 The next item of business is the statement by Nicholas Sturgeon on update on refugees from Ukraine. Before I call on the First Minister to deliver the statement, I invite members to join me in welcoming to the gallery Yevin Mankowski, the consul of Ukraine. I would remind members that the First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I now call on Nicholas Sturgeon, First Minister. Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine is causing the largest displacement of people in Europe since World War 2 and of course in a much shorter timescale. The UN has estimated that over 3 million people, over five per cent of Ukraine's total population, have already left the country. Those fleeing overwhelmingly women and children are leaving their homes in circumstances fod y flynyddai 자� â un exchangediau ynghylch,解 mewn ei gank yw, oedduch i chi beth fyddeunu i wneud, arfathaen, iawn, wirth, ac supportedissyawn. Y Caerdaid communities across Europe er arfer mae'r oeddiau greenhouseanydd. Befel yma mae 1,8 miliwn niER unlockodiad eu 4 miliwn. Many of us were moved last week by scenes in Berlin of German families flocking to the railway station to offer shelter and support for those arriving from Ukraine. However, even as we are moved and inspired by such scenes of compassion, we continue to be deeply shocked that this is happening at all. Just three weeks ago, the world still hoped that there would be no evasion. People in Ukraine were still going to work school and university, but we are living normal lives. Today, those lives have been ripped apart. More than 3 million are displaced, thousands more are fighting on front lines, many have been killed and an entire population is showing incredible courage and resistance. All of that, of course, is down to the evil—I am using that word deliberately—of one man, Vladimir Putin. Scotland stands firmly with all Governments, including, of course, the UK, in condemning Putin's war crimes, taking action to isolate and penalise his regime and doing everything possible to support the people of Ukraine. The Scottish Government is committed to playing our full parts in the international effort to help those displaced as a result of the war. Other countries, of course, have waived the requirement for people from Ukraine to obtain visas in order to gain entry and settle the strong preference of the Scottish Government is for the UK to adopt the same approach. However, while we will continue to press for this, we will also work with UK ministers to make the processes that they have put in place as effective as possible. That is the focus of my statement today. A present people from Ukraine can enter the UK through the family scheme. I hope that the changes that were announced last week will make it easier and quicker than it has been so far. A second route, homes for Ukraine, was announced this week. In time, it is hoped that very significant numbers of Ukrainians will come to the UK through this scheme. The fact that more than 100,000 people across the UK have already signed up to offer accommodation demonstrates the willingness of the public to help and the response so far has been magnificent. The terms of the scheme will mean that it will take time for this outpouring of support to translate into large numbers of people from Ukraine able to come to the UK. The first phase of the scheme depends on matches being made between refugees and individual sponsors, and initially it is only those who already have or can themselves find details of people seeking refuge who will be able to provide help quickly. The Scottish Government's proposal seeks to short-circuit that process. We want to have offered to act as a single supersponsor to allow significant numbers of people fleeing Ukraine to come to Scotland immediately. We have offered to sponsor 3,000 straight away, longer term we have given an uncapped commitment to support at least 10 per cent of the total number who seek sanctuary in the UK. In practice, Scottish Government sponsorship would mean that people from Ukraine do not need to be matched with individual sponsors before being allowed entry to the UK. They would be able to come here to sanctuary and safety first. We will provide temporary accommodation and then, with people already safely here, and I am sure wrapped in a warm Scottish welcome, we will work at speed with partners, local councils, the Scottish Refugee Council, the NHS, Disclosure Scotland and others to complete safeguarding checks, put in place wider health education, practical and befrending support and arrange longer-term accommodation. We warmly welcome and intend to fully harness the thousands of individual offers from people willing to provide at refugees with a home. I want to thank everyone who has volunteered. Of course, not everyone will be in a position to offer accommodation, but there will be many other ways for people to offer support. However, welcome and necessary, though the voluntary offers of accommodation are, we must be mindful that those fleeing the war may need to be here for a long time. They will wish, as we all wish, for them to return to Ukraine as soon as possible and for Scotland to be just a temporary home. Unfortunately, they may need to be here for longer than we can reasonably expect members of the public to provide accommodation. As well as fully harnessing the goodwill of people across Scotland, we also need to plan for long-term sustainable accommodation and ensure appropriate public service provision, and I will say more about that shortly. First, let me underline the immediacy of the preparations that we are making. As I indicated yesterday, the UK Government has given in principle support to the supersponsor proposal. We are now working to agree as quickly as possible the operational detail. Our aim is that our