 The next item of business is a statement by Neil Gray on displaced people from Ukraine update. The minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Neil Gray, Minister, for around 10 minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's now been eight weeks since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. This dreadful act of aggression has triggered the biggest displacement of people in Europe since World War 2, within Ukraine and across Europe. The international organisation for migration estimates that over 7.1 million people have been internally displaced, and almost five million people have fled Ukraine between the 24 February and 18 April this year, according to the UN refugee agency. Each day, we see and hear increasingly grim reports of war crimes, including sexual violence. The bravery and resilience of the people of Ukraine in conflict and resistance is remarkable. We see the fundamental importance of the role being played by the free media and human rights organisations in exposing atrocities. That should be contrasted with the disinformation and denials issued by the Russian state and media in the face of convincing, mounting evidence. Since the invasion, Putin's regime has rightly been isolated by the international community. In early March, the UN's General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the UN's Human Rights Council voted to suspend Russia's membership of that body. Scotland has played a part in this global response. Many Scottish exporters have done the right thing and severed links with Russia, for which I am grateful. We call upon others to do the same where it is safe for them to do so. We have withdrawn enterprise agencies support for exports to Russia and produced guidance for public bodies on how to reject bids to procure a contract for goods or services from firms that are established in Russia or Belarus. There has also been a huge effort to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Ukraine. The Scottish Government has committed £4 million in humanitarian assistance, £1 million to the British Red Cross and Schiaff, both members of our standing humanitarian emergency panel, £2 million via the Demasat Disasters Emergency Committee appeal and £1 million to UNICEF to support work providing, life-saving services and support families, including children with disabilities. I am also very grateful to people across Scotland for their incredible fundraising efforts to support people in Ukraine or to prepare for their arrival here. The generosity has been truly inspiring. We have also taken significant steps to establish a warm Scots welcome. The whole chamber will want to join me in recognising again the generosity demonstrated by the people of Scotland and the UK and their tens of thousands of people have offered to open their homes to Ukrainians. The speed and scale of this response has been remarkable. Unfortunately, the speed and scale of bureaucracy from the Home Office has been predictable. Given the regrettable decision of the UK Government to insist that people escaping war had to secure a visa to enter the UK, trying to cut out some of the other barriers, one of the key reasons was one of our key reasons for our supersponsor approach. However, until recently, the key blocker has not just been the requirement for displaced people to have a visa to enter the UK, but the on-going and serious issues around the speed of visa and permission to travel issuing to applicants. This is an issue that we have consistently pursued with UK Government ministers in meetings and in correspondence. Initial changes have now been made, but we are aware that delays are still occurring for a range of applicants across various schemes. The latest information published by the UK Government shows that 31,400 Ukraine family visas have been granted with 13,200 people arriving in the UK. For the homes for Ukraine scheme, 25,100 visas have been issued at UK level, of which 570 visas have been issued naming the Scottish Government as the supersponsor and 1,050 visas naming a Scottish-based private sponsor. Across the UK, of the 25,000 sponsorship visa holders, 3,200 people have arrived so far, and we assume that more will begin to arrive in the coming days and weeks. However, at present, numbers of arrivals to Scotland remain low. We will continue to closely monitor that. To further alleviate issues with the process, the UK Government should immediately implement automatic status updating for applications outstanding for more than five days, and an escalation process for applications outstanding for more than a week. It also needs to commit greater resource to visa processing and to helplines for updates. One of the greatest frustrations reported to me, and I am sure colleagues, has been the total lack of information available to applicants or people here seeking to support them. For those people who choose to come to Scotland and secure a visa, the welcome that they receive will be a warm one. I commend the approach of councils, health boards, local chambers of commerce and the third sector organisations community groups, who are continuing to work with the Scottish Government to make sure that that is the case. Last week, I visited the Edinburgh Welcome Hub and was able to pass on my thanks to the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Airport, private partners and the staff of hotel accommodation, who have been key in preparing and delivering that initial welcome. The Welcome Hub model, which is currently focused in Edinburgh at Glasgow Airport and in Dumfries and