Chamber and committees

Rami, is there any part of existing charity law that you think is out of date and that smaller organisations should know about?

Not really. Anyone can answer. My question is a general one. I just want to know whether third sector organisations and smaller organisations were consulted.

I am content with that answer, but it is a concern because, from what quite a few colleagues are saying, the majority of organisations found that the consultation was not balanced. That is why I think that the consultation should have been wider.

My question is for Mridul Wadhwa, and I would like Rami Okasha to come in, too. As you probably know, I have been involved in third sector organisations all my life. I have worked with small and big organisations, and I have always found that smaller organisations find it very difficult to liaise with OSCR, Companies House and big organisations. Do you think that smaller organisations and minority ethnic organisations were involved in the consultation? When I asked the previous panel of witnesses, they said that only 12 such organisations were involved. Was that enough?

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking, in light of reports that individuals are unable to be discharged from hospital due to a lack of available spaces in care homes. (S6F-01864)

Last week, the Scottish Government issued refreshed guidance on hospital discharge to care homes. The “Guidance on Choosing a Care Home on Discharge from Hospital” policy states:

“Where the preferred choice(s) of care home is not immediately available the person will be required to make a temporary ... move to another home with a suitable vacancy to wait.”

My constituent John Findlay has progressive multiple sclerosis. He has been in hospital for seven months, and is desperate to get out and into a suitable care home. John is 58 years old, and many care homes will not admit people of that age, so the pool of places that he can go to is significantly reduced. The new guidance could see him forced into accepting a place either in a home that is very far away from his community and support network, or in a home with a very poor track record of care. Will the First Minister tell us how that is putting patients at the centre, and why people like John are denied their rights because of the Scottish Government’s failure to deal with social care?

I thank the cabinet secretary, Angus Robertson, for bringing these important issues to the chamber. I echo his words on the importance of continuing our educational support in relation to the Arctic region, including the preservation of indigenous languages.

Scotland has a responsibility to co-operate and work with our northern neighbours. Particularly now, strategic co-operation with our European Arctic neighbours must continue in order to ensure a safe, peaceful and prosperous Arctic. There is much that Scotland and the UK as a whole can be doing to help and support the Arctic region and its nations. The Arctic now exists as a complex environment, with more state and non-state actors involved than ever before. As my colleague Sarah Boyack said, we must preserve the Arctic as an area of peace and co-operation.

We very much welcome the Scottish Government’s support for our Scottish Labour amendment. Russia shares 53 per cent of its border with the Arctic Ocean, and more than two and a half million of Russia’s inhabitants live in Arctic territory, which is about half the population of the Arctic. The Russian Federation is geographically and politically tied to the Arctic, and its presence in the region must not be overlooked.

Under Putin’s leadership, the Russian Federation has recently changed its state Arctic policy. It references no plans for continued co-operation with the Arctic Council; instead, it references the pursuit of Russian national interest. Full strategic co-operation and engagement with all Arctic states will simply not be possible while Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine continues. Any framework that sets out to improve Arctic co-operation must not infringe on the diplomatic sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation by the United Kingdom and its allies regarding the illegal invasion of a sovereign nation. The Scottish Government needs to recognise the new reality and shape co-operation based on the high-security situation.

As my colleague Richard Leonard commented, multilateral engagement must be at the centre of future co-operation efforts in the Arctic region. My colleagues have already mentioned the melting glaciers in the Arctic, which represent the devastating effect that global warming is having on our planet. Climate change and global warming have securitised the Arctic as a region. Changes in the Arctic environment are greater than they are everywhere else, and temperatures in the Arctic rise three times faster than the global average, with impacts across the globe.

The Arctic should be at the heart of our sustainability goals. The current climate crisis poses a significant threat to the Arctic region and to its almost four million inhabitants. That is something that we can strive to co-operate on. Scotland and the Arctic region should share the same climate action ambitions, now and in the future.

The SEREDA—sexual and gender-based violence against refugees: from displacement to arrival—project in Scotland recently launched its report on sexual and gender-based violence among refugees in Scotland. The report highlights the urgent need for services in Scotland to focus on forced migrant survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, including a dedicated working group to address the specific needs of survivors. Given the continued influx of refugees into Scotland from Ukraine, what action is the Scottish Government taking to consider the report’s recommendations?

Is there any provision for future winter fuel payments being made closer to the start of winter rather than at the end?

Convener, I have a question on theme 2. Can I ask that one, or do you want me to wait?