supersponsor route will run in parallel with the first phase of the wider UK scheme. That should make it possible, and that is certainly our hope for the first 3,000 displaced Ukrainians to begin arriving in Scotland from as early as this weekend. I need to be clear that this is dependent on UK Government agreement, only the Home Office can issue the visas. However, there is no good reason, in my view, for this agreement not to be reached. We hope and expect that it will be, and crucially, this is the basis on which we are now planning. Detail preparations are being led by Neil Gray as Minister with special responsibility for co-ordinating this response. They cover five priorities, ensuring that we get the data that we need from UK Government systems, making contact with those coming to Scotland, securing short-term accommodation for those who need it, working on longer-term support, including housing and community integration, and finally establishing welcome hubs over the coming days. I will say a bit more on each of those and on resources to support delivery. We are working closely with local authorities, other public sector agencies, Disclosure Scotland, for example, the third sector and the UK Government on the practical issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the process operates smoothly. For example, urgent work is under way to ensure the sharing of data from UK Government systems, including from the visa application system. That information will allow us to better and more quickly understand who is coming here and what needs they might have. We are also exploring how we can start making support available even before people get here, help with travel, for example. Obviously, as a matter of priority, we are working to secure immediate temporary accommodation that is safe and comfortable for people while longer-term arrangements are put in place. In addition to harnessing voluntary support, we are assessing other longer-term housing options. That will include where available local authority and housing association properties, but also private sector or holiday accommodation. Finally, we are establishing with a range of partners, including local authorities, the police, health services and the Scottish refugee council, welcome hubs to offer practical help and assistance, for example with food, clothing, healthcare, language support and signposting to other services. Decisions on exactly where those hubs will be located will firm up as we develop a better understanding of when and exactly where people will arrive. We have considered the resources necessary to support that work in the first instance. I can confirm that. In addition to financial support that the UK Government will provide, the Scottish Government is allocating £15 million to support our immediate response. Just over £11 million of that will be allocated to local authorities. £2.25 million will be set aside for temporary accommodation and a further £1.4 million is being allocated to the Scottish Refugee Council for the expansion of the refugee integration service. I visited the Scottish Refugee Council earlier today to discuss their invaluable contribution to Scotland's response to the Ukraine crisis and to thank them for their wider work to support refugees and asylum seekers. It is important for me to be clear to Parliament that the challenges of resettling thousands of displaced and traumatised people in such a short space of time are significant and should not be underestimated. Given the sheer pace at which everyone is working and the need to agree the operational arrangements with the UK Government, not every question of detail yet has a definite answer. Meeting the challenge will require effective and on-going co-operation between the Scottish and UK Governments and councils across the wider public and third sectors and with many other partners and local communities. Parliament also has a vital part to play. As MSPs, we often gain a unique insight into the quality of support provided on the ground and can be instrumental in making sure problems are identified and quickly addressed. However, for all the undoubted challenges, I am confident that Scotland will live up to our humanitarian obligations. We have very recent experience of successfully integrating refugees into our community schools and workplaces. I am confident that we will provide not just refuge but a warm welcome and a helping hand to people whose lives have been ripped apart. We will open our doors and we will also open our hearts. The duty of government is to ensure that the practical assistance that we provide matches the warmth and goodwill of people across the country. We have an obligation to play our full part in the global humanitarian effort and offer sanctuary, security and a home to thousands of people who desperately need it. I know that those aims are shared across Parliament, so let's all of us work together as we stand in resolute solidarity with the people of Ukraine in this hour of need. Thank you, First Minister. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes after which we will move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful if those members who wish to ask a question were to press the request to speak buttons now. Can I thank the First Minister for advance sight of her statement and associate these benches with the sentiments expressed towards the people of Ukraine and her recognition of the compassion of those here in Scotland who have volunteered to help? Needless to say, we continue to condemn the abhorrent violence that the Putin regime is inflicting on Ukraine and its people. Providing a place of refuge and sanctuary for those fleeing violence is a tradition that belongs to no one country or nation but arises from the instinct in us all to ensure the dignity of every human being in need of safety and protection. In that spirit, it is very welcome that the Scottish and UK Governments are working collaboratively to ensure that in Scotland we can provide that place of refuge, and I appreciate the additional detail that we have just been given. Given that many refugees may struggle with English and that in any event will be arriving in a new place, what plans does the Scottish Government have to ensure that they are provided clear information about how to access vital public services? In particular, will any assistance be provided to new arrivals to allow them to register quickly with the GP so that they can have full access to healthcare, particularly if language is a possible barrier? I referred in my statement to the work that is being done with our partners right now to establish welcome hubs. Those will be arrangements that are in place to offer immediate practical advice, assistance and support to people arriving. I hope that members will understand that, while we are seeking through our work with the UK Government to understand exactly when and where people will arrive, we cannot yet finalise the precise location of those hubs, but that work is under consideration and those decisions will be taken quickly as soon as possible. They will offer, and multi-agency teams are already working to support that. They will offer, for example, welcome packs and information leaflets that will be translated into Ukrainian, and those will offer information about how to access broader support, including social security benefits, which will be important. Translators will be on hand to help. The provision of language support will be a longer term on-going requirement, which we are also considering. Part of that welcome hub approach will be also to signpost people to healthcare services, including how they register with GPs. The issue was raised in Parliament with me yesterday. We are paying particular attention and taking advice from Public Health Scotland. The chief medical officer about what support will be offered in the context of Covid as well—vaccination, for example, for people who have not had that. That will all be part of the initial arrangements that are in place to welcome and support people. Much of that will have to continue on a longer-term and more sustainable basis, but those are the arrangements that are being worked on, literally, as we speak here in Parliament. We all stand in solidarity with people of Ukraine as they resist the unprovoked and unjustified attack on their country by Vladimir Putin. The UK Government has been slow in response to the refugee crisis, and I hope that they do waive the bureaucratic visa requirements. However, there are 5,000 Ukrainians settled in Scotland, at least another 6,000 as seasonal workers, so it is clear to me that the SNP Government will need to offer more than the 3,000 places. The overriding concern is that we move at pace to help with the rapidly unfolding humanitarian crisis. We have all been overwhelmed by the generosity of people in our constituencies and, indeed, across Scotland who want to help, whether that is through overseas aid donations or offering rooms in their homes for refugees. Can the First Minister indicate whether people should register with the UK Homes for Ukraine website, or is there another route to do so in Scotland? What are the plans to quickly vet the properties and potential hosts for refugees? What are the plans to provide wraparound services, including education and childcare, to enable parents to work? What are the plans for health services? Given the trauma that people have experienced, mental health support will be critical, but we know that CAMHS is already under huge pressure and experiencing long waiting times. How much will be allocated to mental health? How much it expects to be allocated by the UK Government? When additional resources will be made available to local government who stepped up to the plate in the past to help Syrian refugees and I will place to help people from Ukraine. Some of that information was provided in my statement. I am happy to expand on it. Let's take numbers. First of all, I was very careful to say in my statement that the commitment that we have given to the flow of people from Ukraine through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and hopefully our super-sponsor route is uncapped. 3,000 is an initial immediate commitment, and we hope that we will see people start to arrive under that as early as this weekend. We would anticipate at least 10 per cent of the overall number coming to the UK, but we are not putting a cap on that. The other point that is worth making is that that is in addition to people who will come through the family scheme and settle with families already here. I have already met last weekend, again this morning, in Glasgow. Members of the Ukrainian community hear many of them already going through the process of getting visas via the family scheme to have family members come here. That is the scale of the commitment, and it would be wrong to misrepresent that as a fixed commitment of 3,000. I think that everything that I have said has been clear that that is not the case. Secondly, in terms of my advice to people in Scotland, yes, I would advise people who can offer accommodation to register their interest through the UK Government portal that was launched on Monday. One of the things that we are working with the UK Government on is how we then get that data, access that data in Scotland, so that we know who has volunteered in Scotland, so that we get the data from the visa application process, so that we can then, once people are already here, make those matches here. In terms of disclosure checks, one of the agencies that we are working closely with, again I mentioned this in my statement, is disclosure