Galloway, provides vital initial support and an opportunity to begin to assess needs, health, education, employment and translation services. Importantly, the hubs offer a safe space, a place where people arriving under the supersponsor scheme can rest their heads, eat a warm meal as we work hard to secure longer-term accommodation options for them within Scotland. The hub model is local authority-led, with local partners best place to determine the right level of support and the right structures to meet the immediate needs of Ukrainian arrivals. Although local authorities are firmly in the lead, the Scottish Government is supporting them in establishing their response. Other partners, including third sector and community groups across Scotland, are playing a key role in ensuring that the warm Scottish welcome is in place. We have made a number of changes at speed to be ready to welcome people, despite the delays in getting people here. We have passed emergency regulations to allow specified groups coming to Scotland from Ukraine to access social security from day one. We have also made changes so that, from 1 April, householders who accommodate a Ukrainian refugee will not lose their council tax single-person discount. Subject to parliamentary approval, displaced Ukrainian students settling in Scotland will be given access to free tuition and living cost support. Legislation has also been laid to put in place a safe, fast and free vetting system for those who open their homes to displaced Ukrainians. Enhanced disclosure checks will ensure an adequate level of vetting to minimise the risk of placing displaced Ukrainians with unsuitable individuals, while also allowing for the homes for Ukraine scheme to achieve its aims. With operational partners, we have produced bespoke public protection guidance to ensure that displaced people of all ages receive the necessary care, support and any required protection. That guidance makes clear our preferred approach to identifying, supporting and maximising safety, the principles that should be applied and how that can be achieved within the existing safeguarding, child or adult protection legal frameworks. That will be an iterative document and it will be updated with time. We have also produced initial guidance for local authorities on the super sponsor and homes for Ukraine routes, which includes information on the quality assurance of accommodation. We have published an information document that will be updated as necessary, and I sent the link to this document to every MSP on Thursday. That is in addition to the information that is available on the Ready Scotland website. Support and information is also available through the NHS national services Scotland's national contact centre helpline and on the mygov.scot website. The UK Government has indicated that it will provide a £10,500 per person tariff to the Scottish Government for those arriving through the super sponsor arrangements. However, it is confusing and illogical that public funding is only attached to certain visa routes and not others. There remains uncertainty about whether those who arrive on the Ukraine family scheme will attract the same tariff. I made very clear to the UK Government in tandem with my Welsh counterpart Jane Hutt that there will be revenue implications for local authorities, regardless of the type of visa held by someone from Ukraine. The Scottish Government has committed significant additional funds to local authority partners over and above the UK Government tariff to assist their preparations. The newly announced Ukraine extension scheme goes some way to help existing Ukrainian residents in Scotland. The scheme will provide a reassurance to many Ukrainians in Scotland, including seasonal workers, but others will be left out. Ukrainian seasonal agricultural workers play a vital role in soft-fruit and vegetable production. As a result of the conflict, there are a range of issues that are likely to be of concern to them, and it is essential that they receive support to navigate those. Therefore, the Scottish Government has committed £41,000 to fund a worker support centre to provide an enhanced package of advice and practical support to Ukrainian seasonal agricultural workers. The UK Government should provide a firm commitment that all individuals from Ukraine, without the correct immigration status, should be supported to secure that status. The Home Office needs to deliver support to finalise displaced Ukrainians three-year visas, including ensuring that the biometrics can be taken locally, timidly and without charge, with appropriate signposting to immigration advice. All who flee conflict and seek refuge wherever they are from, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria or elsewhere, should get the care, compassion and sanctuary to which they are entitled. It is not their fault that the UK Government took a decision not to establish a separate resettlement scheme for people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine, but rather to build on the existing immigration system. This has resulted in a complicated range of different visa routes for individuals, which risks confusion for people seeking refuge, as well as service providers. The immigration system is clearly in need of urgent reform. It does not work for the people or for Scotland. To conclude, the war in Ukraine shows little sign of abating. We will work for as long as is necessary to ensure that anyone who comes to Scotland seeking sanctuary receives a warm welcome and the care and supports to which they are entitled. Scotland