 That concludes topical questions. The next item of business is a debate on motion 5098 in the name of Neil Gray on World Refugee Day, welcoming and supporting refugees in Scotland's communities. I'd be grateful if members who wish to speak in the debate were to press their request-to-speak buttons now, and I call on Neil Gray to speak to and move the motion up to 12 minutes, Minister. Thank you very much indeed, Presiding Officer. World Refugee Day is an opportunity for people around the world to honour refugees, to celebrate their strength and recognise their resilience. It is a day when we work together to build empathy and understanding for people who have faced danger that most of us can barely imagine. The United Nations theme for World Refugee Day 2022 is the right to seek safety. Whoever, wherever, whenever, everyone has the right to seek safety from persecution and conflict. Scotland has a long history of welcoming people from around the world. That includes people who have been forced to flee their homes and seek safety from war and persecution. Scotland's approach to supporting refugees and asylum seekers is framed by the new Scots refugee integration strategy, developed and led in partnership with the Scottish Government, COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council. New Scots has set the clear principle that integration should begin and be supported from day 1 of arrival. Our new Scots refugee integration strategy placed Scotland in a clear position to respond to the humanitarian crisis that arose from the conflict in Syria. It continues to inform our response to the displacement of people from Ukraine, Afghanistan and from other wars and conflicts around the world. In recent months, we have all seen reporting of the horror and destruction from the war in Ukraine. People have been displaced within Ukraine and across its borders as they seek safety from the conflict. For most of us, this is something that we have watched on TV. We are not removed from it. Almost 5,000 people have arrived in Scotland from Ukraine. They need accommodation and our support. I am clear that we must step up. We must do what we hope others would do for us if we were in the same situation. The war in Ukraine needs us to provide a united and national response. I am proud to have seen people in Scotland show strong solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Scottish support agencies have co-ordinated humanitarian aid and support direct to the region. People have offered places to stay for those displaced by the war. Communities have stepped up to offer people a warm Scottish welcome. This is not a time to stand by and watch. We have all a part to play. I appeal to everyone in this chamber to find out what more you can do in your areas to support people arriving from Ukraine. The Scottish Government is taking practical steps to help to support Ukraine and people displaced by the conflict who need a place of safety. We are working to do all that we can within the UK Government's sponsorship scheme and visa routes. In partnership with COSLA, local authorities and the third sector, we are working to ensure that everyone arriving at our welcome hubs receives a warm Scottish welcome, with access to essentials including temporary accommodation, trauma support and translation. Let me take this opportunity to highlight this section of the motion before us. Thank you to all our local government colleagues, third and private sector partners for all they are doing, as well as our own officials in the Scottish Government. They are working day and night and it is greatly appreciated. It seems an appropriate point and I thank the minister for giving way. If you bring us up to date on the number of Ukrainians that arrived in Scotland and the number who have been matched to families and homes and those who remain in hotels or another accommodation that is temporary and what the average length of stay for those Ukrainian refugees is in those temporary settings. I thank Stephen Kerr for that question. I think that it is fair for me to say that there are people who are currently in hotels in Scotland that have been there for too long and we want to do everything possible working with our third sector, our local government partners, to ensure that the process of checking the properties, making sure that disclosure checks are carried out that makes the super sponsor scheme the safest alongside the wealth scheme in the UK happens as quickly as possible and also make sure that the resources committed to the national matching service to ensure that we are utilising the expressions of interest that there have been, as well as the creative solutions that have been offered in different parts of our social housing sector. I was at the weekly group yesterday and they very generously put up 300 properties yesterday, which is fantastic, giving people that long-term security of accommodation, which I am very, very grateful for. I thank the minister for taking this intervention. Last week, myself and the three other Labour MSPs for Glasgow met with the Glasgow community integration networks, who I believe have written to the minister, outlining some concerns that they have about a lack of support and funding that they have had to be able to cope with the increasing demand on their services, including ESOL services, support to help people access food banks. Can the minister commit to meeting with that network as soon as possible and addressing those concerns? Absolutely, I can give that commitment to Pam Duncan Glancy that I am more than happy to meet with that network, as I have met with others representing the Ukrainian community in Scotland. The regular meetings that I have with my friend Yifian Mankovsky is the Ukrainian consul general, who is doing a power of work to ensure that the needs and desires of those arriving from Ukraine are met. I am more than happy to give that commitment if Pam Duncan Glancy wishes to write to me on behalf of the local organisation that she mentioned. Our national matching service, which is delivered by COSLA, is supporting local authorities to identify suitable longer-term accommodation. It is heartening to see so many Scots opening their homes to those that need it. The Scottish Government has committed £11 million to increase the capacity of local authority resettlement teams and to support refurbishment of properties and integration. We continue to work with our national and local partners, including COSLA, local authorities and the Scottish Refugee Council, to improve our approach. We have provided £1 million to the Scottish Refugee Council to increase their capacity to support people arriving from Ukraine. We have also committed £36,000 to support a Ukraine Advice Scotland service, delivered by Just Right Scotland. I am pleased to announce that this service has been bolstered recently by an additional £12,000. This service offers free, confidential legal advice to Ukrainians and their family members and has proved invaluable to displaced people struggling to navigate the UK immigration system. Further, I can confirm a funding uplift of more than £77,000 for the Edinburgh third sector interface organisations and volunteer Edinburgh to ensure the continued provision of volunteers to give a warm Scottish welcome to tired and often traumatise people as soon as they arrive in Scotland. I just wondered if you'd had conversations with COSLA around the matching service and how robust that has been. Has there been an opportunity for Ukrainians and hosts to engage in the process because from my experience so far they haven't? That is a human resource intensive process of ensuring that we are able to get the needs and desires of those arriving from Ukraine matched to those expectations of those who have offered their own homes. I am confident, given the investment and the resource that has been committed to it, that we can make sure that that happens as quickly as possible. I have asked that question many times before. Are we doing anything for all the other refugees who have been stuck in the hotels for years and years? I thank Faisal Taudry for raising that point. No matter where people arrive from, we are committed in Scotland to doing everything possible to ensure that we are giving people the same treatment. He is aware, as well as I am, of the different nature and the different responsibility around the Afghan resettlement scheme. The UK Government has not acted in the same partnership approach that has been happening with Syria and Ukraine, so it has made it more of a challenge. I am committed, as my colleagues in government, to ensure that we get that right. I will speak a little bit about that shortly. Earlier this month, I visited Poland to see first-hand the needs of people displaced by war and how some of the Scottish Government's humanitarian support has been deployed. The Scottish Government has provided £4 million in financial aid to help provide basic humanitarian assistance. I saw the life-saving services and support at UNICEF Blue Dot Centre as providing to children and families. UNICEF has used the Scottish Government's aid to support 24 Blue Dot centres in countries neighbouring Ukraine. I learned how SCIAF, the Federated Partner, at Caritas, are delivering a wide range of services to people displaced by the war. At a refugee centre called Shaffa Dobra, I met some of the inspirational local leaders and volunteers like Maria Wojtacza and some of those people who have previously escaped war and persecuted themselves who have volunteered to step up like Alan Rusnick. It was clear that humanitarian support from Scotland has provided and is reaching the right places. Visiting Poland was moving at times overwhelming and it really brought home the stark reality of the impact that forced displacement has on people. Seeing women and children living cheap by jowl in that disused shopping centre in camp beds pushed together will live with me for a very long time and certainly underline the importance of our collective work in Scotland. My determination that we do everything possible to give people a safe and dignified place to call home to rebuild their lives here. Despite the prominence of the war in Ukraine, we must not forget that there are many other wars and conflicts around the world. Scotland continues to welcome refugees and people displaced from many countries, including from Afghanistan following the fall of Kabul last August. This includes people who gave great service working for the British military and other organisations. All of Scotland's 32 local authorities have committed to participating in refugee resettlement schemes using the experience that they have developed since welcoming refugees from Syria. I commend local authorities for welcoming people through the Afghan resettlement and relocation schemes and the global UK resettlement scheme. I also want to thank Scotland's existing Afghan communities for the insights that they have shared to help inform the work and support for people arriving from Afghanistan. I have been clear about the key principles of our new Scots approach. Integration from day one is not just for refugees or displaced people who have been granted status in the UK. It includes people seeking asylum from the day they arrive here. In February, when I led my first debate as a minister, I was disappointed to have to talk about a regressive UK Government bill instead of Scotland's role as a place of welcome and sanctuary. The chamber debated the nationality and borders bill, the damage it would do and the problems it would fail to fix. We voted to withhold consent on the two clauses within the competence of this Parliament. The nationality and borders bill passed in April. It will affect people living in communities across Scotland. It will not deliver the humane immigration and asylum systems that the UK needs. It will cause lasting damage to the UK's international reputation and will jeopardise the thousands of people long into the future. I am horrified at the UK Government's attempt to send people who have sought safety in the UK to Rwanda. People seeking asylum in the UK should have their case heard in the UK. If successful, they should receive refugee status in the UK. I hope that we can all agree today that we want nothing to do with this trading of human misery and we want to see it stopped. The policy is a complete abdication of the UK Government's responsibility, breaches the refugee camp convention and is a threat to the