 I'm glad that we have time to listen to the question. Good afternoon, colleagues. Can I remind members that social distancing measures are in place in the chamber and across the Holyrood campus? I ask that members take care to observe those measures, including when entering and exiting the chamber. Please only use the aisles and walkways to access your seat and when moving around the chamber. The next item of business is portfolio questions, the first session being on social justice, housing and local government. I remind members that Questions 5 and 7 are grouped together and that I will take any supplementaries on those questions after both of them have been answered. I would also say that if a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request of speak button or indicate in the chat function by entering the letter R during the relevant question. Finally, in order to get as many members in as possible, I ask again for short and succinct questions and short and succinct answers. To ask the Scottish Government when what action is taking to support the growth of social enterprises and other not-for-profit community enterprises. The Scottish Government's social enterprise strategy was launched in 2016 and sets out a wide-ranging ambitious and long-term programme to develop the potential of Scotland's social enterprise sector. The latest social enterprise action plan was published on 24 March this year and covers the period 2021-24. In conversations with community groups, it is highlighted that many of the available funding packages are project-based rather than tenured for expanding or building on existing initiatives. I wonder if the cabinet secretary could comment on perhaps his thoughts that they are not deemed sufficiently innovative, for example, if they want to expand for one of the funding streams or not being eligible for others because the project was not new. I can write to the member with more details. First of all, we will deliver Scotland's national social enterprise start-up incubator on behalf of the Scottish Government via the Social Entrepreneurs Fund, which also helps to not just start social enterprises but also to develop and grow their ideas. There is more information available on the website. We are looking to continue to fund social enterprises to make sure that they can continue to deliver. Beyond obviously the funding package that was delivered during the Covid period, we are continuing to fund social enterprises. There is an additional £1.5 million to build on the successful programme of support offered through Adapt and Thrive, which helps community organisations to want to diversify their income. I am happy to write to the member with a bit more detail, particularly on his point about growing social enterprises. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress of its joint action plan with COSLA and improving the lives of Scotland's Gypsy travellers 2019 to 2021. We welcome Ms Whitham's interest in the area, which I know she has from her days, as COSLA's community spokesperson. She was also an active member of the Scottish Government's Gypsy Traveller Ministerial Working Group. Due to the pandemic, the Gypsy Traveller Action Plan was extended until October 2022, providing us with more time to deliver on the remaining actions and to build on the excellent work that is already undertaken. In some areas, Covid-19 and the pandemic crisis have already allowed us to make unexpected progress. Areas such as remote and distance learning and digital access have improved, as well as our work to improve sites and accommodation. We will continue to work closely with the community, COSLA and partners to ensure that we meet our objectives and improve outcomes for our Gypsy Traveller communities. I thank the minister for that answer, as well as seeing their traditional lifestyle eroded by nor Gypsy Traveller communities often experiencing extreme and persistent stereotyping and hostility as they go about their lives. I know that the minister will agree that it is hugely important that we challenge such negative attitudes and ask what progress has been made to tackle racism and discrimination, which is the central part of the action plan. The member is right, and we are working hard to address racism, prejudice and discrimination against the community. For example, some of the practical steps that we have taken include the development by NHS Fife and NHS 24 of an e-learning module to be promoted to tackle the stigma and discrimination that Gypsy Travellers experience when using NHS services. The uptake of the module has been high, and it has also involved developing learning and development resources for Social Security Scotland staff to support the needs of Gypsy Travellers when they access front-line services. As the member will know, COSLA will work with councillors across the country to raise awareness of the issues that Gypsy Travellers face and how to ensure that they feel involved in their local communities. To ask the Scottish Government how much the Scottish Government is forecast to invest in social security support in the next five years. As set out in this year's budget, we are committing £3.5 billion to social security payments that will reach over 800,000 people, money that will go directly to the people in Scotland who need it most. The latest Scottish Fiscal Commission's forecast, which was published in August 2021, estimates that annual social security spending will rise to £5.2 billion in 26-27, totaling £23 billion over the next five years. The Scottish Government views social security as an investment in the people of Scotland and is a fundamental human right, and we are committed to making sure that everyone can access the financial support that they are entitled to. I welcome the introduction of the new benefits, such as the Scottish child payment, which has helped over 2,000 families that need it the most in South Asia alone since February. This