Chamber and committees

We are straying into the concerns of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee and the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, so I do not want to pursue that further, if that is okay, Dr Allan.

That was a timely reminder that, a year ago, we all thought that things would be better for the Ukrainian people by this time. All the policies have had to adapt to the length of the on-going situation.

But some local authorities do see them as that. That is fine. Thank you for clarifying that.

Our deputy convener, in opening, thanked you all for the work that you are doing. That is echoed by the whole committee.

The initial period for matching was six months, so a lot of those matches will be coming to an end. Although people have sustained those connections, they may not be willing to carry on. That is one pinchpoint that you will be expecting. The contract for the MS Ambition comes to an end in March and the contract for the ship in Leith comes to an end later this year, in June or July.

Bearing in mind all the issues that have already been raised, what flexibilities do your organisations have to help you deal with those pinchpoints as they arise?

Ms Chisholm, what is Highland Council doing in anticipation of those events, particularly the ships ending their contracts?

As the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw, I have been out to visit the North Lanarkshire project, which goes wider than just my constituency. Ms Cook, to be blunt, it is a national project, but the cities have been most involved up to now. Are the other local authorities stepping up to the mark and doing as much as they can to deliver?

That is probably a useful and hopeful note on which to end today’s session. I thank you all for your attendance.

We move into private session.

Our second agenda item is to take evidence on Scotland’s humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine. We are joined by Lorraine Cook, policy manager at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities; Gavin Sharp, lead officer for the Ukraine refugee response at the City of Edinburgh Council; Pat Togher, assistant chief officer for public protection and complex needs at the Glasgow city health and social care partnership; and Hazel Chisholm, housing policy officer in Highland Council’s resettlement team, who is attending virtually.

I am sure that you have all seen the evidence that we received last week from the Ukrainian consul, who said that there has been a very mixed bag of experience. However, what was said resonated with me in relation to the experiences that not only Ukrainian people but many others bring to my surgeries at the moment.

Fundamental gaps seem to exist in signposting for Ukrainians who are here to be resettled. What information is given in the packs? How do we ensure that there is cultural understanding of the role of elected representatives in supporting people when it comes to signposting Ukrainian people in relation to issues with the Department for Work and Pensions and access to health and dental treatment?

I will bring in Mr Sharp and Ms Chisholm in a moment. Are you aware of a one-stop shop web page or a single point where people can go to get a comprehensive list of the information that they might need, or is each local authority doing its own thing?

Does anyone else want to comment on Dr Allan’s question at this stage?

I should say that the witnesses do not need to answer every question. If you have a particular interest in answering, you can indicate to me and I will bring you in. I should have explained that at the top of the meeting.

I will bring in Jenni Minto next. We touched on rural issues there, so she might want to follow up on that.

Alasdair Allan has a supplementary question. I will then bring in Ms Boyack.