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Further to John Swinney’s important question on the SSI, I understand the discretion that prison governors will have. However, I want to make the situation real in my head. If a female prison officer does not wish to search a transgender woman prisoner, what is the route? Can she opt out of that? Does she tell her line manager? I understand that the discretion lies with the governor, but I would like to understand the bit in between.

No, it is about something else.

The Scottish Prison Service has said that it will no longer give any data on where transgender prisoners are. We can debate whether transgender prisoners can be identified and whether some high-profile cases will get into the press anyway, but given that our job is to scrutinise the policy, it seems a bit unfair that it is okay for such information to be in the Daily Record. I presume that the SPS would still have to answer a freedom of information request as to where transgender prisoners were. As the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, are you not concerned that the committee cannot do its job if the SPS is no longer willing to give us data on where transgender prisoners are?

Before you answer, cabinet secretary, I will make one point. I fully recognise that a balance has to be struck in relation to the privacy and dignity of transgender people—I am not attacking that at all—but there have been many very difficult and publicly controversial cases, including the one involving Isla Bryson. How can we do our job if we do not know whether those people are in the female estate? Are you content that the press will just be able to report such things but we, as parliamentarians in a democracy, cannot know where a transgender prisoner is in the estate? That seems absolutely crazy to me. Are you comfortable with the SPS’s decision?

Can you say which law you are referring to?

Why did that not apply before now, in that case? Until now, we got that information, but now we cannot.

Good afternoon. I want to return to Russell Findlay’s question to Teresa Medhurst. I found your answer helpful, Teresa, but I want to ensure that I understood correctly what you said to the committee.

The policy is that a transgender woman who has been convicted of an offence of violence against women or girls and poses a risk to females will not be admitted to the female estate. The confusion arises with the phrase “and poses a risk”. I want to examine that.

I think that you told Russell Findlay that you could not envisage a situation in which the fact that someone has been convicted would not be seen as their posing a risk. Is that right?

Cabinet secretary, I am honestly quite confused about what you said to me about the reason why the SPS has announced that it will no longer give us data on which estate transgender prisoners are in. Is it general data protection regulation that we are talking about? If so, has the legal advice changed? Can you give that advice to the committee? I would like to understand where this is coming from.

Okay. If we have the same GDPR law and it has not changed, why has the legal advice to ministers changed, all of a sudden?

Why did you reconsider the position?

It is clear, then, that any transgender woman who has committed an offence will not go to the female estate. That is what you have said.