international protection regime. It is also doomed to fail, as the only way to break people trafficking networks is by establishing safe and legal routes to claim asylum. I am sure that the cabinet secretary with responsibility for refugee and asylum policy will say more about this when she closes. As the UN has made it clear, the theme for the world refugee day is everyone has the right to seek safety from persecution and conflict. We must do all that we can to uphold the refugee convention to which the UK is a founding signatory. We cannot abdicate our international and moral responsibilities to recognise refugees. I wish to conclude by saying that we welcome refugees because they have faced enormous danger and it is the right thing to do. We support refugees because of the great challenges that come with seeking safety. We celebrate refugees because we recognise their skills, knowledge and strength and we stand with refugees because they are our friends, our colleagues and our neighbours. I move the motion in my name. We wish to be aware that we have time in hand for interventions and I now call on Sharon Dowie. It is a pleasure to be able to open this important debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. Scotland and the United Kingdom have a proud history of welcoming refugees. The Huguenots, Freddie Mercury, the Kinder Transport, Siegmund Freud, the list is long and varied. That work does not stop though. It perseveres to this day and for decades the United Kingdom has been at the forefront of helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world, both here and abroad. Nowhere has this been more apparent than in regards to Ukraine. Local voluntary organisations, councils, charities and the public all have stepped up in an outpouring of kindness that has been truly staggering. The UK Government has been hard at work too, issuing over 130,300 visas since the start of the conflict, while supplying considerable amounts of military and humanitarian aid to our Ukrainian friends and recently streamlining the visa application process. Scots have risen to the challenge admirably. 4,773 individuals have now arrived in Scotland, many of them now settled with host families and adjusting to new lives in the United Kingdom. Their resilience, strength and spirit are all worthy of recognition, as are the warm hearts of their hosts. Last week I contacted a member of the Pentlands Ukrainian Support Group, an organisation based in Cury, not far from this chamber. The work that they do is incredible. Set up by two women, one Polish, one Ukrainian, they support local guests and hosts with a range of social events and practical assistance. They now run their own English classes and offer employment support. They raise funds to support their work and they tell me that their Ukrainian guests are settling in well and swiftly adapting to life in Scotland. So far so good. However, even with this model scenario, there are still obstacles to overcome and bus tickets are a prime concern. While arrivals in Edinburgh do receive a bus ticket worth 20 journeys, they are soon used up. Just to get to the Ukrainian Centre on Royal Terrace, see for an advice session, it takes four journeys. Perhaps Ukrainian guests want to visit the centre of Edinburgh to learn about their new home or open a bank account. That's another four journeys. Add in a dentist's appointment or a week's trip to the nursery and it doesn't take long before the ticket is used up and guests are back to relying on strangers for lifts. The PUSG attempts to cover the cost but the majority of their funds are spent on bus tickets. Tickets that are enabling Ukrainians to rebuild their lives and gain some semblance of normality. However, it is unsustainable. In just a fortnight, the PUSG spent £601 on bus tickets, leaving little for their other activities like English classes or employment support. Edinburgh leisure has kindly waived fees for Ukrainians in Edinburgh for the first six months of their stay. While free swimming sessions are welcome, as are the free 20 bus tickets, I would urge Lothian buses to follow Edinburgh leisure's answer and consider providing six months of free bus travel for qualifying Ukrainians to make their lives that little bit easier. On Thursday, during the culture committee, Ukrainian consul general Yevin Mankowski highlighted several other tracing issues that require this Parliament's attention. More support must be provided for Ukrainians in hotels of which there are over 500. At the moment, they do not even receive a visit once a week from officials, yet regular updates would be warmly received, especially when welcome hubs are expensive and difficult to get to. More language classes and greater childcare provision were raised, as was access to schools. I thank the member for giving way. You mentioned quite rightly the need to conduct welfare checks for Ukrainians and families living in hotels. I hope to get them to settle the accommodation as soon as possible. Do you think that we should be taking a very similar approach with all refugees and asylum seekers irrespective of whether from Ukraine or elsewhere, because hotels will aren't a simple place to house anyone in the long term whatsoever? I think that we all need to work together in the chamber to find solutions to all problems, so we will gain more working together than we will work in a part, so we need to find solutions to all the problems that are raised by refugees or displaced persons that come to Scotland. For those in the far side of a catchment area, a school can be hard to reach by bus, particularly given the issue with tickets. I would urge MSPs to find out if similar issues are taking place in their regions and to make contact with local bodies to see how they can be resolved. Sadly, I have heard several times about Ukrainians being bussed off to distant towns without being told where they are going. That is simply unacceptable. I have written to the minister to request a meeting to discuss the issue and I am still waiting to receive a reply. Finally, we can all help in a small way. Members often receive questionnaires, offering donations to charities if we respond. I urge members to donate those funds to groups such as the PUSG. The money will make a real difference and will go a long way to making our Ukrainian friends feel like they are home. The motion before us highlights the contribution made to our society by refugees and those who have sought asylum here. This is incredibly important to note at a time when refugees and asylum seekers are under daily attacks from certain quarters of our media and politics. It is important for people to hear how many prior generations of refugees have contributed and enriched our country and our society from the displaced of World War II onwards and how many continue to do so. However, it is increasingly a divided picture. In the first instance, we can all be proud of the will to help those displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and grateful for those who have already been helped. But those who have arrived here are all too often being filled by inadequate preparation. The Culture and External Affairs Committee last week heard from the Ukrainian Council General that hundreds of Ukrainians have been stuck in temporary accommodation for months on end. He pointed out that there are many sponsor applicants and many people who require sponsors but for too many people are unable to join these doors with no apparent fault of their either side. The Scottish Government must ensure that it knows what success looks like in its super sponsor scheme and how it can iron out those problems in order to avoid further misery. But the darker side of the refugee story is that while we can be thankful for what is being done for the people displaced from Ukraine, the help being given to them throws into sharp contrast the treatment of other refugees who have arrived here. While people from Ukraine may work and access public funds, people who have fled from, for example, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan cannot. I highlight these countries because they are the ones to which we have particular obligation given our foreign policy in recent years. Many of them have been stuck in temporary accommodation not just for months but for years. With only £8 per week to get by, many cannot get a school for their children and are not legally allowed to work. This is not, of course, to argue that those displaced by the Ukraine conflict should be given less but to show how much more support could have been given to those fleeing other countries' zones. We need to be careful to avoid the appearance that some may feel to a racist double standard in our approach to supporting refugees. This is all without even mentioning the latest attack from UK government on asylum seekers, the horrendous policy of sending those who crossed the channel seeking refugees here to Rwanda. This is a costly exercise in both monetary terms and in our moral standing as a nation. The UK government is intent on sending people trying to flee from a range of conflict zones to a country in the middle of Africa, a country from which we have ourselves previously accepted refugees. It is reminiscent of transportation policy from Britain's colonial past. But it is also fundamentally a policy where the UK as a developed nation is paying off a poorer nation on another continent to deal with what our government considered to be a problem. At the very least, it represents a colonial state of mind from the Tory government in Westminster. I and my colleague on these benches continue to call on the UK government to drop this horrendous policy, which has not even been put before the Westminster parliament. I hope that future UN world refugee days will be marked without the national embarrassment of such a courtesy policy. And I hope that as a result we will be able to more easily celebrate the many ways in which our national comparison has benefited our national life. Scottish Labour will be supporting this motion, but we do not feel that it represents the full reality of the situation of refugees in Scotland. I hope that the UK government will continue to consider what is happening in Ukraine and, indeed, in the Afghan situation as well. Can I start by paying tribute to the volunteers up and down Scotland right now, preparing homes for people coming from war-torn countries, particularly in the welcome hub in my constituency of Edinburgh West in the RBS site? We are very grateful for the work that they do. The foot of the Statute of Liberty is inscribed on a plaque, as the words of a poem called The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus. It contains the words, Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. These lines captured a promise of the American dream, as it was in 1883 when she first penned them. It encapsulates the dream of a set of safe harbour to the persecuted, the destitute, the world over. It told of a progressive attitude towards immigration and diversity that helped to make America, to forge America into one of the most successful countries on the planet. Sadly, an attitude that is unrecognisable in large part to the attitudes that we see in the America of today. Presiding Officer, in marking International Refugee Day this year, those words feel more poignant than ever for us as Scots as well, as many of us, as we have heard, open our homes to those fleeing the horrors unfolding in Ukraine. But the 7 million Ukrainians who have left that country and many more who are displaced within it, by that conflict, only account for some of those seeking sanctuary in our world today. Indeed, the UNHCR have reported that over 100 million people are either internally displaced or are refugees seeking safety and asylum. And Faisal Choudhury is absolutely right to bring our attention back to the plight of those fleeing Afghanistan. They have not gone away and their plight has not gone away. Indeed, we are seeing the highest human displacement since World War II as a result of politics, persecution, war, poverty and of course climate change. We can't forget that sometimes the actions of humankind are driving people out of their homes in that way too. And it should say much about the quality of life and peace that we all enjoy in these islands that refugees do seek safe harbour here. And the people of this country do have a proud history of responding with compassion that we see today and generosity to those fleeing home. That