Chamber and committees

We have more to do, but I am pleased that we can aspire to taking in more Afghans and I hope that we can agree on that point. Mr Kerr can perhaps join with other parties in this Parliament in calling for the numbers to be raised.

The Scottish Government is also deeply concerned about the fate of Afghans who contributed to British aid efforts and supported western efforts to enhance human rights, but are not prioritised for resettlement. We must support those who supported us, but have been left behind.

We will continue to work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Home Office, local authorities and other partners to provide the safety and security that refugees need to rebuild their lives. The new Scots refugee integration strategy, led in partnership with COSLA and the Scottish Refugee Council, provides a framework for welcoming refugees in Scotland. It ensured that Scotland was prepared for resettlement in 2015 and continues to underpin our approach. We believe that integration begins from day one and that everyone in our communities has a part to play.

Scottish local authorities have been welcoming Afghans who worked for British forces or other UK Government institutions, along with their families, for a number of years now. That experience, along with that which has been gained through the resettlement of refugees from the conflict in Syria, will be invaluable in welcoming people into our communities.

I am pleased to be able to give the following update on Scotland’s offer to Afghans resettling here. Before June 2021, five Scottish local authorities had already welcomed nearly 400 people under the Afghan locally employed staff scheme, since 2014. From the point when arrivals were stepped up in late June 2021, until the end of August, a further 43 families—around 160 individuals—arrived in Scotland across eight local authority areas. A further 20 families, comprising approximately 70 individuals, are expected to arrive in the first weeks of this month. Scottish local authorities have offered a further 40 properties thus far—we are at a very early stage—which are ready to be matched to 40 more families who have recently arrived in the UK.

To date, 18 local authorities have confirmed their commitment to resettlement going forward. Others are still going through internal processes to confirm their position. Scottish council leaders have unanimously agreed that Scottish local government should support the locally employed staff and refugee resettlement schemes. Local authorities need more detail, however, on the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme and operation warm welcome, to enable councils to make further decisions on longer-term commitments and participation. [Interruption.] I must make progress, because of an announcement that I will make to the chamber.

The Scottish Refugee Council set up the new Scots connect network in 2019. The network now brings together 195 community and voluntary groups from across Scotland, working to support and welcome new Scots in their communities. Some 145 groups have already registered their willingness to participate in an Afghan support network, which will outline the services and support that they are able to provide. The SRC has received over 250 inquiries from individuals offering practical skills and donations. The SRC is currently directing offers of clothing, children’s toys and household goods to organisations in the new Scots connect network. People, including anybody watching this who wishes to do so, can register their offers of support online. The SRC is working closely with COSLA and the local authorities that are responsible for accommodating and supporting new arrivals.

I stress that the Scottish Government’s support for Afghan refugees is significant. That is why I announce to the Parliament that the Scottish Government has made £250,000 available from our humanitarian emergency fund to provide critical help to the people of Afghanistan. That is additional to the financial commitment that the Scottish people have already made to the UK’s aid budget through tax contributions. We are in close contact with our humanitarian partners on the fund’s panel to explore ways in which that funding can be delivered safely and effectively to support those on the ground.

As we debate today how best to support the people of Afghanistan, I ask that we all remember that a person’s right to live in peace, dignity and security should not depend on what they can offer the economy of another country. We must ask ourselves, if those were our mothers, daughters, sisters, brothers, sons and fathers, what would we want another country to do to help? I believe that Scotland is ready to help, and we will act.

I commend the motion to all members. I hope that there is cross-party agreement on this important day.