morning, I received an email from my daughter's school, advising parents of food shortages and that the local school was unable to provide the school lunches on the menu. We are living in the aftermath of a reckless Tory Brexit that was forced through a global pandemic. With food prices rising, energy prices rising— Ryzing and empty shelves, does the minister share my deep concerns and agree that it is imperative that the people of Scotland get the opportunity to choose to determine their own future and rectify those injustices? First of all, with the powers that we have, the Scottish Government has taken unprecedented action to tackle child poverty, investing nearly £1 billion in 2021 to support families with children. That includes, of course, our game-changing Scottish child payment, which we will double to £20 in the lifetime of this Parliament. Together with best art grant and best art foods, that will provide over £5,300 of financial support for families by the time their first child turns six. I completely agree with the member that our anti-poverty efforts are seriously undermined by UK Government decisions and their unjustified assault on social security in too many cases. I will take this opportunity to call on UK ministers again to do the right thing and reverse their planned £20 cut to universal credit and avoid pushing a further 20,000 children in Scotland into poverty. The pandemic has demonstrated the negative impact of coping with bereavement with families limited to how many people can attend funerals and people not being able to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones in care homes and hospitals. That has especially impacted those who provide care for a loved one. When did the Scottish Government therefore plan to bring forward the extension of carers allowance for six months after bereavement? As Mr Briggs will know, the delivery of devolved social security in Scotland has taken place over the past three years. One of the first measures that we took, which was stipulated in the 2018 act, was the delivery of the carers allowance supplement and we intend to give an additional supplement again this year, like we did last year. We are, as I laid out to the committee last week, undergoing the process of appropriate stakeholder engagement and consultation on how we bring forward Scottish carers assistance. We are looking at a range of different measures around eligibility and the experience of carers to make sure that we work together, collectively with other parties and as a Parliament as a whole, to make sure that Scottish carers assistance helps those unpaid carers that we all value and appreciate and want to deliver enhanced benefit for in due course. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment to supporting the building of affordable homes for rent. The Scottish Government is proud of our record on delivering more than 102,000 affordable homes, nearly 71,000 of which were for social rent, including more than 16,000 council homes since 2007. As the programme for government makes clear, we are committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 70 per cent will be available for social rent and 10 per cent will be in our remote rural and island communities. Delivering this ambitious affordable homes target would support a total investment package of around £18 billion and up to 15,000 jobs each year. In the four years to 2020, we delivered over 75 per cent more affordable homes per head of population than in England and Wales and over nine times more social rented properties per head of population than in England. Back in April 2020, the Auditor General told the Government that it must, in my quote, evaluate the impact of the current programme on housing needs and the economic impact of the investment in affordable housing. In its 2021 action plan, Shelter Scotland says that the government's programme must be about more than simply the number of housing units completed. It must be about the social impact, about moving Scotland's communities in the right direction and it must first and foremost be about reducing social housing need. Will the cabinet secretary today give a commitment to place before this Parliament on an annual basis a housing and social justice report to include whether housing need has gone up or down, the economic and social impact of the building programme, the state of housing need and access amongst groups all to often marginalised, as well as measures of wider community benefit and wellbeing? The member will hopefully be aware that housing to 2040 talked about many of these issues and that housing is not just about bricks and mortar, it is about a core anti-poverty measure. I very much understand that. I was asked something along the lines of this when I attended the local government committee this week and I said that I would reflect on whether, in addition to the myriad of information that is provided on progress towards the affordable housing target, there are lots of statistics, lots of data, lots of reporting, whether or not additional reports would be of benefit to that. I said that I would go away and reflect on that, but I do not think that anyone can say that an ambitious target of 110,000 affordable homes and a total investment package of £18 billion and the creation of 15,000 jobs each year is anything other than to be welcomed. Question 5, Liz Smith. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the rural housing fund. Between 2016-17 and 2019-20, the Scottish Government invested over £400 million pounds through the affordable housing supply programme, including the rural and islands housing funds in rural and island communities and delivered more than 4,800 affordable homes in that time. The rural and islands housing funds have been described in the Scottish Land Commission report as game changers for community-led housing development. We have committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which 10 per cent will be in our remote rural and island communities backed by at least £45 million. Liz Smith. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response. However, she is well aware that less than half of the £25 million fund set aside for rural housing has been spent, despite some of the chronic shortages of affordable housing in many parts of the countryside, and that there has been much faster progress for house building in the central belt rather than in rural areas. Could the cabinet secretary explain why that is the case and what is being done to rectify the situation? As I said in my initial answer, good progress has been made in delivering rural housing, and I talked about the 4,800 affordable homes in that time. However, Liz Smith will be aware of some of the particular challenges in remote and rural Scotland, land availability, community capacity to bring forward the proposals and making sure that they can get to the pre-development to development stage. Those are quite complex matters, but that is why, however, in recognition that we needed to do more, we have committed to develop a rural and remote housing plan dedicated to the needs of rural and remote Scotland. That consultation will talk to communities the length and breadth of Scotland to make sure that we can get it right in every community, even where it is small-scale developments. Of course, that is backed up by the additional resources that we have made available. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the reported shortage of housing in rural areas. As I said earlier, this Government has significantly invested in affordable housing and delivered 4,800 homes between 2016-17 and 2019-20 as part of the £3.4 billion affordable housing supply programme. As well as the 10 per cent target of the 110,000 homes, we are committed to developing a remote rural and islands action plan Councils are also being given significant additional powers to manage some of the particular challenges in communities such as short-term lets. We will be laying legislation for licensing scheme in November and, of course, we are giving local authorities powers to deal with second homes when they see that this is a problem in their area. Given that the population of rural areas has grown and now accounts for 17 per cent of Scotland's population, does the cabinet secretary think that the 10 per cent that she referred to of the target of 110,000 is frankly going to be adequate? That is simply about 1,000 properties a year and we have big challenges when it comes to labour vacancies in rural areas. One of the biggest barriers is access to affordable housing. Surely we should be planning to build more houses to tackle that challenge. I would see the 10 per cent as a minimum. Through the rural and remote housing plan, we will get more of a sense and evidence of what the actual housing need is. I want to take a more strategic approach to looking at the housing needs in remote and rural Scotland. We have been relying on community organisations and community responses to come forward with proposals. Sometimes that is quite difficult because of the complexity of doing so, so we want to assist communities to analyse and agree what the housing needs and priorities are and to work with them and with local authorities and social landlords to work up plans to deal with those shortages. The cabinet secretary outlined what action is being taken to reduce the impact, the huge increase in short-term lets that is having on the availability of rural housing, an issue that is of major concern of those living in those areas. I can say to the member that our licensing scheme will ensure all short-term lets across Scotland comply with basic safety standards to protect guests and neighbours. Local authorities will have discretion to add further licence conditions to address any local concerns such as littering or overcrowding of properties. The licensing scheme will provide local authorities with data on the number type and location of short-term lets in their areas. Of course, they can designate short-term let control areas if they wish to do so in order to address pressures created by secondary short-term letting. Within a control area, planning permission would always be required in order to let out a whole home for short-term lets. Finally, that will allow local authorities to manage high concentrations of secondary letting where it affects the availability of residential accommodation or the character of a neighbourhood. The shortage of housing is not just a rural issue but an island one. What action is being taken to tackle island housing shortages, which disproportionately affect young people and is a significant factor in island depopulation? I very much appreciate that. The remote, rural and island housing plan will absolutely look at the needs of island communities. It can also look at how we use the island bonds as part of the response to that. I just this morning met the leader of Shetland council to talk about many issues. That was one of the issues that we explored and we will be having further discussions about that as we take those matters forward. Question 6, from James Dornan, who is joining us remotely. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on reducing child poverty. Tackling child poverty is a national mission and this is shown through the almost £1 billion of targeted investment that we provided last year. Our Scottish child payment has reached 108,000 children already and combined with our bridging payments will provide over £130 million directly to families this year. However, we will go further and double the Scottish child payment to £20 a week as soon as we can put the budgetary provisions in place. That complements wider action across government from the 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare to the expansion of free school meals and increasing the school clothing grants. All examples of positive steps this government is taking to tackle child poverty. James Dornan? Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that Scottish child payment has already made significant strides towards reducing child poverty, not just in Scotland, but for the 58,520 payments made to Glasgow families, totaling £2,895,000, and that demonstrates the Scottish Government's progressive thinking, as opposed to the regressive universal credit cuts that the UK Government is callously pursuing? I agree with the member that the Scottish child payment has been acclaimed as a game changer in the fight against child poverty, projected to lift thousands of children out of poverty, and the member outlined how that is impacting positively on Glasgow families. However, the policy is being completely undermined by the UK Government's regressive £20 cut to universal credit, which will be the biggest overnight cut to welfare in 70 years. 60,000 families across Scotland, including 20,000 children, could be pushed into poverty. We have urged the UK Government to reverse their plans on numerous occasions, including most recently with the Welsh and Northern Ireland Governments. We have a supplementary from Pam Duncan-Glancy, who should be joining us remotely. Citizens advice has said that 4,000 families will lose eligibility to the Scottish child payment if they are abhorrent cut to universal credit goes ahead. Will the Scottish Government commit today to continuing to pay the Scottish child payment to those families? As I said, the UK Government cutting the £20 a week uplift to universal credit could reduce the number of children eligible for the Scottish child payment estimated around 2,000. For some families, the universal credit cut will be enough to remove their entitlement to the Scottish child payment. However, the problem is that we rely on top-up powers to deliver those payments. We do not have any other legislative basis in order to do so. What I would call for is the UK Government not to cut the £20 per week uplift to universal credit. We want people to remain eligible for the Scottish child payment, but because they are delivered through the top-up powers, we are very constrained with what we are able to do for those families. It is deeply disappointing that the Scottish Government has yet again failed to commit to paying the Scottish child payment in the next fiscal year in the way that all other parties have committed to, civic society has committed to and the faith committees have committed to. Of course, the answer is that independence is on my mind and there is room for nothing else. Can the minister explain why the Government insists on continually putting the constitutional obsession over the wellbeing of our young people? I find it astonishing that Atoria MSP would come to this chamber to demand that the Scottish Government double the Scottish child payment this year. In the very months that Jeremy McBalfour's Government is going to remove £20 a week... Excuse me, cabinet secretary, could you maybe resume your seat for a second? I do not want shouting across the chamber. I think that I might have touched a raw nerve, Deputy Presiding Officer, here. Every time Atoria MSP comes to this chamber and utters the words, child poverty, I will be reminding them of what their Government is about to do this very month in cutting £20 a week from some of the most vulnerable families. Get your own house in order before coming here and demanding that we do anything. Get your own house in order. It is an absolute disgrace and a total brass net. Question 8 Alex Cole-Hamilton To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on establishing a commission to prevent violence against women in all its forms. Violence against women and girls is one of the most devastating and fundamental violations of human rights and is totally unacceptable. Rather than establishing a commission to tackle it, we are committed to delivering against the equally safe strategy and continuing our collaborative work with a wide range of partners in the sector via the equally safe joint strategic board. We have also tasked the independent working group on misogyny and criminal justice in Scotland with evaluating how the Scottish criminal justice system deals with misogyny, including looking at whether there are gaps in the law. Alex Cole-Hamilton I am very grateful to the cabinet secretary for that reply. Earlier in the year when Scottish Liberal Democrats suggested the idea of a commission to prevent violence against women and girls, the Government agreed that they would certainly be willing to explore the idea of a commission with an open mind and that a commission might help to bring all of the strands of work together. Statistics published this week have shown that, in 2021, 1,045 stalking charges were reported to the Crown Office of those 592 were identified as domestic abuse. I am dismayed to hear the cabinet secretary. The question, please, Mr Glass. I suggest that there will not be a commission. I would ask her to explain to the chamber why she has decided not to embark on such a commission. Cabinet secretary, the member is aware of all the work that is going on in this area. I have described in my first answer the work that is going on around the equally safe strategy. I have also described the working group on misogyny and criminal justice, and there is also the review of the law that is going on in this area. The Minister for Community Safety has also been looking at what further areas of the law require reform. I do not think that anyone could really accuse the Government of not taking action across all of those areas. There is not that we have an, in principle, objection to a commission. We just think that this work is being taken forward already through these other platforms, and hopefully the member will engage constructively in those discussions. We will now move on to the next portfolio question, which is on