pride is justifiable. However, we're not always as good as other countries at doing it. We should remember that for every 10,000 citizens in Scotland, we took in only four Syrian refugees compared to Germany and Sweden, who per capita on the same basis took in 70. Presiding Officer, in recent years, we have seen an immensely worrying shift both in attitude and in policy, particularly at the UK government level when it comes to those seeking sanctuary in our shores. Quiet xenophobia from the right-wing press on a drip-drip basis coupled by a hardening tone from the UK government has created that hostile environment for refugees and trafficked exploitation survivors. The ugly face of that is encompassed in the so-called new plan for immigration, which includes the appalling Rwanda policy, appalling policy and the nationality and borders act that we've heard some tell of this afternoon, all of which my party have vehemently opposed as they represent some of the most regressive and illiberal policies ever to have been signed into UK law. Everyone agrees on the need to stop people smugglers taking people across the channel in makeshift rafts, but that means creating safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to make their way here. Presiding Officer, that unhappy truth is that in today's world far too many of us have forgotten the reality captured so eloquently by the poet and refugee, Warsan Shire, when she wrote, Nobody puts their children in a boat unless water is safer than land. We have fallen lamentably below the generous and welcoming standards that we would want the rest of the world to recognise in its eye. I am gratified by the difference in tone and action that we are seeing in Scotland, but we're not always getting it right here either. We have heard a tell already of the 500 Ukrainians who are still languishing in Scottish hotels, and I hope that we will work as a Parliament to support the Government to improve the processes so that we can make that system slicker. Thousands of Scots have opened their homes and are awaiting our guests from Ukraine, but they've heard very little or sometimes nothing from the authorities in making that happen. In closing, I'd like again to recognise the immense contribution of immigrants and refugees and the things they bring to our society, whether that be the skills and energy they bring to the workplace or as colleagues, neighbours and indeed friends. We are all the richer for having them here. Presiding Officer, the plight of refugees wherever they come from is visible in our television screens, it is visible in our communities and at the points of entry all around the British Isles. Our response to that plight will be the measure by which our generation is judged. We now move to the open debate, and I call Ruth Maguire to be followed by Rachel Hamilton. Ruth Maguire is joining us remotely up to four minutes, please. Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. Defined and protected in international law, the 1951 refugee convention is a key legal document and defines a refugee as someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin going to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everybody is entitled to seek asylum. Here in the UK, we should reflect on how our involvement in various conflicts has destabilised many of the regions and countries that folk are having to flee from, but that probably needs a whole other debate. So today, as we focus on refugees, let's simply ask ourselves. If we were fleeing for our very lives with a right to seek asylum guaranteed under international law, how would we wish to be treated at the places where we sought sanctuary? If we or our families, friends or loved ones had caused to flee from our homes, towns or villages, taking only what we could carry and in fear for our lives, how would we want to be treated? Would we want to be shown compassion, care, decency and humanity? Would we expect to be able to work and contribute to our new community? How would we treat those who need our help to find who we are and what we value as individuals and a society? As well as a moral obligation, we have a legal one to provide refuge to our brothers and sisters who find themselves in that situation. Moral and legal obligations that the UK Government is abdicating to its plans of shoring of asylum processing. Betty Patel, Boris Johnson's Home Secretary, has described the deal, which will cost at least £120 million in the next five years as a first class policy. The United Nations does not agree, stating in the analysis of the scheme that it was incompatible with the letter and spirit of the 1951 Refugee Convention. It also raised a host of potential problems, including a shortage of interpreters in Rwanda. A risk of discrimination against LGBTQ people and a lack of capacity to process hundreds if not thousands of diverted asylum claims. Officials said that there would be 130 people on the first flight to Kigali. After dozens of successful legal challenges, only seven asylum seekers were taken to the airbase. I cannot say exactly how many people will be on the flight, Liz Truss, the foreign secretary told the media, but the really important thing is we establish the principle. The principle of rich countries buying their way out of international obligations, trading and human misery by paying poorer countries, taking vulnerable humans somewhere where they may well be at further risk of harm is not principle, I share. I agree with the UN's assessment. It's wrong. It's also expensive and ineffective in meeting the UK Government's stated aims of preventing people crossing the channel. As the minister pointed out in opening, safe routes will do that, as will removing financial incentive for traffickers by disrupting the market for humans, in particular women and girls' traffic for prostitution. We might do that with a robust justice response to men who purchase sex. The UK Government's approach will not work. When even former hardline Prime Minister Theresa May of the Go Home vans is criticising the plans on the ground, I quote on of legality, practicality and efficacy. I hope that Scottish Conservative colleagues in this chamber will be given cause for concern and do what they can by either speaking out privately or speaking out or speaking privately and using whatever influence they have with their UK Government colleagues to change this inhumane, ineffective policy, which is shaming us all globally. We could do so much better, Presiding Officer, as well as a simple democratic case for our nation with stoning its independence. There are a myriad of specific policy reasons. A different approach to foreign policy and migration is one of those. With independence and full power over migration policy, we can build asylum and integration systems geared to meet Scotland's needs. The needs are different from the rest of the UK. We need more working-age people here. We can have a system founded on fairness and human rights, with the Scottish social security system, which has shown that that is possible. An immigration system that fulfills our moral and legal obligations and brings benefits to our nation is achievable for Scotland, but we must have the full powers that only an independent nation has to do that. In closing, let me welcome people who have sought refuge in Scotland over the years and recognise the contribution that those who have arrived here make to our culture and communities. Refugees are welcome here. Our country is richer for the diversity that you have brought. It is not very often that you are generous with our time, but I thank you for that. I am delighted to speak on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives this afternoon. My colleague Sharon Dowey has already outlined the proud history Scotland and the United Kingdom on the whole in providing homes for refugees. We have also rightly focused on the abhorrent war in Ukraine and the support that we have been able to provide those fleeing Putin's deplorable attack on their sovereignty. Like many of my colleagues across the Scottish Parliament, I have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindheartedness of those living in the constituency I represent. Borders have well and truly stepped up to the plate, opening their homes up to 100 refugees. I want to thank them personally for the work that they have done to welcome Ukrainians to the borders. I want to thank the British Red Cross for carrying out essential welfare checks compassionately and other signposting services. However, I urge the Scottish Government to continue their conversations with COS, and I thank the Minister for taking the intervention, because I know that he recognises that there has been issues with getting hosts and refugees into conversations to ensure that they are placed in the right place. The board has actually had 421 household registrations in May to act as hosts through the super sponsor scheme, but it is unclear of how many of these households will be matched and comparing the experience of the resettlement of Afghans and Syrians. Priority was given to individuals with self-contained properties that were close to public services such as transport schools, GPs, and that is important for a rural area. Perhaps the Minister could comment in closing whether the issues that I am raising have been an issue in rural areas. Furthermore, some of the families have arrived to the borders, and the local authority has had to find emergency accommodation because they are homeless. It would be helpful if there was a formal mechanism to alert local authorities when displaced Ukrainians arrive in the borders so that their welcome is even better than it already is. We know that the Scottish Government has played an important role in ensuring that these schemes have run as smoothly as they can, and I am hoping that the teething problems are being worked through, such as the disclosure checks as well. The need for these schemes highlights a much larger problem that the world faces. We congratulate ourselves here for the great work that we do in welcoming refugees to our country and indeed our homes, all we want, but so long as war, oppression and discrimination persist, we are not getting to the crux of the problem. Furthermore, I wholeheartedly welcome the work of the UK and the Scottish Governments and the work that they have done together. I am sure that, on both sides of the Parliament, we would agree with me that finding solutions to the problems that lead to people having to flee their homes must also be prioritised and getting to the heart of that problem. Will the member join me in condemning the UK Government for its inhumane policy on Rwanda? I thank Stephanie Callaghan for that intervention. I think that I would ask if the member would welcome that, since 2015, 200,000 women, children and refugees have been resettled here in the UK. I would also ask if the member agrees with me that we should ensure that people who are creating criminal gangs are lining their pockets and people are drowning in boats trying to get here fleeing from persecution. I am proud that we have resettled 200,000 refugees since 2015. I am sure that there is more work that we can do. I am proud of the work that the UK has taken as a member of the UN Security Council to promote peace above all else. I am proud of the sacrifices that our armed forces are making every day, especially in the lead-up to Armed Forces Day, which is this Saturday and which I participated in yesterday at my own local authority. This is important because they have been integral in peacekeeping missions across the globe. As well as this, Scotland can also play a leading role in standing up to those who pose a threat to world peace. I have time on hand, so I will take an intervention. I ask my colleague what she believes the UN rapporteur on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation of LGBT people will consider of the policy to send people to Rwanda when he comes to the UK this year. It is important that everybody is welcome. Whoever you are across the world, we need to ensure that we are listening to people from wherever they are and whoever they are. I think that it is important that we are a welcoming country and that we continue to be a welcoming country because we already are a welcoming country. I would hope that we agree that the whole of the United Kingdom, in all parts of its nation, is a welcoming country and that we do not discriminate on any of the issues that Pam