Scotland in terms of the checks on people volunteering that will be done, because safeguarding is a really important part of this. Finally, in terms of services, we obviously need to start planning now, and we are doing a huge amount of planning now, but we do not yet know exactly how many people will come to Scotland, and therefore it would be wrong and inappropriate to put capped figures for financial support any more than capped figures for numbers of people. That will apply to mental health support, to local government support. We will need to make sure that, in addition to the tariff that has been agreed by the UK Government, that is publicly available, the money that the Scottish Government provides is commensurate to the scale of people coming here. Again, I have made an initial commitment, and I set that out in my statement, of £15 million that we are making available as of today. In addition to UK Government tariff resources, just over 11 million of that will be allocated to local authorities immediately. We are working across a range of those things, but I think that all members will appreciate that, as we agree the operational details, as I hope we will, because that is still very much dependent on the UK Government agreeing visas for people to come. As we agree that, as we know when, where and how many people arrive, we are going to have to continue to flex those arrangements to make sure that they are appropriate for the scale of the challenge and obligation that we are meeting. I call Alex Cole-Hamilton to be followed by Co-Cab Stewart. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I express the admiration and solidarity of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, the people of Ukraine and our utter condemnation of the war crimes of Vladimir Putin, Slava and Ukraine? I welcome very much the announcement of the supersponsor scheme. We should not be justifiably proud but not wholly surprised by the colossal response that we have seen not just from the people in Scotland, but across Great Britain, opening their homes to the Ukrainians fleeing conflict. Those refugees will have been through the very worst in human suffering. They will require access to trauma recovery, long-term counselling. As I suggested yesterday, perhaps even immediate vaccination against Covid should they wish it, they will all be vital. I would be grateful for an update or further detail on that. I would also like to ask the First Minister about the Scottish Government's refugee integration strategy, the new Scots strategy. That runs up until the end of this year, so it is nearing the end of its life and it is still struggling to deal with people from Afghanistan, which, unless we forget, was just six months ago. STV News revealed that as many as 300 Afghans remain in temporary and bridging accommodation in different parts of this country, as work to resettle them continues. So can I ask the First Minister what lessons have been learned from the failure to resettle those refugees from Afghanistan and what changes can we make to ensure that similar backlogs do not occur with this scheme? We are drawing heavily on experience through the previous refugee integration work, not just Afghanistan. I do not think that it is fair to describe this in terms of failure. There is an on-going process to not just welcome people here, but to settle and to integrate them into our communities. I think that anybody looking fairly at, in particular, the response of the Scottish Public, local authorities, other agencies and the success of the work that they did in supporting the Syrian resettlement scheme would know that we have a lot of very positive experience to draw on there. We want to see this work very much embedded in that new Scots strategy. That is one of the things that I was talking to the Scottish Refugee Council about this morning. The 3000 figure that we have committed as an initial welcome to the UK Government in terms of the supersponsor scheme has not been drawn from nowhere. 3,000 are the number of Syrian refugees that we were able to settle through that scheme, so we know that we can. Relatively quickly, although that has been done much more quickly than with the Syrian scheme, we can make sure that we do that. However, we will be learning all of those lessons and the good ones and the more challenging ones as well. There are lots of challenges here. If we were simply to look at this as a challenge, we would shy away from it. However, this is a moral obligation that we, in common with countries across the world, have right now—a moral humanitarian obligation. I am not standing here suggesting that this will be easier straightforward, that there will not be real difficulties and challenges, that we will not face hurdles along the way. However, this is work that we have a duty to do, and it is work that, with our partners, we are focused on making sure that we get right and put all of the practical arrangements in place as quickly as possible. It is important that the Scottish Government ensures the fair and equitable treatment of all Ukrainian refugees, black and white, old and young. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with relevant partners regarding safeguarding issues related to the homes for Ukraine's scheme to ensure that all people, and in particular children and young people, are placed in safe and supportive environments? I think that co-capture makes an important point that we are all horrified at what is happening in and to Ukraine right now, and we all desperately want to do everything that we possibly can to help. However, the duty to give refuge to people fleeing war or famine does not depend on where they come from or who they are, what religion or faith or culture they come from. That is a duty that we all owe as a matter of humanity to everybody who needs it. I believe that Scotland has a good record, notwithstanding the challenges that we know are involved in this in opening our doors and hearts to Syrian refugees, to Afghan refugees, but perhaps not just in the immediate response to those fleeing war in Ukraine, one of the lessons that we can take from this is that we have that duty to open our hearts to people fleeing war from all parts of the world. In terms of safeguarding, the issue of safeguarding is central to all the discussions that we are having with partners. It is really important that, as we harness the outpouring of support from the public, we do not neglect the wellbeing and the safety of those fleeing war and trauma. Obviously, the principal discussions that we are having are with Disclosure Scotland to make sure that we have the processes in place to quickly do appropriate checks, but I want to assure the chamber that that is a critical part of all of the work that we are doing as we seek to put in place the arrangements for immediate welcome, but then ensure that that support continues as people settle and integrate here. That applies accommodation, health services, wider support services and that focus on wellbeing and safety as well. Can the First Minister offer a guarantee that no Ukrainian refugee will find themselves in temporary accommodation for a period of longer than one month in order to minimise uncertainty for those individuals, many of whom have experienced high levels of stress and required a stable environment integrated as soon as possible? Our priority first of all, and this is the whole intention of the super sponsor proposal, is to get people to sanctuary in Scotland as quickly as possible. Rather than having bureaucratic processes that take a long time while people are still in Poland or other countries to get them here, that will mean that because we then want to do the longer-term matching process while people are in Scotland that there will be a period in which we house them in temporary accommodation. There is work on going again, literally as we speak, to secure temporary accommodation in the short-term. That is likely to be hotel accommodation, perhaps university accommodation. It will be our intention for that to be short-term while the longer-term support is put in place. However, having people in that short-term accommodation is preferable to them having to go through long-standing bureaucratic processes just to get here in the first place. Speed of action here is what is really important, but speed of action underpinned by all the proper safeguarding and other processes that I think everybody has a right to expect. I think that there is also a need to recognise that, while we are hugely grateful for and must harness the public support and offers of accommodation, we should not take that for granted nor should we expect members of the public to shoulder a disproportionate part of that responsibility. Some people will be able to offer accommodation, some people will be able to do it for longer than others, but if we are, and we all hope that the war will end quickly and people will be able to go home as quickly as possible, but if people need to be here for a longer period of time, we must be thinking about the long-term sustainability of accommodation rather than expecting members of the public to perhaps make their homes available for very lengthy periods of time. Those are all things that we are thinking about very carefully, but we are not just thinking about them, we are seeking to get on at pace and making sure that we have those arrangements in place so that we can start welcoming people literally within days if the UK Government and the Home Office make it possible for us to do so. Public opinion has now ensured that the UK Government will provide more assistance to refugees than it originally intended. Last August, 3,000 UK households volunteered to take Afghan refugees, but sadly not one has been progressed by Westminster. Does the First Minister agree that Scotland and Wales, by acting as super sponsors for the Ukrainian refugee scheme, will be able to avert further foot dragging by the UK Conservative Government? I know that there have been considerable delays with the UK Government's matching process for Afghan families. Indeed, one of the reasons why initially we argued for the UK Government to take a different route than a community sponsorship route was that our experience has been that we managed to settle more people through the Syrian resettlement scheme than we have done through previous community sponsorship schemes. However, this is the route that the UK Government have opted to take. They have simplified it and made the requirements less onerous than in previous schemes and that is welcome. However, we must continue to do everything that we can to make it as effective and as efficient and as quick and safe and humane for people as possible. If we manage to, as I really hope we will, make a success of this super sponsor proposal, I think that it might give us lessons for how we deal with humanitarian crises like this in future. I hope that the Home Office and the UK Government generally will be open as we will be to learning those lessons as we go. Sarah Boyack is followed by Collette Stevenson. First Minister, you mentioned the importance of the need to learn lessons from supporting people from Syria who have come to Scotland. Employability and welfare rights were mentioned by 78 per cent of respondents in research. What work is the Scottish Government doing now with employers to prepare them to offer jobs to Ukrainians coming to Scotland? What work is the Scottish Government doing to support digital connectivity so that people can access welfare support, keep connected for learning and enabling them to access support networks? The