Chamber and committees

Thank you, convener, and my apologies. Last week, we discussed personal independence payments and adult disability payments, and I should have declared a financial interest, as I am in receipt of PIP at present.

I will ask that you keep your answers reasonably tight or the convener will get stroppy with you. I warn you now.

How will the wider dispersal of asylum seekers across Scotland impact on individuals and families who are granted refugee status?

Good morning, and thank you both for coming along. I will open with a fairly general question. How will the wider dispersal of asylum seekers across Scotland impact on individuals and families when they are granted refugee status? I invite Phil Arnold to go first, perhaps followed by Graham O’Neill.

We have only an hour. If you would write to me, that would be helpful.

If you could let me have that, that would be helpful. Thank you.

One of the changes that we were going to make was that, rather than the claimant having to get the information, the agency would get it. Part of that was about general practitioner reports, but there was concern about whether GPs would respond quickly and whether the amount that you were paying for each report was enough. Will you update us on that? Is part of the delay because GPs are taking longer to reply?

Can you give us some figures? Going back to Mr Mason’s point, this is difficult for us as a committee. I say nicely that that was a very good civil servant’s answer, but I am not sure that I am any further forward. Can you tell us what the situation was like two years ago, last year and this year, so that we can see the improvement, and what your target is for next year? It is difficult to know from what you have said so far. Yes, there is improvement, but is it half a day better or is it substantially better?

If we could have the numbers, that would be helpful.

Again, it would be interesting to get the figures. Could you give us a breakdown in writing of the monthly transfers for the past 12 months and what you expect will be the number of monthly transfers for this calendar year? How many are you expecting to transfer in February, March, April, May, June, and so on? You say that you are on target, but, from the figures that we have, it looks as though, if you continue at the pace that you are going at at the moment, you will fall well short. I presume that there will be an improvement over the next 18 months. I am interested in seeing how you are modelling for those 18 months with all the other work that you have as well.

I have been well behaved, convener.