we have not considered the sportscotland consultation. Those were all new issues for us, but this petition does not raise a new issue.
The all-party process might not have been collaborative, but it has certainly been complementary; for example, the Labour Party in Fife took a petition to the European Parliament and I visited the European Parliament with our MEP, Alyn Smith and raised a complaint with the Commission.
We could say that everybody should have the right to anonymity. However, as we know from our visits to prisons around the country, sex offenders are separated from other prisoners and are treated differently by society.
I saw it as a courtesy invite from the committee—a setting in train of what I hope will be a good working relationship, given the parameters within which we all work. Beyond that, Susan Deacon's visits to the committee will result from specific issues that arise in our work load.