has just highlighted. Before I close, I would like to return to the main theme of today's debate. That is my constituency and Scotland on the whole is no doubt a welcoming and tolerant place. I am pleased that today's debate has reinforced that reputation and that those fleeing war and persecution continue to look to the UK as a place that they can find refuge and build a life for themselves. Thank you. I am grateful for the opportunity to mark World Refugee Day and to highlight Scotland's efforts to welcome asylum seekers and refugees from across the world to what I would consider a safe haven in Scotland with the opportunity to live meaningful lives free from fear and persecution. I will go on to talk about asylum seekers and refugees in Glasgow, but it is impossible to talk about this subject without first and foremost condemning in the strongest possible terms the latest appalling immigration policy of the UK Government to traffic asylum seekers to Rwanda for their claims to be considered and decided. This policy is inhumane and the Home Office that pursues it is callous, uncaring and in breach of international obligations. As Philippo Gandhi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated, the UK Government has breached the foundational principle of international refugee protection. Just as you thought the Home Office could not strip away further dignity, it is now electronically tagging refugees, further dehumanising and depriving human beings of even a moment of peace. By complete contrast, Scotland's approach to asylum seekers and refugees is outlined in the new Scots refugees integration strategy. This approach places refugees and asylum seekers at the heart of the communities in which they live. I wholeheartedly celebrate the contribution that asylum seekers and refugees make to this country and I agree that there are many positive aspects to Scotland's approach and practice. However, I do want to point out some things that need to improve. According to Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO chair in refugee integration through language and arts, the UK Government's nationality and borders bill is undermining our ability to pursue a compassionate and progressive strategy. Professor Phipps highlights the efforts of the Together with Refugees Coalition, led by the University of Glasgow honorary graduate Dr Sabir Zazi, OBE, CEO of the Scottish Refugee Council and Just Right Scotland, a team of expert lawyers. Those groups are working tirelessly to advocate for asylum seekers and to unpick the legal impact of the UK Nationality Borders Act on Scotland. I also want to mention the work that refugees for justice have done in preparing the asylum dispersal Scotland proposal. I commend it to the minister. I would also commend it to the Home Secretary. I fear that all compassionate approaches are far from the hostile environment agenda that is clearly set from down there. Last Monday, I was privileged to speak with asylum seekers living in Glasgow, Kelvin, who had recently been residents in one of several private establishments housing asylum seekers when they arrived here. Some of their experiences were far from ideal. I was struck by their stories previously as doctors, as teachers, professionals, all desperate to work and desperate to provide for their families. The right to work should indeed be at the heart of any compassionate system. They paid tribute to the warm welcome that they had received from Glaswegians, and they were very grateful to Migrant Empowerment for their assistance. I note that they are represented here in the chamber. Hotel accommodation is not part of the agreement between the UK Government and those paid to house these vulnerable people. Five days is the maximum amount of time any asylum seeker should spend in a hotel. Currently, the average stay in a hotel accommodation in Glasgow is 72 days. Many residents have been there for far longer due to lack of identified accommodation for placements. That is unacceptable. As asylum seekers get around £40 a week from the UK Government to spend via a voucher card, which can only be used in certain shops and no change. If the card stops working, it can take days to resolve, meaning that there is no access to money. Obviously, that is unacceptable. Until recently, children living in hotels, I will take the intervention if I have time. I thank my Glasgow colleague for giving way on this important point about the income available to asylum seekers. It was hugely constrained compared to other parts of the population. Would she agree that, in principle, the idea of extending free concessionary travel would be a firm, practical way for us in Scotland to help asylum seekers increase their daily income? I would agree, in principle, of looking at any opportunity to provide dignity and respect to all those that we welcome here. I would further suggest that all immigration policies be devolved to Scotland as soon as possible in order that we can make those decisions for ourselves. I was talking about children living in hotels, a subject close to my heart, and the children that cannot enrol in school until a permanent catchment area was decided. Thankfully, that policy has now been changed and children can go to school from day 1. They now have the opportunity to play, to make friends and learning, which is so important. I want to put on record and thank the communities, staff and pupils of Garnett Hill primary school and St Patrick's primary school, among others, for their welcome to asylum-seeking children. I myself have had the joy of teaching children from Syria and Afghanistan and have been privileged to see their progress. I do believe that we need to move from a profit motive for our asylum-seeker and refugee system. It is long overdue that the right to bid for contracts to house and care for asylum seekers be returned to councils along with the funding to do so. I am mindful of my time, so I am going to skip to my final question. Finally, I would like to thank asylum seekers and refugees for their courage, their tenacity in challenging the system, for their own sakes, for the sakes of those who follow them and call Scotland their home. I now call Paul Sweeney to be followed by Bob Doris. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to thank the Government for bringing this motion for debate to Parliament today. It is a motion that I have signed myself. I would like to place on record my thanks to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, as well as the Minister with special responsibility for refugees for the constructive discussions that we have had on these issues in recent months. Scotland has a proud record of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers into our communities. We are a diverse and multicultural society, a society that embraces the benefits that immigration brings, and a society that sees refugees and asylum seekers for what they are. Human beings who are often fleeing unimaginable horrors, determined to make a better life for themselves and their families. Sadly, not all refugees and asylum seekers are treated with compassion after landing on our shores. Determined to stoke division and appealing to the cruelest instincts of people, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have been intent on vilifying and persecuting some of the most vulnerable people in the world. They decided that small boats crossing the channel should be physically blocked and pushed back by UK border authorities and the Royal Navy. They vilified the RNLI for doing their job, saving lives at sea without fear or favour. Most recently they have been trying to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing, a move rightly blocked by the European Court of Human Rights. Unsurprisingly, like many of Boris Johnson's deplorable schemes, they turn out to be unworkable, unviable and ultimately illegal. It is heartening to see that the Scottish Government takes a more compassionate approach to refugees and asylum seekers. The bombastic rhetoric that we see from the Tory demagogues in the House of Commons thankfully isn't replicated by many of us in this Parliament. However, we cannot pretend that everything is fantastic for asylum seekers and refugees living in Scotland, and there is more that the Scottish Government could be doing to improve their lives now. It has been a little over six months since I launched my campaign to extend the concessionary travel scheme to all asylum seekers in Scotland. It is a campaign that is the backing of just about every stakeholder working in the sector, including the Scottish Refugee Council, Refugee Weegee, Maryhill Integration Network, the Red Cross Voices Network and others. It is the backing from MSPs from across this chamber, from Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and members of the SNP and the Scottish Greens. Most importantly, it would cost less than £400,000 a year, meaning that it is affordable for the relatively modest cost that would improve the lives of asylum seekers across Scotland immeasurably. To their credit, and as I mentioned earlier, the Refugee Minister and the Cabinet Secretary have engaged positively with my proposals along with the Transport Minister. However, there has been no announcement yet of a timeline for this policy to be implemented. To public endorsement from the Government, that is something that they are actively seeking to implement. I would like to have that security announcement today, at least on a timescale and at least on the principle that the Government is working as hard as it can to do this. I would urge the Government to commit to this. They know where I am coming from. I am not interested in playing politics with this. I just want to improve the lives of asylum seekers and refugees who call Scotland home. Deputy Presiding Officer, I have concerns about the unequal and multi-layered system that we are seeing emerging in our asylum system. The situation in Ukraine is horrific and my heart breaks for those families who have been forced to flee knowing that they may never be able to return. The response from both the Scottish and UK Government has been admirable towards Ukrainian seeking refuge. We have opened our homes, introduced specific visa schemes and in some instances have sought to provide free travel to Ukrainians in Scotland. But, Deputy Presiding Officer, we do ourselves a real disservice if we continue to pretend that Ukraine is an isolated and exceptional incident. Vladimir Putin inflicted the same devastation on Aleppo as he did in Maripole. Saudi Arabia bombs Yemen with impunity and Israel continues to breach international law with the repression of Palestinians. Where is our compassion for those countries and their people? Where are the visa schemes for Yemenis? Where are the homes for Syrian schemes? They do not exist and that should give us huge cause for concern. One cannot truly show compassion to those fleeing war and persecution until that compassion is shown regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or circumstance. I fear that that is what is currently happening. It may be inadvertent but the evidence shows that our treatment of everyone fleeing war and persecution has been far from equal and that needs to change. To conclude, Deputy Presiding Officer, I think that the Scottish Government policy is far in advance of the UK Government when it comes to its attitudes on refugees and asylum seekers but I am sure that most of us would agree that that is a low bar. There is undoubtedly more that could be done within the powers available to the Scottish Government to help refugees and asylum seekers now. Let's start by introducing free concessionary travel for asylum seekers in Scotland. It's simple, it's cost effective and I can think of no better way to mark this week celebrating refugees and asylum seekers than for the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers to stand up in this chamber and unequivocally commit the Government to implementing that policy. We can work together to improve their lives and I am convinced that the political will exists in this chamber to make that a reality. I truly hope that the Government shares my ambition and with members across this chamber for those in our asylum system who, if given the chance, could contribute so much to our society. On world refugee day, I want to take the opportunity to show my support for those who have made Scotland their home, travelling to our shores having faced great