The first minister warns the chamber that some matters that will be discussed are sub judice, but she says it is important other matters are addressed.

Sturgeon explains that in general any prisoner who poses a risk of sexual offending is segregated from other prisoners.

She says there is no automatic right for a trans woman to serve her prison sentence in a womens' prison, even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate.

"Every case is subject to rigorous individual risk assessment and as part of that the safety of other prisoners is paramount," she says.

Image source, SPINDRIFT

A transgender woman has been convicted of raping two women in attacks carried out before she changed gender.

Isla Bryson is now in custody and facing a lengthy jail term - but where she should serve that sentence is the subject of heated debate.

It has led to concerns about the safety of any women held alongside Bryson in a female prison.

The Scottish Prison Service says the decision on where transgender prisoners are housed is taken on a case-by-case basis after appropriate risk assessments.

Read more here.

Ross asks: "Should a convicted rapist ever serve time in a women's prison?"

Nicola Sturgeon is in her seat and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross gets to his feet to begin this week's FMQs.

What can we expect at FMQs today?published at 11:52 Greenwich Mean Time 26 January 2023

11:52 GMT 26 January 2023

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Predicting what might come up at first minister’s questions is simultaneously quite easy, and quite difficult.

It’s easy to predict that Anas Sarwar will probably ask about the health services, because he does so every week. It’s a deliberate strategy as well as a reflection of ongoing pressures.

But in terms of other questions, there is a wide range of other topics dominating political discourse right now.

There’s the question of budgets, at a national level – MSPs will debate a finance committee report on Holyrood’s budget later this afternoon – and at a local level.

Rows over council funding look set to bleed into the issue of teacher pay strikes, with ministers mulling over an intervention to stop job cuts.

That links on again to the question of who is calling the shots on various issues – is it the democratically elected representatives at Westminster, or Holyrood, or councils?

The bust-up between the Scottish and UK governments over gender reforms may well feature too, given the dispute over a rapist being held in a women’s prison.

Ministers will be quick to stress that the decision there is one for the prison service and doesn’t overlap with the reforms passed at Holyrood in December – but it certainly plays into the wider discourse about rights and protections which underpin them.

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of First Minister's Questions.

We'll bring you reports and analysis from the weekly political jousting as Nicola Sturgeon is quizzed by opposition party leaders and backbench MSPs.

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