Ukrainian Council general was clear in committee last week that many Ukrainians will want to return to Ukraine to rebuild their country, but we do not know how long that will take, given that many of them have homes that no longer exist. We need to see our businesses able to reach out to Ukrainians so that their skills can be matched with potential employers so that they can support their families. I am keen to hear what the First Minister is doing to make that a reality. I want to give an assurance to the chamber that work across all of those issues is on-going. I think members will understand that the principle and immediate focus is on making the arrangements and getting the agreements to get people here to put immediate support in place for them, to accommodate them with health services and other support in place very quickly, but already we are thinking about employability. We have businesses and sectors that are already making offers of employment and accommodation support. Remember that we need people to come here and work across a range of sectors, so we are already seeking to collate and coordinate that. There will be requirements to help people who perhaps have qualifications in Ukraine to adapt those qualifications here. I cannot give commitment right now, but this is work that we are exploring. If somebody has qualifications in healthcare or in teaching, for example, are we able to support them to quickly make those skills available here? That is all work that is under way. Similarly, in digital connectivity, a big part of that is making sure that we use all the systems that are there to speed up that work. All of that is under way. Some of it will take longer to get in place than other parts of it, because that immediate focus is what is most important. However, all of that is part of a very rapid and comprehensive—the reason why we are working and want to do that through the supersponsor route is so that we can do this much more comprehensively. We have a greater visibility of how many people are here, where they are going to be and what skills they bring that allow us to do that in a holistic way. We will keep Parliament updated as that develops. We referred to the Syrian precedent before. It is worth remembering that we had months to prepare for the Syrian resettlement scheme. We are doing this literally in a matter of days. I can answer every single question in detail right now, but I can give an assurance that all of those questions are being considered and that we are working at pace to put the answers and the arrangements in place. Collette Stevenson, whose journey is remotely, is to be followed by Ross Greer. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Following contact from a constituent in East Kilbride who is waiting on extended family to arrive from Ukraine, the First Minister is to get out how the Scottish Government is working with stakeholders such as local authorities and the Scottish Refugee Council to ensure that accommodation is available for people on arrival. Furthermore, what organisation is best placed to help people with disabilities requiring accommodation? Those are important questions. Most of my comments today in my statement and in the answers that I have been given to questions have been about the people who will come through the Homes for Ukraine route and, hopefully, the super sponsor route that will run in parallel to that in relation to Scotland. It is important to say that we are also standing ready to provide support to those who are coming through the family route. Many of them will not need accommodation because they will be coming to stay with family, but they may need help when they get here, travelling to their destination. They will need help in accessing other services, so we are seeking to put that in place. We have been trying over the past week or so to keep track of people who might be coming into the country already, whether that is people coming into Cairnryan from Ireland, because, obviously, the Republic of Ireland has waved visa requirements, or whether it is people coming in through the family route to airports. As I have said already to the Scottish Refugee Council this morning, it had people at Edinburgh airport at the weekend just to see with boards saying, if you are coming from Ukraine, we are here to welcome you and support you. Some of that is happening already, and we need to make sure that it continues to happen. The accommodation is obviously the critical, most immediate issue for people coming who do not have family accommodation, getting that temporary accommodation in place and then working through those longer-term options is definitely at the top of the priority list in terms of the various issues that we are working through. We have four more members seeking to ask a question, and I am keen to take each of them. In order to do so, I will need to have succinct questions and answers. Across the EU, we have seen incredible solidarity from bus and rail operators providing free transport to those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. From Deutsche Bahn in Germany, the SNCF in France and ferry operators in Sweden, countries and companies have stepped up to provide free, safe travel for refugees. Does the First Minister agree that both the UK and Scottish Governments, as well as transport providers themselves, should join our European neighbours to do similar and help all those seeking refuge here, including those from the devastating war in Ukraine, by offering the widest possible free access scheme to public transport? Yes, I do, and we will seek to reach out to transport providers to make sure that that is the case. Ross Greer is talking about transport and travel within Scotland, but we have already had very tentative discussions exploring the possibilities should people