adversity, risk and challenge in search of safety to forge a decent lives for them and their families. We will all have witnessed first hand the contribution of those who arrived in Scotland have made to the constituencies that we all represent. That is certainly true in my constituency of Mary Helen Springburn. We must highlight and celebrate those successes. That is important, not as an end in itself but rather to make sure that we challenge the all too often right wing rhetoric that we get on occasion from elements of the press who seek to demonise refugees and asylum seekers who come to our shores. Unfortunately sometimes we get similar rhetoric from politicians so thankfully far few occasions in this place. Asylum seekers and refugees become our doctors, nurses, teachers, care workers, scientists and many many other professions when given the opportunity to contribute to our communities asylum seekers and refugees play their part in full. Yet many of those who have arrived in Scotland as asylum seekers are not permitted to work and most basic human right to be able to try and support oneself and one's family simply denied. It is not only completely wrong, it is an act of downright self-harm to the Scottish and UK economies as we face a labour and skill shortage. It is something I hope we can agree this afternoon must change and change quickly. I very much hope that the UK Government will think again on that particular matter and the motion before us rightly recognises the various paths that refugees have come to our shores. Those really key to from Afghanistan and displaced people from Ukraine are highlighted within the motion. Many of these routes, although not all, will have the right to work and have recourse to public funds. Others are not so fortunate. The UK needs a more humane and consistent human rights-based approach to ensuring that all fleeing their countries because of fear of violence and persecution are supported and are permitted to try to at least support themselves. The motion stresses that integration for refugees and asylum seekers should start from day 1 in Scotland. That is to start contrast, unfortunately, with a UK Government approach, where some asylum seekers and refugees on day 1 will begin with a struggle to avoid being deported to Rwanda. That is the day 1 reality coming for many coming to our shores now. The UK Government needs to ditch those plans and not to seek to offshore both its international and its moral obligations. This Parliament is well aware of issues with... I am grateful to Bob Dorr for giving me that point. I am enjoying his speech, but I wonder whether he might expand on what we can do collectively in these islands to prevent good people falling into their hands of wicked human traffickers. What can we do to stop that dreadful trade in misery that they perpetuate? I am glad that Mr Kerr gave me the opportunity to repeat what we have already heard about safe, legal and certain routes to come to our shores and perhaps a meaningful partnership agreement with our European Union partner countries to do something more meaningful and substantial in relation to that. This Parliament is well aware of issues with the UK Government and its housing partners' Mears group and how the resource can provide appropriate or not so appropriate accommodation at times for asylum seekers and refugees. I won't rehearse those issues, but I would put on record the appalling actions taken by Mears group who effectively kicked refugee families, many of them my constituents, out of their homes at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, there is a Scottish Covid-19 public inquiry about to commence led by Lady Poole. Whilst I appreciate that it is restricted in relation to some of the reserved aspects of the public inquiry that it cannot go into, she has indicated that the public inquiry may be open to looking at overlapping aspects impacting on those asylum seekers who are forcibly placed in hotels. If integration in Scotland does start from day one, we need to look at the impact from day one on housing, on education, on access to health, on children and young people, including what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic. All are devolved to this place. By celebrating, as I started, those who have made their lives in my constituency of Mary Helen Springburn and across Scotland, I want to mention two organisations. The first one being Glasgow Afghan United, in the work of the now local councillor, Bistani. Abdull Bistani, a good friend of mine and many members of the local Afghan community have done sterling work, including empowering women in those communities to step forward and take their place within communities, not just in Glasgow but across Scotland. The Afghan Resettlement Scheme has done an absolute power of work. It is also providing humanitarian aid to Panshire province in Afghanistan, so it is really quite strident, forceful and impressive inspiring individuals. People in my constituency who I call friends who came to our shores fleeing violence and persecution, making a wonderful contribution to the communities that I am privileged to represent. I should mention Maryhill integration network. It has empowered a vast range of new Scots, refugees and asylum seekers who have come to our shores for the last 21 years. In fact, as they celebrate their 21st birthday party tomorrow, I am sure that the cabinet secretary in her summing up will want to wish Maryhill integration network a very happy birthday. Of course, they have again empowered those who have come to my constituency in Glasgow to have their voices heard, not least of all the men voices network, who have given very powerful first hand testimony about their live experience. That has included impacts with travel. Panshire put on record that I fully support giving free concessionary travel to all refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, and I look forward to having that delivered as soon as possible. That would be significant progress, but also in relation to the right to work, also in relation to housing, also in access to education, also in relation to healthcare. Panshire put on record that I fully support giving free concessionary travel to all refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, and I look forward to having that delivered as soon as possible. I look forward to having that delivered as soon as possible. Panshire put on record that I fully support giving free concessionary travel to all refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland, and I look forward to having that delivered as soon as possible. I look forward to having that delivered as soon as possible. I found welcome, community, potential and purpose. In making my home here, I had the privilege of agency and choice, the power of personal decision. I know what it means to travel far from family and friends, from a life left behind. I know what it means to retain a strong tie to another part of the world, to miss and yearn for that different life. But I don't know from personal experience what it means to have to do that, to put my fate in the hands of strangers, to trust without option in the systems and bureaucracies of another state to save me from the persecutions of my own. And yet if we are to speak of this, indeed if we are to be fully human, we must try to imagine how it feels for the past to be a place of pain, the future a blank void of uncertainty, the present far too often for far too long, a limbo of empty stasis waiting for a decision. As public representatives, we need to see the big global picture and to pay attention to the details, the granularity of daily life for those who do us the privilege of seeking asylum here. We need to acknowledge the web of geopolitical connections, the ways that we and people like us have benefited from global injustices, the communal responsibility that we unwittingly share. And when, as now, actions are taken in our name that exacerbate the suffering of refugees, that punish them for no fault, that increase the numbers of those forced to flee their homes, then we must speak out and go on speaking out. We have a voice, we have a platform, we have that privilege and that duty. The shabby, cynical attempt of the UK government to buy its way out of its moral and legal responsibilities is a new low, even by Boris Johnson's standards. A tiny proportion of the world's refugees make the difficult and dangerous voyage to the shores of Britain. The UK government has deliberately failed to provide safe routes for them. Now, those forced to use unsafe routes are to be further punished, flown to Rwanda thousands of miles from the support networks they struggled so hard to reach. To a country whose human rights violations the UK itself has recently condemned, further endangering vulnerable lives and undermining for the whole world international law and principles. And the Rwanda scheme is not... I'm sorry, Presiding Officer, my surface has just crashed if you give me two moments. My apologies to the chamber. And the Rwanda scheme is no mere one-off populist stunt. In November, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration published his report into the Home Office asylum casework. That report starkly reveals the true refugee crisis, a scandal of chronic delays, incompetence, insensitivity and extortionate spending on completely inappropriate and inhumane private sector accommodation. And what was the UK's reaction to this revelation? To double down on its cruelty and stupidity with a passage of the shameful Nationality and Borders Act. In a few short months Boris Johnson's government tore up our relationship with the refugee convention, threw away some of the genuinely proudest moments of British history and flung the pieces into the faces of those most in need. In need of our care, our compassion, our basic minimum justice, our word. Instead of a place of safety that what the UK now offers to those fleeing persecution, including Afghan people escaping the Taliban, is what the Scottish Refugee Council has described accurately as refugee punishment regimes. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson's trade policy helps to drive millions more from their homes. The UK supplies over half of the combat aircraft used by Saudi Arabia for bombing raids on Yemen, with UK bombs, missiles and even cluster munitions on board. The results are heartbreaking atrocities, evidenced war crimes, famine and disease. The UN Refugee Agency this year called the situation in Yemen one of the world's worst humanitarian crises with 4.3 million people internally displaced. This is the reality of global Britain under these Tories, a legacy of hunger, loss and pain, consciously and deliberately continued. I would ask those who support the UK government to reflect on the distinctions between those refugees and asylum seekers fleeing British made bombs and the consequences of UK foreign policy decisions and those refugees and asylum seekers fleeing Russian made bombs and the consequences of Russian foreign policy decisions. We have heard this afternoon about the importance of the dedicated schemes in place and work being done to support those fleeing Putin's war in Ukraine. Indeed, these are vital. I would ask though, as Paul Sweeney and others might do too, where are the dedicated schemes for those fleeing the violence, war and famine in Yemen? Where are the dedicated schemes for those seeking safety and a new life because of the illegal occupation of Palestine? Where are the dedicated schemes for those fleeing persecution because of their sexuality or gender identity or because of other conflict or climate catastrophe? What makes these refugees and asylum seekers less worthy of our compassion, love and support? The xenophobia of the UK's immigration system should shame all of us. In closing, I would say that Britain has a proud history of offering support. Britain had a proud history of providing that love and compassion for those most in need. I believe that Scotland still has the desire to do that and we should collectively work to ensure that our system of showing love, compassion and support to those most in need fulfills those aims because Scotland does welcome refugees and so do I. In closing, I would like to mention what it must be like to flee your home due to fear of war or persecution, to leave members of your family behind, to find yourself in a country where your knowledge of the language and the culture is sparse, how terrifying that