Do you anticipate that the setting up of the court will cause further delays in the judicial system?

That is fine. Thank you.

The Scottish National Party Government claims that it increased culture funding by £15.8 million in the latest budget, but the Campaign for the Arts said that £13.2 million of that funding was for restoring cuts. To cut through the SNP’s spin, barely any of that funding was new money. Jack Gamble, director of the Campaign for the Arts, said:

“Amid a perfect storm of challenges for artists and organisations, the Scottish Government needs to go much further, much faster”,

and it is nowhere near the £100 million extra for culture that the SNP pledged. Is that just another broken promise? What does the SNP have to say to disappointed businesses and organisations in the culture sector?

The latest recorded crime statistics from Police Scotland show that, in the Ayrshire police division, overall crime jumped by more than 10 per cent at a time when police numbers have fallen in Ayrshire since the Scottish National Party centralised our police forces. How much more should crime rise in communities such as Ayrshire before the Scottish Government starts properly resourcing our police?

To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received from arts and culture stakeholders following its announcement of the Scottish budget 2024-25. (S6O-02926)

In your opening statement, you said that yesterday’s budget did not give you the full £120 million that you had asked for. Will police numbers fall over the next few months and years as a result? You also said that you were going to restart recruitment, but that you are still going ahead with voluntary redundancy and early retirement. How will that affect police numbers?

I am trying to understand why you would still go through with a redundancy or early retirement process. If you are going to restart recruitment, can you not focus it on the skills that you need to tackle cybercrime?

You mentioned Sir Iain Livingstone in your opening statement. When he left, he warned that policing is unsustainable under the cash settlement from the Scottish Government. He said that that Government had

“clearly set out its spending priorities”

and that

“policing is not among those”.

Now that you have settled into your new role, do you think that policing is a priority for the Scottish Government?

Christmas is the perfect time to have this debate, because it reminds us how much Ukrainian people’s lives have been upturned by Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Russia’s illegal invasion forced families from their homes and wrecked hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. It is hard enough for most of us to imagine having to hastily flee our homes, even temporarily, at Christmas, but that is the reality for the brave people of Ukraine all year round. Their Christmases are not the same, but neither are their Mondays or Tuesdays. Every single day, they suffer the terrible consequences of Putin’s war.

Ukrainians have approached the war with admirable defiance. They have been an inspiration not only in the defence of their homeland but in the way that they have settled and continued their lives. The numbers are stark, but they do not truly do justice to the scale of what has happened. There are 8 million Ukrainian refugees across European countries. Almost 250,000 visas have been issued to Ukrainians by the UK Government. More than 26,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Scotland. I applaud all those Ukrainians for coming to our country and becoming a very welcome part of our communities.

None of us can really say how we would handle such a terrible situation, but I hope that we would approach it with the same strength of character that the Ukrainians have. I also applaud the generosity and kindness of Scottish and British people who have welcomed Ukrainians. It has been incredible to see so many people, including members in the chamber, take Ukrainian families into their own homes. They have been made to feel safe and included because of the compassion of local people. In South Ayrshire, approximately 350 Ukrainians have come to live in around 160 households, while in East Ayrshire there are 225 Ukrainians living in 86 households.

I also thank the many local groups and charities that have helped, from schools to churches to local businesses. They have all pulled together to help wherever they can. Barnardo’s has also done an incredible job to support those who have come here. It provides regular emotional support and safe spaces for young people and parents, to help them to understand the trauma that they have gone through. It is an excellent resource, because, as Barnardo’s has noted, many families displaced from Ukraine find that difficult in their support networks where others are also in distress. One quote from a Ukrainian parent sums up the work that Barnardo’s has done. They said:

“I am so happy you helped me to settle. You are my biggest angel in Scotland. I appreciate everything you did for me and my family.”

We can be proud of our country’s actions at home in welcoming Ukrainians and on the front line of this war. The UK has stepped up with a tremendous amount of support for ordinary Ukrainian people in need of aid, and with vast resources to help Ukraine to fight Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Our country has done a lot on many fronts for Ukraine, but problems still need to be addressed for Ukrainian people to rebuild their lives in Scotland.

The Scottish National Party Government must act to address the plight of 7,500 Ukrainian refugees who are stuck in temporary accommodation. That is part of a wider housing crisis in Scotland, but we cannot let those people down. They have already endured such hardship. I hope that the Government will consider and reflect on how it can urgently provide Ukrainian families with the level of housing support that they deserve.

You spoke about collecting a lot of data, and you mentioned the UK benchmarking. How readily available are all those reports for us to see how well we are doing?