Seòmar agus comataidhean

I want to come back to the point about a national agreed allowance. We are a country of approximately 5 million and we know each other quite well. Is it more sensible to pay such an allowance centrally rather than leaving local authorities with the discretion of how much they pay and what extra should be paid? Should the Scottish Government say that, if someone gives kinship care, this is what they will get, whether they live in Inverness or Dumfries or wherever?

Perhaps Kirsty Doull could go first, then Vivien Thomson, and if anyone else wants to jump in, that would be helpful.

This is a complex question, so a yes/no answer with a follow-up in writing might be helpful. We have talked a lot about having a nationally agreed allowance and how things are different across local authorities in Scotland compared with other parts of the United Kingdom. From your perspective—perhaps Alison Gillies and Gill Westwood could respond—would it be easier if the allowance was administrated across the whole of Scotland, such that everybody got the same amount of money, regardless of where in Scotland they lived?

I have two quick questions. It might be more helpful for you to get back to us in writing on the first one, because it will be quite a long answer. We have talked about the Afghan resettlement scheme. Looking back a little, my understanding is that the work that was done by the Scottish and UK Governments, local authorities and the third sector around the Syrian refugees who came here was very successful. What lessons have we learned from that and how can we implement them?

My second question seeks clarification. There seems to be some confusion about whether children who are refugees or asylum seekers are allowed to have bus passes under the new scheme. Does anyone have any information on whether the free bus passes are available to children in Scotland with refugee or asylum seeker status?

That is helpful background, Graham. I will direct this question back to you, but I ask for a briefer answer. If the policy that was announced by the Home Secretary last week is carried out, is there enough appropriate housing in places such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland to accommodate those individuals? I know that Edinburgh often struggles to give any support because it does not have the accommodation. Across Scotland, do we have that accommodation or will we need more new builds and other properties that come on to the market?

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Some of you might have heard the questions that we put to the previous panel, and the questions that I ask now will be similar.

I will pick up the issue of the overreliance on the central belt to accommodate people. Does anyone have a view on whether there should be distribution across the whole of Scotland? If so, what are some of the challenges with regard to that? If you do not have anything particularly new to say, you can just agree with previous comments, but it would be interesting to know your opinion on whether services that individuals need, such as legal or health services, can be provided across Scotland, or whether is it better to keep the provision within a small number of local authorities. That question goes to anyone who wants to jump in.

Again, in the interests of time, rather than receiving a verbal update, it would be helpful to get information in writing on my question. When it comes to the Syrian refugees who came into the country, have any lessons—whether positive or negative—been learned? In particular, is there anything that we can learn to do differently?

Good morning and thank you for coming to give evidence. I also thank you for your written evidence, which has already been really helpful. I will start with a question for Graham O’Neill. In the previous session of Parliament, we did some work on the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers across the whole of Scotland and there were issues with regard to housing and, in particular, access to legal advice outwith the central belt. In principle, do you think that it is a good idea for individuals not only to be placed in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Edinburgh but to be found accommodation and support in other parts of Scotland as well? If so, how could we do that in a more effective way?

That is right. Outside the Box will offer secretariat work. Obviously, it will be there, but the relationship is slightly different. The organisation is also quite new to the work, so it is just putting its foot into the water. That is the relationship at the moment, but it might well become a member quite quickly.

I am not asking anyone to declare an interest in the matter.

This is a big issue. We have an ageing population, and older people face many challenges. Particularly in the past two years, we have seen the challenges of isolation and of getting back into employment, and we have seen issues with care at home. Without wishing to prejudge, those will be some of the issues on our agenda in the coming months.

If the committee decides this morning to allow the group to go ahead, we will begin by trying to get as much information as possible about the experience of the past two years, so that the cross-party group can feed that into the public inquiry into Covid-19 that will take place. That will give an insight into the experiences of organisations and individuals across Scotland. We will look at other issues after that.

I hope that the group will be able to continue, and I am happy to answer any questions.

This group is slightly different from the two that were previously discussed, because it was the very first cross-party group to be established in the Scottish Parliament, back in 2000. Unfortunately, due to administrative issues and because Sandra White chose not to stand for re-election, we were a little slow in getting our ducks lined up. We have them lined up now and are keen and ready to go.

Without being too rude, I note that the group applies to most of us, because Age Scotland now defines being old as being over 50.