has a proud record of helping those in need, the fact that all 32 local authorities in Scotland participated in the Syrian programme and welcomed more than 3,300 refugees into their communities is a testament to that. As set out in the EU Scots strategy, we have a tried and tested approach to integrating refugees into our communities, schools and workplaces, and we will continue to seek to improve our approach where we can. We are learning all the time and will learn more over the coming weeks. We will continue to highlight and address bureaucratic barriers and call for further improvements from the UK Government where necessary. We encourage all colleagues across the chamber to continue to engage positively with this work, highlighting issues to me and recognising that all of us share the same goal that has helped the people of Ukraine. As with other groups who have come to Scotland, we know that the Ukrainians who come here will make a valuable contribution to communities the length and breadth of the country. They are welcome and will have a home here for as long as they need it. The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. Despite the statement overrunning slightly, I intend to allow still 20 minutes for questions after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask a question could press the request of speak button to place an R in the chat function and, firstly, a call, Donald Cameron. I thank the minister for prior sight of his statement. The Scottish Conservatives remain resolute in our support for the people of Ukraine and the need to provide a place of sanctuary for those fleeing the war and arriving in Scotland. It is imperative that we continue to provide assistance to those fleeing the horrific violence in their home country. Those benches remain entirely supportive of the Scottish and UK Governments working together to ensure that the various routes to Ukrainian refugees coming to Scotland are open and effective. Leaving aside the predictable criticisms of UK Government migration policy, I note from the minister's statement that, in Scotland, almost twice as many visas have been issued to private individuals as opposed to visas under the supersponsor route. In light of that, can I ask him to comment on anecdotal reports that when potential sponsors select the Scottish Government as a supersponsor, that has the effect of slowing down the process because it does not count as an actual application? If that is true, what actions is the Scottish Government going to take to address it? Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I thank Donald Cameron for his questions. I appreciate the initial support that he gave and wish to concur with him on the fact that, at ministerial and official levels, we have been working pretty effectively together. Not just the Scottish and UK Governments, but the Welsh Government as well. I had a meeting with Lord Harrington and Jane Hutt this morning, which was constructive. His question about private versus supersponsor routes—obviously, the data that has been published is now probably going to be quite out of date, because it was published last week. There will be new data published this week, which may change the situation in Mr Cameron's mind. I have no evidence to suggest that the supersponsor route in itself is a blockage other than the visa system operated by the Home Office has been the issue that has slowed matters down. However, if he has evidence anecdotal or otherwise that he would like to share with me, I would be more than happy to see that and to be able to pass that on to the Home Office to ensure that processing is happening as quickly as possible. First of all, I thank the minister for advance notice of his statement. Although we do not know how long the invasion will last, Ukraine is being destroyed brick by brick, and in the future we will need to help Ukraine rebuild. For now, we should do everything we can to support people fleeing from Ukraine. I agree with him that the Conservative Government's approach has been woeful, leaving people vulnerable and confused and in limbo, and it just got worse with the Rwanda proposals. I have heard of families who have had to return to Ukraine because of their underlying health conditions, not being supported as they attempt to travel to safety, waiting for visa clearance, and of women and children becoming victims of sexual violence from invading soldiers or being put at risk of sexual abuse in their lengthy and uncertain journeys while waiting for their visas to be approved. What dedicated support will be available to traumatised refugees, particularly those who have been victims of sexual violence to access rape crisis centres, to health and mental support from the day they arrive, and what dedicated digital support will be available so that refugees are not excluding from accessing online support and connectivity, and could he commit to updating the FAQ's advice that he sent us? The tour of the websites that he sent is not what we urgently need for ourselves or our constituents just now. I thank Sarah Boyack for her question for the support that she outlined at the start, and I would like to concur not just my concern but my disgust around the shifting of asylum seekers to Rwanda. In terms of the substantive questions that she raises, we have received anecdotal evidence as well around people either returning to Ukraine or choosing other options because of the delays in the immigration system operated by the UK Government. We are extremely concerned by that, which is why we have used every