constitution, external affairs and culture. I would firstly ask all members who may be seeking to participate in the portfolio questions, including back benches and front benches, if they could ensure that the card is in their consult. Secondly, if a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press the request to speak button or indicate, so in the chat function by entering the letter art during the relevant question. I turn to question number one, Rachael Hamilton. To ask the Scottish Government what support it can offer Borderlands region with its bid to be UK city culture 2025. I wish the Borderlands city region and sterling all the best in the long-listing stage of the UK city of culture competition. My officials met with the Borderlands bid team on 23 August here about the content of the bid to discuss useful connections that Scottish Government officials could help to facilitate, for example with Visit Scotland, to allow them to be on the front foot if long-listed. I understand that long-listed bids will be announced later this month. I thank Jenny Gilruth for that answer and I wish the other three Scottish bids all the very best too. We in the Borderlands are very well placed to showcase what we have in the borders, build on the cross-border and cross-party collaboration on the UK and Scottish Government growth deal. We need to link our intrinsic cultural, cultural, historical and societal links and draw international attention to the region. I would like to ask the cabinet secretary in the spirit of learning lessons from the previous Paisley bid several years ago what support and guidance the Scottish Government might be able to offer this exciting new Borderlands bid. I thank Rachael Hamilton for her supplementary answer. I recognise her constituency interest in the matter and I note that she votes in July to the UK Government's culture minister on this. It is a UK Government policy in which she will note that there is an expert panel, which will select six bids to receive support to develop a longer bid. In July, I signed off on the appointment of Roberta Doyle to the expert panel as Scotland's representative, and I note that DCMS has stated that they hope for a representative geographical spread in terms of the shortlist thing. If Scottish bids have been shortlisted previously but no Scottish bid has yet been successful in securing the title, indeed, the member will recall the amount of hard work that went into Paisley's bid that she mentioned. My officials have been in contact with the bidding team from the border's link, and we will continue to have those conversations. I look forward to seeing the longlist at the end of this month and hoping to see, of course, a Scottish representation in the final list. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. In a very similar vein, I ask the Scottish Government how it will support the bids from the Tay City region and Stirling to be the UK city of culture 2025. My officials have already met representatives from the Stirling bid and have sent a note of introduction to the Tay City team offering to meet. The Tay City team has advised my officials that they will be back in touch if they are longlisted to arrange a further discussion. Scottish Government officials have laid closely with the relevant UK Government team throughout the design and implementation process to ensure that Scottish interests are represented. I thank the minister for her response. Mid Scotland in Fife region has two bids to be the UK city of culture 2025. I ask the minister how the Scottish Government funding for cultural projects across the region will assist in supporting the important bids that are being taken forward. As previously stated, the UK city of culture programme is a UK Government-sponsored competition, but the Scottish Government's approach to working with DCMS on the UK city of culture 2025 competition was signed off on by the previous cabinet secretary in a letter to Oliver Doudin, a culture secretary, agreeing that Scottish Government officials would work with DCMS officials on the design and implementation of the process that I spoke to in my response to Rachel Hamilton. As I understand it, the Stirling bid is purely for Stirling itself, while the Tay City bid takes an Angus Dundee, the Northeast Fife perfect in Rossamac. I will not ask Mr Fraser to pick a sign, given that I know that he represents both areas. Likewise, I hope that he will understand that I will be keen at this stage to support all Scottish bids as they move forward. I would wish for Stirling and the Tay City deals the best of luck. In terms of funding, I note that, if Mr Fraser has any influence, he may wish to raise with his Conservative colleagues and Westminster the outstanding culture consequentials, which reduced the Scottish Government to a sum total of £31 million, on which the culture sector in Scotland is in dire need of just now. 3. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding the impact of Brexit on Scotland's ability to import essentials such as food and medicine. Brexit has led to significant challenges, including labour and skills shortages, which could have an impact on supplies of food and other goods. It was an astonishing act of recklessness by the UK Government to press ahead with a hard Brexit in the middle of a pandemic, and it did so despite the Scottish Government providing detailed evidence of the damage that would cause. We are doing whatever we can to mitigate the harms that are inflicted on Scottish businesses. The Scottish Government has, at an official and ministerial level, attended 29 EU exit operations committee meetings since 1 January to discuss the impacts of Brexit with the UK Government. I have been contacted by constituents who are extremely worried about the consequences of Brexit on the recognition of UK prescriptions in the EU and with imports going through customs controls. Will the cabinet secretary urge the UK Government to rectify those problems? From 1 January 2021, UK-issued prescriptions are no longer valid in the European Union except in Ireland and Spain, where separate arrangements apply. Prescription charges can be applied to UK citizens by pharmacists in both of those countries. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the UK Government regarding the impact of EU exit on the import of medicines in the event of any border disruption. I would also choose to stress to my friend that there is, of course, a solution to all of this, which is that, at the soonest and practical point, we should ensure that we rejoin the European Union so that we do not need to go through the continuing woes that Brexit is causing to our economy and so many communities have lengthened bread to this country. To ask the Scottish Government when it will establish the new overseas offices in Warsaw and Copenhagen as set out in its agreement with the Scottish Green Party. As announced in the programme for government, we will open a Scottish Government office in Copenhagen next year to increase Scotland's economic and cultural visibility in the Nordic region. Over the lifetime of this Parliament, we will also open an office in Warsaw as part of our continued commitment to enhancing our external reach and voice. Dean Lockhart? I thank the minister for that answer. As the minister will be aware, 32 out of 38 of the Scottish Government's existing international offices are located within British embassies and consulates. As the minister will also be aware, more than 60 per cent of Scotland's trade is with the rest of the UK, but there is only one investment and trade office in that market that accounts for 60 per cent of Scotland's trade. So let me ask the minister when will this Government take steps such as opening trade offices to support and increase Scotland's trade with the rest of the UK? In response to Dean Lockhart's question, Scotland's international network has been supported by ministers from a range of political parties for decades and I hope that we're not going to see a politicisation of this issue in the future. Going back to 1992, Scotland Europa was established in Brussels under a Conservative administration in Washington in Beijing, where it opened under the Labour-Lib Dem Coalition. Scotland's international presence is even more important now in the wake of Brexit, of course, which we did not vote for, and the damage that that is causing to our economy, jobs and trade. Our network of international offices promotes Scotland's enterprise internationally. Indeed, work to attract investment by our offices both at home and overseas has helped to increase foreign direct investment into Scotland by 6 per cent in 2020. The establishment of new overseas offices will play an important role in developing Scotland's international relationships. Can the minister provide an update as to what further action the Scottish Government is taking to strengthen Scotland's international presence and voice? Our international presence creates domestic opportunities, broadens our horizons, attracts investment and ultimately benefits the people of Scotland. Our policies and actions abroad will be consistent with our focus on fairness and inclusion at home. The programme for government emphasises our commitment to reviewing our approach to future policy and economic engagement, with a view to enhancing Scotland's global reach and presence. To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its co-operation agreement with the Scottish Green Party, whether it will provide an update on its position on maintaining the monarch as the head of state in independent Scotland? Can I begin with commending Douglas Lumson for his implied recognition that there will be an independence referendum? I think that that is extremely welcome. As the co-operation agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party parliamentary group makes clear, each party continues to have the right to set out their own vision for independence. The Scottish Government's view remains clear. Scotland will remain a constitutional monarchy with the queen as head of state, just as it is in a great many other independent Commonwealth countries. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for that response? Does he agree with the First Minister's adviser Mark Blyth that unwinding centuries of economic integration would prove devastating to businesses in the short, medium and long term? Would he further agree with me that Scotland is the best place to succeed in the short, medium and long term politically, economically and socially with both the monarch as head of state and the union as the defender of Scotland's interests? The general obviously needs to reread his history. Scotland was, of course, part of a treaty involving the crowns for 100 years before the treaty of union saw the end of the Scottish Parliament. As the First Minister set out, work on a detailed independence prospectus will now be taken forward in line with the democratic mandate that has been secured for a referendum. For the record, if it needs any more stressing, the parties that were committed to a democratic choice in the recent Scottish Parliament elections won the election, while the parties that opposed the referendum lost. We will determine how the work towards that referendum will proceed, and as we do for delivering our commitments across the whole range of our responsibilities in the interests of the people of Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to assess how many Afghan refugees can be housed across all local authority areas. Scotland will play its part in welcoming refugees from Afghanistan. We are undertaking urgent work with the Home Office, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, local authorities directly and other partners to assess the contribution that Scotland can make. Local authorities assess their ability to provide accommodation and