must be. We must try and walk in the shoes of refugees while we respond to their needs. We need to listen and act and provide them with refuge from terror. My focus on the war in Ukraine has brought that home to us. Neither could anyone have failed to be horrified by the pictures from Afghanistan of people clinging on to an airplane in their desperate need to leave. We should have and need to do better by them. I agree with Foisal Childry and Paul Sweeney that there is a huge disparity on how we treat white European refugees compared with people of colour from around the world and many of those cases have been highlighted in the debate today. All must be treated with care and compassion going forward. We cannot speak about refugees without, as many others have done, mentioning the UK Government policy of offshoring our responsibilities to Rwanda. It is despicable passing our obligations to a country with less resources than our own. The Conservative UK Government is a national shame and we desperately need a Labour Government to restore our international reputation. The Scottish Government has stepped in to help Ukrainian refugees to become a supersponsor and that is welcome. However, there are issues with that and I will speak about that shortly. Before I make the point that all refugees must be treated equally and they should all be offered a safe place, I feel uneasy that we appear to have two categories of refugees and that is simply unacceptable. Turning to our homes in Ukraine scheme, we are aware of a number of issues. First, women and children who make up the bulk of refugees from Ukraine are being left in hotels for far too long. We have a housing shortage and we must build more homes, not just for refugees but also for our own people because we all know that when refugees are perceived to receive assistance that is not available to our own people who are struggling, then we get a backlash. Therefore, the Scottish Government must deal with the housing shortage urgently to make sure that that does not happen. The second issue that I want to touch on is exploitation. I have heard of cases where those coming to Scotland under the homes from Ukraine scheme have found themselves at the mercy of those who would exploit them. I am pleased that protections are being strengthened to weed out those who would do that. We already know that offering a place to stay in exchange for sex is common in Scotland exploiting our own vulnerable people and therefore it should be of little surprise that these evil people would do exactly the same to refugees. Checks are welcome, however, unless someone has offended previously, it is very difficult to identify them, especially with this type of exploitation, because it is not illegal in Scotland. I have heard anecdotally of one case where the refugee was being exploited in this way and contacted the police and were told by the police that they were unable to intervene. The way that we protect refugees and our own vulnerable people is to make sure that such practice is legal. Sexual exploitation is not just an issue where food and accommodation or money are exchanged for sex, it also fuels trafficking. That is because demand for the purchase of sex, which is legal in the UK, hence the attraction for sex trafficking to feed and profit from it, is demand. Valiant Ritchie, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, wrote recently in The Scotsman, and he highlighted that research that they had carried out in collaboration with Thomson writers had shown that there had been a 200 per cent rise in UK internet searches for Ukrainian escorts. That totally undermines the myth that sex buyers are unaware that trafficked women are being used to fulfil their demand for sex. It shows clearly that, worse than that, they are uncaring about this and many actively seek out to exploit refugee women. We need to be a country where no one is for sale and that those who seek to do this are held to account and punished for their abuse. We need to stop being a lucrative destination for traffickers. We know refugees are easy pickings for them. Too often they fled without identification and therefore we need safe routes for them to claim asylum in the UK without them. They are vulnerable to be a ready source of profit to traffickers. Some of them will be sold into modern-day slavery to feed our need for cheap labour and to feed the demands of the sex industry. The co-op party of which I am a member has promoted a modern-day slavery charter that encourages local authorities and organisations to look at their procurement processes to ensure that they are not inadvertently supporting those slavery activities. However, we all have a role to play in this, which is especially prevalent in cash-based industries. Remember that trafficking and exploitation goes on in plain sight, so if you suspect it, report it. I urge the Scottish Government to act and make Scotland an unwelcome place for such activity. World Refugee Day is a day of both heartbreak and of hope. It is a day to be grateful for the laws that protect the right to seek asylum from persecution that have saved thousands and thousands of lives. Everyone has a right to seek safety, whoever they are, wherever they come from and whenever they are forced to flee. However, safety is just the first step. Once out of harm's way, refugees need opportunities to heal, to learn, to work and to thrive. As we have heard already, Scotland is a long history of welcoming and supporting refugees, and the contribution of refugee communities over successive generations has helped to make Scotland the proud, successful and diverse country it is today. Regrettably, Scotland's limited power over the immigration system undermines many of the values that Scottish people hold dear—values such as inclusivity and hospitality and, above all, treating people as human beings. Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the very notion of asylum being radically called into question by the so-called nationality and borders bill and the Rwanda deal enacted by the UK Government. In response to those appalling attacks on refugee rights, people across the UK have responded with a loud cry of not in my name, and that does fill me with hope. Widespread protests led by ordinary citizens erupted across the UK from the streets of Glasgow to the roads around Gatwick airport. Alongside those protests, fearless immigration lawyers have been defending the rule of law, decried by Tory party constantly scapegoating others with their terrifying culture wars. At these critical moments, we cannot afford to feel passive and powerless. We cannot allow a UK Government rejected time and time again by the Scottish people to define who matters and who does not, who is disposable and who is not. Today, 100 million people are experiencing displacement, and every one of them is a person with hopes, dreams and loved ones, a person who is looking to rebuild their life. I am very privileged today to be able to relay the story of Mohammed, a refugee who arrived in the UK 10 years ago after fleeing persecution. Today, Mohammed, now in his 30s, has no status, no social security, no right to work. He has been stripped of the very freedoms that our laws set out to protect. For Mohammed, it has been 10 years of uncertainty and suffering, 10 years with no ability to plan for the future, constantly trapped in the present and struggling to survive. His most recent appeal to the Home Office three years ago remains unanswered. Mohammed illustrated his experience eloquently, and I will not apologise for those words that have been really hard to hear, and they are hard for me to repeat too. He said, the law is like a stone. It cannot feel us, our humanity or our worth, designed by those who live comfortably in a warm home, perhaps with a family and a career. They do not feel what it is like to be beaten to within an inch of their lives by a brutal immigration system. It is like the man who makes bullets would not sell to the gun manufacturers if he knew those very same bullets would pierce his heart. How can the law makers understand what it feels like to be shipped off to Rwanda or hunted down by immigration officers like second class citizens? The law is broken, but there is no heart in these laws. Mohammed wants us to understand that no one chooses to be a refugee, but we can choose how we respond. The harsh UK asylum system leaves people in limbo, completely restricting their freedom and agency, while conscripting citizens here to enforce unjust immigration laws through the hostile environment. I would like to see the cruelty of such legislation replaced with the compassion of our communities. As a Parliament, we can show the world that Scotland welcomes refugees and rejects the UK Government's cruel and racist asylum policies. We must champion a shared sense of humanity. To quote Mohammed again, it should not matter if I am Syrian, Egyptian or Ukrainian. I am human. If I donate blood to someone who needs it, it is human blood and I can save someone. Why then does the law place one over the other? Why does it make me feel like I am not a human being? Why does it take decades for someone in the Home Office who will not understand the plight of my struggle to decide that I have finally had enough suffering? The UK system is driving people to suicide and Mohammed just wants to be able to work, support his family, live beyond surviving each day, but he cannot. He tells me that freedom does not like people like me. Refugees like Mohammed should be celebrated for their courage and supported to flourish and contribute to our culture and society. When they are forced to flee, refugees can only physically carry so much, but what refugees do bring is generations of dreams, experiences and traditions, and that is hugely valuable. Across the world, refugees have brought new life, prosperity and rich cultural diversity to their host communities, and certainly to Scotland. So this is a time to say thank you and to recognise their positive impact. The minister and others have gone into detail in the work that the Scottish Government and its partners are doing to support new Scots, so I will simply close with this. Let us stand together in solidarity with all refugees, let us defend the inalienable right to claim asylum and let us never ever lose sight of our common humanity. I am proud to close this debate for Scottish Labour today on World Refugee Day. I want to take the opportunity to say to those watching whether you have sought refuge in Scotland from war and persecution, sought asylum here, have been relocated from Afghanistan or displaced from Ukraine, you are welcome here. I am also proud to represent Glasgow and I know that our city is also so great because of the people within it. Our diversity is our strength. Refugees and asylum seekers are our friends, families and neighbours. Many of them, those who are allowed to work, are our colleagues. It is true that people really do make Glasgow and that means them too. What we have done to support Ukrainian refugees through the Homes for Ukraine scheme has been incredible and it has echoed that sentiment. People have opened their homes and their arms to offer sanctuary and safety to those who have been forced to flee their own homes and livelihoods in the face of Russian aggression. The scheme has shown the very best of us and it was heartwarming to see just how many people were ready to step in. I want to thank everyone in communities across our country for opening their homes, including those in Glasgow, some of whom my amazing office have supported in recent weeks. However, we should not stop there and we cannot forget those from elsewhere who need our help, our empathy and our welcome too. People in other countries have sought refuge but they have been treated with contempt or, as Maggie Chapman has put it earlier, refugee punishment regimes. The differing approach of the UK Government between its treatment of those fleeing Ukraine and those fleeing other places is racist. My colleague Paul Sweeney has set out many inconsistencies in this, including the policy to send people to Rwanda, which is an abhorrent example of that. I deplore the despicable policy to send people to Rwanda. A country, even the Home Office, believes has a poor human rights record. It is a desperate and shameful move from the callous Tory Government that is risking lives. One horrific example of that is that LGBT people will face persecution just for being who they are, as