tool in our box to put as much pressure on and work with the UK Government to try to unblock some of the delays in processing of visas. We will do everything that we can when people arrive to make sure that the support that they need in terms of the areas that Sarah Boyack outlined is addressed. We have been working with our health partners, our local government and the third sector partners, as she would expect, to ensure that that is the case. In terms of the digital support, again, ensuring that we have translation services and any other services in place through local government partners will be a priority. In terms of the update that she feels is required to frequently ask questions, I have previously held very constructive meetings with Ms Boyack and other party political colleagues around the chamber. I will be happy to do so again in order to hear any particular concerns that she would feel could be outlined so that that document is as updated as possible so that she and colleagues across the chamber can provide the support and the assistance and the advice that they can to constituents and those who are in contact with her. I have been approached by a constituent who has offered and had accepted a place in her home for a Ukrainian family using their own direct social media connections. I am aware that there will be considerations around ensuring safety and the various checks that that requires, but my constituent is asking how they can proceed to what authority should be made aware or whether, indeed, they can self-match at all. Can the minister provide any advice to those in the situation and advise when he anticipates that the system will be fully operational? Furthermore, if I write to him, will he endeavour to reply to me as soon as possible so that this particular situation can be rectified timely? The huge groundswell of compassion and generosity and support that has been shown to the people of Ukraine has been clearly very heartwarming to see. Those who want to offer their homes to displaced people should contact and register their interests through the homes for Ukraine portal. I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to make sure that that is done through that official channel rather than informal correspondence. We have recently published guidance for local authorities, individuals and organisations wishing to support people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine, and we will be publishing guidance specifically for hosts shortly. If Michelle Thompson wishes to write to me, I will be more than happy to respond as quickly as possible and if needed to follow up with a meeting if required. Refugees coming from war-torn countries often live through atrocities that none of us here can ever imagine. We need our help now, but to do that we need to be able to communicate. Can the minister tell us how many Ukrainian language speakers are embedded within local authorities as of today, how many spaces are still to be filled and what steps the Scottish Government is taking to recruit more individuals fluent in Ukraine? I thank Sharon Dowie for that question. She is absolutely right to have access to people who are able to interpret for displaced Ukrainian people is absolutely fundamental. We have been very grateful to officers of support from the Ukrainian community across Scotland who have been supporting us at our welcome hubs and also for the work being done by the Scottish Refugee Council and others to ensure that we have a dedicated support in place. If she wants further detail on that, I would be happy to respond in writing, but I would be very pleased with the uptake of offers, both voluntary and otherwise, to ensure that we are able to communicate effectively with them. I am aware of a few individuals and families from Ukraine who have already moved into communities within my region, the Highlands and Islands, and of even more of my constituents who stand ready to open their homes. How will the Scottish Government support Ukrainian refugees who are placed in areas that do not have a significant existing refugee population and therefore the existing community support networks that we know are so important? I am extremely thankful for the generosity of everyone right across Scotland, including our Highlands and Islands communities, for offering their support to Ukrainians displaced by the current conflict. Ms Roddick, like yourself, represents Orkney, where I am originally from. I know that there is a great appetite there to help to ensure that there is a warm welcome provided there. I suspect that they are not least because of the historical links in providing support to children from the Chernobyl area on an annual basis. Once matched to a specific local authority and home, individuals and families will receive support to integrate into the local area. Resettlement teams are in place in all 32 local authorities and have been supporting refugees in those areas for a number of years as part of previous resettlement schemes. Our local authorities, as well as partner and third sector organisations, will play an important role in supporting displaced people from Ukraine to rebuild their lives in the new communities. However, if Ms Roddick has any further concerns that she wishes to raise with me, I will be more than happy to do what I can to ensure that that information is forthcoming. The minister says that all who flee conflict and seek refugees should get the care, compassion and sanity to which they are entitled. In Edinburgh, we still have hundreds of refugees from Syria and Afghanistan