I move,

That the Parliament records its alarm at the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan following the return of the Taliban; further records its deep concern about the threat to life, liberty, equality, and human rights to all in Afghanistan and, in particular, for women and girls and minority communities; commends the Armed Forces, service personnel, and humanitarian agencies involved in supporting people during the evacuation; notes the UK's long history of involvement with, and intervention in, Afghanistan, and, in consequence, the obligation that the UK has to assist and support all those who are at risk of persecution or mistreatment as a result of the current crisis; recognises the lead role internationally that the UK Government must play in ensuring that aid continues to reach those who need it most and condemns the reduction in international aid by the UK Government from 0.7% of Gross National Income to 0.5%; urges the UK Government to ensure that those Afghans who have worked to provide critical aid assistance, uphold democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Afghanistan, can be allowed to settle in the UK alongside those who are at risk of violence and persecution as outlined in the UN Refugee Convention, and recognises that Scotland has a duty to play a full role in assisting the resettlement and relocation of Afghans at risk and providing humanitarian assistance, and that anyone settling in Scotland will be welcome members of the community.

I observe that every political party that has taken part in the debate so far—apart from the Conservatives, who are coming on to the issue later—has given a commitment to Afghans who are already in the United Kingdom, so that those who are genuine refugees, whom I imagine are the vast majority, should not be returned to Taliban-led Afghanistan. Does Kaukab Stewart agree that it would be helpful if, in the winding-up speeches, we could have the commitment of all parties, including the Conservative Party, on that important point?

Of course, I am pleased to call on all countries to play their part. I remember the contribution that was made in relation to Syria. Proportionately, the countries that accepted most refugees from Syria were Sweden, Austria and then Germany; somewhere further down the list was the United Kingdom.

I will, and then I will have to make some progress.

I will speak today about the situation in Afghanistan and particularly about what Scotland can do to support the Afghan people. I will take a moment to reflect on every life lost, every family displaced, every girl denied an education and every minority group now living in fear. The tragedy of Afghanistan is a tragedy of countless individuals and millions of families.

I will make three fundamental arguments, addressing first the humanitarian challenge, secondly how Scotland can play a full role in the resettlement of refugees and finally what Scotland, as a good global citizen, is and will be doing to support the people of Afghanistan and those who served in Afghanistan.

Over the course of the past 20 years, the United Kingdom has been instrumental in supporting the Government of Afghanistan both militarily and in building the civil society that improved the lives of so many people, but especially women and young girls, by supporting projects to improve education, healthcare, local governance and economic growth across the country. We must work together to protect what gains were made. The economy in Afghanistan was already fragile and the state was heavily dependent on foreign aid. That international assistance now hangs in the balance as we see the economy collapse.

As we can also see on our television screens every day, the human rights situation is extremely worrying. Women and girls and those who worked for foreign Governments or aid agencies are all threatened. The Taliban have a history of brutal discrimination against minority ethnic groups across Afghanistan, religious minorities, the LGBT community and others. More than 120,000 people were safely evacuated in recent weeks, thanks to the international effort at Kabul Airport. Scotland is forever grateful to all the service personnel of all nations who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much in the service of their countries. Scotland also wants to recognise the dedicated work of diplomats and those in the humanitarian and aid sector who have worked to bring Afghanistan a better future.

Now that the flights have ceased and there is no western presence in Afghanistan, we must ask ourselves: what can Scotland do now? We have heard this week that hundreds of people eligible for relocation remain in Afghanistan. The UK Government is speaking of dual nationals as if they were second-class citizens and has said that any Afghans who flee to neighbouring countries and later make the perilous journey to the UK, via the Channel, for a better life would still be subject to the Government’s crackdown on boat crossings—as if the people of Afghanistan had not suffered enough.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government wrote to the Home Secretary yesterday to make clear our opposition to the UK Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill. People who come to Scotland to seek sanctuary must be treated with dignity and respect at all times. Extremely vulnerable people, such as children or the victims of human trafficking, deserve a system that enables access to support rather than one that erects barriers. Not a system that, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is a violation of the 1951 refugee convention and will damage lives.

Today, millions of Afghans throughout the country are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with 3.5 million internally displaced persons. As a result of decades of conflict, drought and the impact of the pandemic, 14 million people are food insecure.