my colleague Ruth Maguire has also referenced. To Stephen Kerr, on his point about trafficking, we address that by creating safe and compassionate routes to safety, not by outsourcing our legal responsibilities to countries with terrible human rights records. We were once a country who, under successive Labour Governments, led the world on human rights. Now, human rights experts are queuing up to condemn the toxic government policy. We cannot allow the actions of the Tories to act as a smokescreen for what is not quite getting it right here. The gulf between the SNP Governments warn words and what is being delivered is growing and we need to address that. People participating in the Home for Ukraine scheme tell us that hosts and Ukrainians sometimes have different expectations and there is a reality check when people settle in. Whether it be pets and allergies, food choices or anything else that most of us take for granted. Perhaps most worryingly, and we have heard this already, approximately 500 people are facing weeks in hotels. Integration is key, but they are being refused the opportunity to do that. The SNP Green Government here in Scotland has the power to do more on that, and I hope that they will. It must start by ensuring people, regardless of where they have come from, as many colleagues, including Bob Doris, Sharon Dowie and my friend Faisal Chowdry, have noted, moved from hotels as soon as possible. It must address the fact that Ukrainians arriving in Scotland are being left to navigate the complexities of a new social security system on their own, unless they seek support from third sector integration networks, who are bursting at the seams, working beyond capacity to deliver support. All while not receiving the funding that they need to deliver those services. While I am on the subject of financial support, I will. Neil Gregg. I thank Pam Duncan-Glancy for giving way. I absolutely accept that in Scotland we have too many people in hotels. I have already referenced the fact that I want us to see us move much faster in order to get people into long-term accommodation. Does she accept the challenges that there are in Scotland through a local government, through the Scottish Government and our third sector partners, that have been echoed through the super-sponsor scheme in Wales, where the Welsh Government has faced the same challenges and have had to pause? We haven't paused yet. We want to work through this and ensure that we are able to provide the warm Scottish welcome that people expect us to. Pam Duncan-Glancy. I thank the minister for his intervention. I acknowledge the challenges. There are difficulties ahead, but we have to do everything that we possibly can in Scotland to not just say that people are welcome, but to provide them a home in a place that they can feasibly integrate into society with. There are lots more that we can do at local authority levels, including in my own local authority of Glasgow. On the subject of financial support, I echo my colleague Paul Sweeney's calls for free bus travel. There is little support for local and community level organisations to help to support the integration of Ukrainian refugees. Organisations such as Glasgow integration network and Maryhill integration network, which I have had the pleasure to meet and work alongside, are providing lifeline services. It is time that the Government stepped up and recognised that and provided sustainable levels of funding for them, and I welcome the minister's agreement to meet with them today. There is also an urgent need for clear and translated easily accessible information, including on social security for Ukrainians. There appears to have been no preparation or research into the proportion of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland who cannot speak English. Now that people are being left to grapple with a system that does not speak their language, my colleague Rhoda Grant has characterised this perfectly earlier as saying that it would be terrifying. Despite what right-wing commentators like to portray and the resulting hostile environment that Alex Cole-Hamilton has referred to, refugees and asylum seekers want to work, but they are not allowed. They want to study too. One radiographer told me that she is so desperate to work and that her daughter wants to take up her place at university here but cannot because she cannot get tuition paid until they have lived here for more than three years. Those people want to contribute but our rules are stopping them, which is why we should consider removing the list of preferred occupations and taking action to ensure that people like this woman's daughter can study here. After all, education has been devolved since 1985, before this Parliament even existed, and noting my colleague Cokab Stewart's interest in education. I hope that she will support this action too. We know why and how the Government needs to act, so my question is when. We need them to urgently consult with community level organisations regarding integration and support for people arriving here in Scotland and set out what guidance is going to be given to local authorities regarding the super-sponsor scheme and homes for Ukraine. Particularly around safeguarding. There are organisations who have done this before, such as Room for Refugees, and I would be grateful if the Cabinet Secretary could set out what examples for the homes for Ukraine scheme the Government has taken from them. Given that hosting arrangements will start ending soon, what will happen next? What is the plan for the thousands of Ukrainians who still cannot return to their homes five months into the war? Homes have been destroyed, towns are unrecognisable and Russian troops are still carrying out inhumane and discriminatory measures. I ask the Cabinet Secretary to be specific in the response about what we will do next. We promised refugees a warm Scottish welcome here, but it is clear that the reality on the ground is falling a bit short. This is a day, as Stephanie Callaghan called it, of hope and heartbreak. It is a day that is about human rights, and now more than ever we in this place must take our role as human rights defenders seriously and start defending them indeed not words. Let me close by referencing the privilege that I had on Saturday of attending a celebration hosted by the Voices Network UK in the Multicultural Centre in Garnett Hill. When the people gathered introduced themselves, they all said the same thing, that they felt lucky to be here in Scotland. I replied that yes they were, but also, and I would like to say to them again today in this place, we are lucky to have you. Thank you. I now call on Stephen Kerr and again a generous six minutes, Mr Kerr. I'm very grateful to be able to reply to this debate on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives. I have to say that when I first read the title of the debate, it was my hope that we would be able to push the party in constitutional politics that often plague this chamber to the side and focus on how we in Scotland can continue helping some of the most vulnerable people in the world. To a large extent, I have to say that I have been gratified by the tone of the debate that we have had. I have to say to Neil Gray that I am very proud of the fact, and I think that we should all be proud of the fact that our country, the United Kingdom and Scotland have never abdicated its moral responsibility for those who are refugees. I agree with Shardin, Dowey and Rachel Hamilton, my colleagues, that we have a reputation globally for being a warm and welcoming place. That is why people absolutely want to come to this country, and that I recognise. Faisal Choudhury talked about race-based double standards. I completely agree with Faisal Choudhury on that point. That is why I am gratified that, in the last full year of accounting, a quarter of a million people, net, came to this country from the rest of the world. That means that they have come from far and wide. I am very grateful for that. Migrants in general add enormously to the quality of all our lives in terms of what they bring, in terms of the colour and the vibrancy of their backgrounds, their diversity, which, undoubtedly, enriches all of us. I was a little intrigued by Alex Cole-Hamilton's references to issues relating to the English Channel, some of which I recognise, some of which I didn't. I would simply point out to all colleagues that, when people are crossing the channel, they are leaving beautiful France. They are not leaving a war-tour zone, they are leaving a country that is very much part of the European family. I will give way to Paul Sweeney. Paul Sweeney? I thank the member for giving way. Does he accept, however, that there is no legal obligation on asylum seekers to seek refuge in the first safe country? There are myriad of complex reasons why someone might want to seek onward travel to the UK, family ties, diaspora connections, speaking English rather than French, for example. Does he accept that that is a valid reason for seeking a safe route, rather than being forced into an unsafe route such as crossing the channel? Well, Stephen Kent? Absolutely. I do not accept that anyone is being forced into an unsafe route. All the reasons that Paul Sweeney just gave for people wanting to come to this country are bona fide reasons for people to be able to apply to come to this country and live in this country as their permanent home. I would also say that no one is forced and no one should ever feel forced into the hands of the wicked people who trade in human trafficking. We should all be united in standing more square against their activities, which are utterly, totally immoral. Minister. Paul Sweeney very helpfully raises the question that I was going to raise. The response from Stephen Kerr does not cut it quite frankly. Unless there is a safe and legal route for people to claim asylum in the United Kingdom, then there will always be a business model for the human traffickers that the Tory Government suggests is the modus operandi behind the Rwandan policy. So when is the UK Government going to establish safe and legal routes by which people can actually arrive in the UK to claim asylum? Stephen Kerr. Minister knows full well and I know that he knows full well that there are many ways that people can apply to this country as a place for various forms of entry to this country. In this idea of hiding back, we mustn't pander to the business model of the human traffickers. It's utterly outrageous that we should show any division among us as elected members representing the people of this country and give any comfort to the activities of these dreadful, wicked people, and they really, really are. I am happy to confirm to Ruth Maguire if she is listening. Yes, I'll have a good week. Alex Cole-Hamilton. I'm grateful to the member for giving way. I'm sure that the chamber agrees that we shouldn't pander to the business model of the human traffickers. Does he recognise that the current working practices of UK borders agency and the atmosphere of disbelief that they have when processing asylum immigration often sees particularly children who are waiting to have their asylum claims heard and adjudicated, who have been victims of child trafficking, that that delay and that disbelief can often lead to them being re-trafficked in this country? Stephen Kerr. Alex Cole-Hamilton is right to point out that we can improve. We can be better. But let's not trash everything that this country is trying to do in order to make this country as welcoming as it possibly can be. There are areas where we can do better. I will speak out, as a Scottish Conservative, against things that I consider to be immoral and wrong. The number one thing that we should have in our sights when we consider the plight of many of the people that are being literally washed up on the shores of these islands is how they got here in the first place. The horrible profiteering that is being done, the human misery that these people are trading in, and we should be four square against all of that and united in that. Paul Sweeney and I have a long track record of exchanging views in various places. He is gifted when it comes to the use of the hyperbole. He said, for example, I'm not interested in playing politics, and then that's all that he ended up doing for the major part of his speech. I don't really want to get into that realm of playing politics. I want us to be united in this chamber as we should be. I really