who are stuck in the hotels and other temporary accommodation with no suitable permanent housing. Home for Ukraine is welcome, but not everyone will fall into that scheme. How can the Scottish Government ensure that this refugee's housing crisis is not continued? I thank the minister for that question. He is absolutely right to raise it. The success of the Ukrainian scheme will be based on a true partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government local authorities, third sector organisations and housing providers, in particular. Sadly, that was not the fact, particularly with the Afghan scheme, and we are seeing, as a result of where people were placed into accommodation without the local authority or the Scottish Government being made aware or being able to provide the same support as we are looking to put in place through the Syrian scheme and now through the Ukrainian scheme as well. He is absolutely right. That is not to say that the Scottish Government has washed its hands of the responsibility to the Afghans who are here. We want to do everything that we can to make sure that we are supporting them. We continue to do that work and I will be more than happy to meet with Foisal Childry to discuss some of the ways that we are ensuring that that is happening. Annabelle Ewing, to be followed by Alex Cole-Hamilton. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Like many MSP colleagues across Scotland, I have been involved in trying to seek clarity about outstanding individual Ukrainian visa applications on behalf of constituents who have offered their homes a sanctuary. Most recently, I would have to say on Saturday evening in helpful correspondence with the private office of Lord Harrington, but that helpful approach is very much the exception rather than the rule, and I would like to see it be the rule. Can the minister confirm that he will continue to press the UK Government to proceed now with the extreme urgency, given that lives are at stake? I also asked the minister to ensure that relevant information is made available to local communities as to how they can get involved in helping the refugees who will be housed or are already being housed in their area, as I know that local communities are very keen to do so. I thank Annabelle Ewing for that question. I have raised concerns about the speed with which visa applications are being processed repeatedly with the UK Government and will continue to do so. People must be given visas quickly so that they can travel safely. I most recently raised that this morning with a meeting with Lord Harrington and Jane Hutt from the Welsh Government. The huge groundswell of compassion, generosity and support shown for the people of Ukraine has been heartwarming to see. I know that the experience of Ms Ewing in Cowdenbeath will be similar to mine in Erdran Shots in terms of the community wanting to come together to provide support for people who are arriving here. We have recently published guidance for individuals and organisations wishing to support people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine. I would also encourage people to look at the Ready Scotland website to find out more about what they can do to support people in their area. Those who want to offer their homes to displaced people should register their interests for the homes for the Ukraine portal and encourage community groups across Scotland to get in touch with the local authorities to ensure that that real warm welcome is in evidence in all of our areas. Alex Cole-Hamilton, followed by Ross Greer. Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I declare an interest in that my family and I have signed up for the homes for Ukraine scheme? I am very pleased to hear about the welcome hubs that were mentioned and the opportunity they provide to assess needs. The Minister will doubtless share my deep concerns that many of those fleeing Ukraine will have seen untold trauma and will need our support. Many will arrive with profound mental health needs. Some will have suffered deep psychological harm. What reassurance can he offer the Chamber that they will be met with immediate mental health support and a trauma-informed and compassionate welcome on their arrival? I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for his question and for the generosity that he has shown, like tens of thousands of others across Scotland, in looking to open their homes to people from Ukraine. Like others across Scotland, he can expect to be contacted soon by local authority partners to ensure that the appropriateness of his accommodation is sound and that he, as an upstanding individual, is also disclosure checked. There are no exceptions to those checks. In terms of his more substantive point about ensuring that there is trauma and mental health support in place, as I have said previously, we are working with our health partners, NHS partners, to ensure that that is in place. There is going to be a triaging process when people arrive through our welcome hubs to ensure that the expectation of service is established at a very early stage and that services can be put in place from there. I will be more unhappy at the offer that I have extended to the Labour Party through Sarah Boyack and the Liberal Democrats through Alex Cole-Hamilton to provide a regular update on that, if required. Just a few days ago, the Westminster Government unveiled inhumane plans to deport those seeking refuge in the UK to Rwanda. Although the response to refugees in Ukraine has been so far inadequate, it is positively generous