I will address how Scotland will play a full role in refugee settlement and I start by looking back at how Scotland welcomed and supported Syrian refugees. Six years ago, Scottish local authorities led the way in welcoming refugees who were fleeing the horror of conflict in Syria. The first flight bringing refugees to the UK for resettlement landed in Glasgow on a dark and dreich day in November 2015. At that time, few local authorities in Scotland had experience in supporting refugees, but that is no longer the case. I am proud to say that, in the intervening years, every local authority of every hue in Scotland has welcomed and supported refugees. More than 3,500 people have arrived and have been rebuilding their lives in their new communities, bringing with them skills and cultures from which we all benefit. I thank local authority teams who have made that possible, as well as the many third sector, community and faith organisations and members of the public who have worked tirelessly to provide the friendship and support that people need as they settle in their new home country.

Therefore, today, Scotland is standing by to play a full role in providing a home for Afghans. In principle, I welcome the UK Government’s announcement of the new Afghan citizens resettlement programme, as well as operation warm welcome.

I thank the member for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn for raising this timely and important question. The Scottish Government is clear that Scotland must play a full role in supporting people fleeing Afghanistan and we continue to push the United Kingdom Government to accept more people.

We are working with partners including the UK Government, local government, the third sector and community organisations to ensure a warm welcome for people arriving in Scotland from Afghanistan. Scottish local authorities are already welcoming people arriving under the Afghan relocations and assistance policy for locally employed staff and supporting them to settle in their new homes and communities. We are pressing the UK Government for more details of the new Afghan citizens resettlement programme so that the detailed planning for their arrival can take place.

Pauline McNeill raises an important point, and she might have added to her list the literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Afghans who have been refused asylum in the UK thus far and who still face, technically, the threat of deportation back to Afghanistan. Surely that situation cannot stand, given the circumstances. I hope that parties across the Parliament agree that people who find themselves in that situation should, in addition to those who have been successfully transported to the UK, be able to remain here and to have their refugee status accepted. I hope that there can be cross-party co-ordination to ensure that Scotland can speak with one voice on those questions.

We should never lose sight of the fact that the last time that we were called on to stand in support of refugees to this country—from Syria—every single one of Scotland’s 32 local authorities played its part, and Scotland resettled more than 3,300 refugees. That was 16 per cent of the total number who were received by the UK under the Syrian resettlement scheme.

A lot of questions still need to be answered about the financial aspects of how we can manage the situation and of how local authorities can be supported. We are asking the UK Government for answers to those questions. We will continue to pose them. However, I hope that, with good will on all sides, we can help to accommodate as many people as possible. They deserve our support.

I thank my colleague for the advance notice of her question.

It is important that we look at every single opportunity for accommodation to be provided to people arriving on these shores. Siobhian Brown made a very good point—the MOD is a large landowner and has a significant amount of accommodation throughout the UK. I will be happy to raise that point with the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, with whom I have been in touch about other issues in relation to helping and supporting Afghans who have had a particular connection to Scottish military units.

We need a great deal more detail from the UK Government about the new Afghan citizens resettlement programme in order to fully answer that question and, in conjunction with local authorities, to plan our full response.

Scotland is committed to playing our part in welcoming and supporting people who are fleeing Afghanistan. That is why today, together with Scottish Government colleagues, I met members of the Scots Afghan community, non-governmental organisations, the Scottish Refugee Council and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

Last Friday, the First Minister and I met with the UK Government, from which we are seeking those answers in order to ensure that we can provide maximum possible support for Afghans who need refuge in this country.

Bob Doris makes an important point. There are many reasons for connections between Afghan refuge seekers and the Afghan community in Scotland and organisations. We are probably all aware of non-governmental organisations that have worked on the ground in Afghanistan with the support and help of people who now seek refuge in our country. We will all be aware of military units based in Scotland that have been supported for years by Afghan translators and fixers. Many Afghans have studied in Scotland. All those people have connections to communities in this country. In addition to the key financial issues that Bob Doris has raised, I have been pressing the UK Government to ensure, through the clearing system that is being operated by the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence, that people who have community relations in Scotland can find a safe haven here, because they are incredibly welcome.