don't want to engage. I will give way because I've mentioned him. Paul Sweeney, I thank the member for giving way. In the spirit of unity, would he agree in principle that the idea, the practical solution of extending free concessionary travel to Salmsacres in Scotland would be a commendable one and it would be a practical way of helping people now? As it happens, I believe that we should do everything in our power to assimilate people so that they can feel that they can make a contribution to the society that they have come to. Many people have a very romanticised view of what it will be to live in this country and we should do everything in our power to help them to have the best possible start. I'm not against any measure that assimilates people and allows them to feel welcome and to make a contribution. Many of those people who come to our country come with a willingness to work. In fact, they're first-class workers in many cases, highly skilled people, highly qualified people, and we ought to recognise them as such. I will give way to Stephanie Callaghan. Yesterday, the Home Secretary seemed to suggest that migrants are exploiting Britain. Is that something that I take it then that you disagree with? I'm not sure if I understood that correctly. Did you suggest that the Home Secretary said that migrants are being exploited in this country? Exploited. Exploited. I don't know that quote. I'm not familiar with it. But I don't necessarily subscribe to that view at all. I didn't even get past my first paragraph in my speech, but there you go. I'll just conclude. Mr Cout, you've been very generous with the intervention, so I would say that you could have another minute at least. Another minute? You're very generous. Our United Kingdom has a proud history of welcoming and supporting refugees. I say again that that doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement. There aren't processes that need to be re-engineered in order to be more considerate and sensitive to the needs of people. Unfortunately, I can't give way because I've only got a minute. I'll go straight to my conclusion, but I have a number of points that I wish to make about the nature of refugees and the nature of economic migration, which is undoubtedly a global issue of our time. I will say this, but there are no unilateral solutions to that problem. It is a challenge that we need to grapple with. The people who say that there are simple solutions or one-line sentences are frankly kidding themselves. We need to uphold the dignity of refugees. We must work with our European partners and neighbours and ensure that we have a common approach to working with refugees. We work together collectively to end the barbaric human trafficking that we see across our continent. Throughout our history, the United Kingdom and Scotland in particular have continuously helped the most vulnerable people because we understand that it has a human duty to help those who are most in need. Let's build on that reputation and make sure that the United Kingdom and Scotland in particular continue to support the most vulnerable now and in the future. It has been a privilege to be able to mark World Refugee Day in Parliament this year and to debate its theme, the right to seek safety. In case I forget to do so, I want to join Bob Doris in wishing the Maryhill integration network a very happy birthday after 21 years. At the same time, I join others in thanking all those organisations and individuals who give up their time and, indeed, in many cases, their homes to support those fleeing war and persecution. This afternoon, we have reflected on the many different people from many parts of the world who have been forced to flee their homes due to war and persecution or are rebuilding their lives in Scotland. The world is, without doubt, becoming more complex. People are arriving in many different ways, whether by seeking asylum, through refugee resettlement programmes or through visa routes for displaced people. But whatever way they have arrived here, we welcome them and will support them and hope that they choose to stay here and make Scotland their home. There have been many thoughtful and thought-provoking contributions during this debate, and I will try to refer to as many as possible. People continue to be displaced by war and persecution. Scotland continues to welcome people, including those arriving from Ukraine and Afghanistan, as well as people seeking asylum from a number of other countries. Scotland is part of its story, just as it is part of Scotland's story. For nearly a decade now, our approach to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum has been framed by the new Scots refugee integration strategy, which is highlighted by COCAB Stuart. We have seen significant change over that time, including the introduction of refugee resettlement schemes. Those schemes have seen all 32 of Scotland's local authorities welcome people into their communities so that we now have refugees living all across Scotland, not just in our biggest cities. That is how it should be. We have faced the challenges of a global pandemic and the continued impact of Covid-19, particularly on some of our most vulnerable and marginalised communities. In the past year, we have witnessed the sudden large-scale displacement of people and arrivals to the UK first from Afghanistan and then from Ukraine. According to the UNHCR, the total number of people forcibly displaced has exceeded 100 million for the first time. That includes refugees and people seeking asylum, as well as the 53.2 million people who have been internally displaced. To stand up our support for displaced people from Ukraine, officials have rightly been redeployed from other areas of the Scottish Government. That will have an impact on other priorities, and we will try to minimise that, but it is the right thing to do in responding to the humanitarian crisis. Our collaborative international response can hope to address underlying causes of forced displacement, and what we can do here and now is to support refugees who are seeking asylum and displaced people for as long as Scotland is their home. We have committed to working with our partners to refresh the new Scots refugee integration strategy and will ensure that it continues to be shaped by refugees and people seeking asylum, as well as those with expertise supporting them here in Scotland. Our new Scots approach is clear. Integration should be supported from day 1 of arrival, not only for refugees but for people seeking asylum. The Scottish Government is clear that people seeking asylum must be supported in a way that enables them to rebuild their lives in our communities. The UK asylum system is increasingly defined by delays and backlogs. Although Covid-19 has exacerbated the situation, it is clear that this was already the case before the pandemic. People are left in limbo sometimes for years on end, and I think that the case that Stephanie Callaghan raised of Mohammed illustrated that very, very powerfully indeed. While waiting a decision on their asylum application, people are, of course, subject to no recourse to public fund restrictions and are unable to work except in very limited circumstances. They may be eligible for home office accommodation and financial support but only if they would otherwise be destitute. Uncertainty about their future and restricted access can often compound the impact of trauma that people are already facing when they were forced to flee and from their experiences during their sometimes harrowing journey to seek refuge. Of course, the UK Government's policies, as many people have said, are setting people up to fail with the end result, too often being destitution. Like many others, I believe that the UK asylum system is broken. I think that Foisal Trowdery said that as well, and the answer is fixing the delays and improving the system here, not sending people thousands of miles away. I really do not think to Stephen Kerr that sending people to Rwanda really does not uphold the dignity of refugees and asylum seekers. The Scottish Government will not be surprised to hear, as people have said today on many occasions, fundamentally opposed to the UK Government's policy of sending people seeking asylum to Rwanda, essentially offshoring people. I am seriously concerned that the policy will not stop or reduce dangerous journeys to the UK and we have seen that already. The UK Government's latest move to electronically tag the people that had sought to send to Rwanda is yet another example of how already vulnerable people are being further marginalised. Stephen Kerr makes a very important point. We do not know whether one particular policy or another will work. What ideas does the cabinet secretary have? Does she agree with me that it would be a good thing if Britain and France were able to work something out so that we can stem the activities of the human traffickers? At the moment that the UK has spent has given France tens of millions of pounds in order to try to create some kind of understanding about co-operative working to this end and it has not worked. Can she agree with me that that would be a desirable thing for us to see happen now? I would say to Stephen Kerr that the best way to break the business model of the trafficking criminal gangs is to provide safe and legal routes to the UK that people can use. That is the best way. I have a lot of information here that I could talk about in a whole other debate around the type of asylum-seeking system that we want to create here. Allowing people to work would be a fundamentally good start. People arrive here with huge skills and talents and, unfortunately, they are not allowed to deploy those. It would of course benefit our own economy in doing so. There are a number of ways that we could build a much fairer asylum system, but establishing safe and legal routes to the UK is absolutely fundamental. I will be coming on to the point that I think you want to ask me about in a second. A lot of really strong feeling about this issue, as I have said before, we have written to the Home Office on a number of occasions raising all the issues that people have raised this afternoon about this policy and the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act. Clearly, we need to do more in support for people here and we want to do more. A number of ideas have been raised. I want to turn specifically to the issue of concessory travel, which Paul Sweeney has raised, Bob Doris and others have raised as well. The latest position on that is that we are awaiting a proposal from the Scottish Refugee Council and the Refugee Survival Trust to provide free bus travel for as many asylum seekers as possible who are not already covered by the existing concessionary travel schemes. We want to get that proposal in and to get the help to people where it is needed as quickly as possible. We need to make sure that we are working through the no recourse to public fund issues that Paul Sweeney knows well about. I am happy to keep members updated. We want to move at pace, absolutely, but we need to get it right. The two organisations working on this are no better than anyone else. What might work very briefly? Paul Sweeney, I thank the cabinet secretary for that very encouraging response today. I just wanted to put on record a note that, just right Scotland has offered some legal opinion about no recourse to public funds around action. If it is not with the 27 defined benefits on the list, there are ways to introduce new measures, so could the cabinet secretary take that into consideration? I will ask officials to look at the just right Scotland information that Paul Sweeney has provided. In conclusion, yesterday was World Refugee Day. The United Nations has rightly reminded us of the paramount importance of the right to seek safety. Amongst all the difficulties, there has been a very positive refugee festival. Scotland is a year of stories where it tells the positive stories of people who have come here and bring those stories of refugees to life. That is an important thing to do among all the difficulties that we have talked about today. We must maintain our positive approach as a country of welcome and refuge. We must work together to support people fleeing war and persecution wherever they are from. We must redouble our efforts to uphold the spirit and intention of the 1951 convention on refugees by recognising people's right to seek safety. With that, it is a pleasure to close this debate.