compared to this deliberate cruelty. Has the minister had any communication from the UK Government about those plans and any potential consequences they will have for Ukrainians seeking refuge in Scotland? Can he confirm that the Scottish Government will do what it can to protect all refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland from deportation to Rwanda? I thank Ross Greer for that important question. Unfortunately, when we were given notice of the new immigration plans from the UK Government, the plan to deport people to Rwanda was not part of that discussion, so we haven't had the opportunity to have the fulsome discussion that we would want. However, I am hoping to be able to have that opportunity when I'm meeting with UK ministers in the coming weeks to make sure that our displeasure at this move is articulated in the strongest possible terms. I know that that is also being articulated by faith groups and other community groups representing refugees, and it should be to their shame that the UK Government continues to progress with this plan. We've got just under four minutes and four more questioners. I'm keen to get them all in, but we need brief questions and brief responses as far as possible. Christine Grahame, to be followed by Maurice Golden. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Minister, small communities in and around West Linton in my constituency have formed West Linton area supports who came with over 30 households signing up UK Government programme, because of sluggish visas, which we've referred to previously and none today have been allocated. Will the Scottish Government, through its welcome hubs, together with local authorities, take account when relocating families in rural communities that they have other refugee families relocated with them to provide them the additional support in adjusting to their new circumstances after such traumatic experiences? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Christine Grahame for that important question, both in terms of sharing the frustration that she and her constituents have in terms of the delays in processing visas, but also in terms of ensuring that we provide a holistic approach to the matching service and the allocation of people displaced from Ukraine to different parts of Scotland. She can rest assured that those are part of the considerations that we are applying to that service. Maurice Golden, to be followed by Evelyn Ture. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. With regards to mental health and emotional support, what work has been conducted to prepare tool kits for people, including children in schools, on knowing what to look out for and on knowing how to approach and broach issues? Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Maurice Golden for that question. My colleagues in education have been working at pace to ensure that schools and educational settings are appropriately resourced to ensure that people arriving from Ukraine are given the support that they need both in terms of their educational experience in the classroom, but also the wraparan support that parents will need as well. If there is anything specific that Maurice Golden feels should be added to that, I would be more than happy to hear it. To ask the minister specifically what support local authorities will receive to assist Ukrainian refugees and their hosts on arrival in Scotland. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank Evelyn Ture for that question. We have provided funding to local authorities to sustain and enhance resettlement teams and enable co-ordination of the third sector contribution to this work. We have also offered over £7 million to local authorities to support refurbishment of accommodation, to support Ukrainian displaced people. Clear guidance has also been published for local authorities covering critical issues such as safeguarding and access to services. In addition, the UK Government has confirmed funding for local authorities at a rate of £10,500 per person. I have already articulated my concerns about ensuring that that applies regardless of the visa route. There is also going to be an expectation on local authorities to be asked to administer the thank you payments to sponsoring households at a rate of £350 per person, and additional funding will be provided to local authorities to meet that need. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The minister's update today is certainly welcome, and it is clear that there is goodwill across the chamber towards Ukrainian-seeking refuge in Scotland. When the minister appeared before the Constitution of European External Affairs and Culture Committee in March, he indicated that the Government was supportive of the idea of providing concession to travel free of charge to Ukrainian refugees and other asylum seekers, so could he provide an update when we might see the Government's work on this policy to date? Will he meet with me and other members concerned with the matter to discuss how we can work together to take those plans forward at pace? I thank Paul Sweeney for that question, and for his interest in this area, which has been long-standing. I have been more than happy knowing that this is not just my responsibility but the responsibility of other ministers as well. I have been more than happy to meet Mr Sweeney and others to update him on the work in that regard, and if he had any further ideas that he would like to feed in. Thank you very much. That concludes this item of business. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.