services. Offers are then matched with refugees accepted for resettlement by the Home Office on the basis of their needs. We are keen to explore all avenues to provide suitable housing. However, we need detailed information from the UK Government to be able to progress work to identify suitable accommodation and service availability to meet the needs of people who are arriving. It would be useful if you could keep the Parliament updated on the number of refugees who come to Scotland. If you could perhaps give more detail on the money that was announced last week and how that will be spent. As he knows, the work that has been done on refugees previously has been funded by the Home Office. Could he perhaps outline what work he is now doing to look at the pressures on councils and what can be done by the Scottish Government to provide help with wider support services? First of all, I commend Kate Clark in the question that she has asked in the positive way in which she has put them. I welcome the questions that she has raised greatly. I held conversations on Monday with the new UK minister with the responsibility for Afghan refugee resettlement. It was a very positive meeting, but I want to be clear. I asked the very same questions that Kate Clark asked about funding, both in terms of direct funding and Barnett consequentials. Unfortunately, I have had no detailed breakdown of any commitments from the UK Government following on from that conversation. I will continue to press the UK Government. We need answers on that point. On the issues that she raises in terms of pressures and local authorities, that is absolutely right. That is why we need to understand the financial sides of the equation, but then there is also the issue of numbers that she addressed. If I could just put one simple fact into the debate that we are having around this issue to understand the scale of the challenge. Average Afghan family sizes is bigger than six. We want to make sure that Afghan families remain united. It doesn't take a genius to work out that it is a challenge to find in our housing stock houses that are appropriate for people in those circumstances. We are going to do absolutely everything that we can. I appreciate that people want hard and fast numbers, but it is a fast-moving situation where we are trying our best to identify housing stock that is available, work with local authorities, get the resources in place, and do the best that we can to maximise the number of people that we can take up in Scotland. Considerable concerns have been raised about the impact that the Home Office's Nationality and Borders Bill might have on vulnerable individuals seeking sanctuary in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the bill's proposals are flawed and risk creating further barriers to vulnerable people seeking protection? Yes, I do. The UK Government's nationality and borders bill is deeply flawed and it will not create an immigration system that is effective, efficient and delivers for the most vulnerable. The bill will differentiate between people based on how they entered the UK, not the protection that they need. The Scottish Government recognises the need to deter and prevent abuse of our immigration and asylum systems. However, extremely vulnerable people, including children and victims of human trafficking, deserve a system that enables access to the support that they desperately need, not one that erects barriers. The bill puts Scotland's reputation as a country of welcome and of refuge at serious risk. The Scottish Government will continue to make the case for immigration and asylum systems that treat people compassionately and with the dignity and fairness at all times. To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the cultural sectors recovery in the current financial year, including the provision of funding. Thank you very much. Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided £175 million to the culture heritage and events sector far more than we have received in consequentials from the UK Government. That includes £25 million that was announced in June 2021 for the cultural organisations and venues recovery fund and the performing arts venues relief fund. We have created reopening of cultural performances and events guidance and will continue to revise it to ensure that it remains relevant to the sector. We will continue to work with the whole culture sector building on new relationships and existing relationships to understand the immediate challenges that it faces as it returns to full capacity. We will work with the sector to consider how to build a resilient future recognising that different parts will be affected in different ways. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Pre-pandemic, there was a huge discrepancy in the dispersement of funds in support of the culture sector. Of course, we do acknowledge that the large cities have some national collections, but even so Glasgow received 25 times the funding per capita of North Ayrshire. Can the cabinet secretary therefore confirm it as we build back better such discrepancies will be tackled? Thank you very much. We know how valuable culture is and we are committed to continuing to provide access to culture for communities and creative workers across Scotland as we rebuild from the pandemic. We continue to invest in programmes with broad reach across Scotland such as the Youth Music Initiative and Culture Collective. Cultural venues across Scotland, including a number of North Ayrshire-based recipients, have received funding through the Culture Organisations and Venues Recovery Fund over the course of the pandemic, which has been an important step in supporting cultural organisations and venues in navigating those extremely challenging times. Thank you, and that concludes portfolio questions. I will allow a very short pause before moving on to the next item of business to allow anybody moving seat to do so now.