Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thanks very much for that insight. Another issue that has been raised with us is the prioritisation of island residents for booking and boarding, particularly if they have an urgent or last-minute need to access a ferry. Have you, as a community board, engaged with CalMac on that? If so, what has been its response?

That was useful.

Good morning. I want to ask about road equivalent tariff, what the case might be for reform of RET and how RET has influenced services and procurement over time. I realise that we are a bit short of time, so if I could get a nugget of a response from each of you, that would be fantastic. Let us start with Alf Baird.

Angus Duncan Campbell, do you have anything to add to those comments from your colleagues?

Before I move on to the other witnesses, will you reflect on road equivalent tariff? You will have heard the previous panel’s comments, particularly those from Roy Pedersen. Is there a case for reform?

Would it be better if there was a scheme whereby there was a visa waiver or an automatic grant of leave for displaced Ukrainian people?

Thanks for taking the time to join us this morning, consul. I will ask a few different questions.

To go back to your points about the difficulties with temporary accommodation and seeking long-term accommodation, is that the experience of displaced Ukrainian people across Europe, or are there other countries in which permanent accommodation is being found more rapidly? Are other countries managing to find a way to do this better for Ukrainian people?

I want to come back to talk about accommodation, particularly the shift from short-term accommodation in hotels and on cruise ships to longer-term accommodation. Are there other lessons that we need to learn around that? We have witnesses from the Scottish councils’ representative body coming to the committee next week, and I am thinking about how we make that shift as smooth as possible for Ukrainian residents.

I should say that I had some contact with Ukrainian people and the local community in Killin, a number of months ago, about the issues with the Killin Hotel, including the lack of certainty about what would happen with accommodation there and the desire of some people to stay in the hotel and of others to move into more permanent accommodation. There seemed to be issues with communication on that.

I am interested in any reflections that you have about what would make the shift easier for people. We are here to make things as easy as possible.

Yes, absolutely.

Is there a difference between the rural areas and more urban areas of Scotland? In Killin, the concern was that if somebody was moved 20 miles away to a different school or a different job, they might have difficulty getting to work or there might be no bus route.