who are in Poland and seeking and get agreement to come to Scotland, whether we can arrange travel for them to Scotland as well. All of that is very much in the ambit of what we are looking at. Not all of those bits of support will be necessary for everybody, but we want to make sure that the support that we are able to provide is as comprehensive and all-encompassing as it can be. I imagine that almost every member in this chamber has been contacted, as I have, by constituents reaching out to offer their support to welcome Ukrainians to Scotland. Is the First Minister confident that the roll-out of the supersponsor scheme can fully utilise and co-ordinate the outpouring of generosity, particularly among Scots who are unsure how to proceed when they have a room to offer, but is yet no name of a person to offer it to? Yes, I am confident that we can, through this scheme, match the generosity of the Scottish public. Just to be clear again about what we are effectively asking the UK Government to do, from Friday, when I understand visas will start to be issued under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, it is effectively issued 3,000 visas to people because we have said that we will sponsor them. We do not demand that those people have individual sponsors identified in Scotland, but to allow the Scottish Government to be that single sponsor, let people come to Scotland and then we will put in place the temporary accommodation while we do that matching process with people safely here. I believe that, through all the work that we are doing, we have operational meetings on-going while we speak here in Parliament right now. I believe that if we get that agreement from the UK Government, then we can put in place the arrangements to give people 3,000 initially and more than that beyond that, that safe sanctuary that they need here. What we need though is the UK Government able and willing to start to issue those visas from this weekend. That is the bit that I hope we are going to get agreement on. I am optimistic about that, but that is the bit that we still need to secure. First Minister, two weeks ago, a couple arrived from Ukraine having faced the trauma of travel. They were turned down for temporary accommodation because they weren't willing to give up one of their cats who they brought with them. Would the First Minister agree with me that there needs to be some primatism from local authorities when people come through horrific situations to allow them to have things that they brought with them to take to that accommodation, whether that is pets or other things? We agree with me that there is a lack of accommodation here within the city, and will people who arrive in Edinburgh go to other parts of the country or just see Edinburgh becoming a major hub? The experience of the Syrian resettlement scheme is that many different parts of Scotland, rural and remote island communities all played their part in welcoming people. I think that that is what we want to see here. Obviously, one of the issues of discussion that we are in with the UK Government right now is that this single super-sponsored proposal is given the practical green light to get a sense of exactly where people will arrive. Will they all arrive into Edinburgh Airport? Will some come via London or other points of entry? Those sound like points of detail—they are points of detail, but they are really important points of detail—to know where we put the initial welcome hubs and then where we immediately accommodate people temporarily while we do that wider matching. The point about pets is an important one—people are fleeing trauma. Not everybody offering accommodation will be willing to take a pet along with a pet, but this is part of the more information and visibility we have of people coming here, the more able we are to assess their needs and to properly match those needs with people willing to offer help here. The super-sponsored proposal is partly—I will be perfectly frank about this—about short-circuiting UK processes that I still think—I have to say this—are too bureaucratic, too cumbersome and are taking too long. It is also about allowing us to offer more comprehensive support by having greater information about people who are coming here. That is why I really hope that it works. If it does, I am confident that the Scottish Government is working with its partners and that that great body of goodwill from across Scotland will make Scotland a place of safety, sanctuary and welcome for as many Ukrainians as possible. I note the proposal for welcome hubs and, if necessary, temporary accommodation. Can I suggest that the Scottish Government could start by utilising premises in its ownership for welcome hubs and that accommodation? In Edinburgh, for example, we have Holyrood Palace. A stone store from here, its own—I understand by the Scottish Government—has lots of space over 200 rooms in its largely under-occupied. I am very keen that we keep our focus on what we are trying to do to help Ukraine. I know that it is a series, but I am taking it seriously. I am just a little bit reluctant to give an answer here that perhaps might generate a headline that detracts from the important work that we are doing. Christine Grahame's general point is right. We should be looking to utilise all possible ways of helping to accommodate people in Ukraine. We are all being asked right now if we will do it. Everybody's circumstances are different, but her general point is absolutely right that all accommodation that we can make available reasonably should do that. That will allow us to ensure that we maximise the contribution that we are making. Thank you, First Minister, and that concludes the statement. There will be a very short pause to allow front-bench teams to change over it for the next time in business.