I have a quick question. It was good to discuss screen production, but I want to talk about live performance. We have lost a lot of incredible talent because of the pandemic. Can we talk about forward planning? The 75th Edinburgh international festival is next year. That is a huge economic issue, not only for Edinburgh but for the wider economy. Can we think about resilience and recovery in the live performance sector? What more can the Scottish Government do to ensure that people and venues in that sector are supported? It must be incredibly difficult for them to plan ahead after the difficulties and uncertainty of the past year.

Those two answers were very useful and help us to think about accountability and what further scrutiny we should do.

I return to my first question to the cabinet secretary about the priorities that you will change in the short term. You are clearly of the view that the system is not working as intended, and there have been big changes as a result of Brexit. I know that you want a different constitutional settlement in the long run, but, to make things work now, so that you—and the other devolved Governments—can get the job done, what is your top priority? I note that the Welsh Government has republished its suggestions on how things need to change. What short-term changes do you want that you think would be of assistance? I think that it would be helpful for the committee to put those to UK ministers itself.

I want to pick up on the comments that you made in your opening remarks about the purpose of devolution, which is to increase decision making and accountability in Scotland as part of the UK. You gave a pretty full critique of how things are working at the moment. Today is the committee’s first chance to talk to you and we are thinking about the next five years. It feels to me as though there are three levels: the ministerial level with joint ministerial relationships; parliamentary accountability and the relationships between different parts of the civil service across the UK; and the local authority level. Your description of the current structures and relationships is not overly positive. What are your short-term suggestions for how we begin to reset those relationships, given that we are at a critical moment?

When we look at common frameworks and think about how we deliver parliamentary accountability on that raft of different frameworks, what changes need to be made? I suspect that there is agreement around the committee table that “noted” is not a full way of engaging with us and letting us know what is being discussed at the most senior levels. Knowing that might help us to think about our questions and what UK ministers we want to have a fuller discussion with as we set out our work for the next five years.

Does the minister accept that there is a need for increased investment in our arts and that one way in which we can provide that, which is being used in many countries around the world, is to ensure that a per cent for art regime is in place through the planning system? That will enable local authorities and communities to get the investment that they desperately need not just as they recover from the pandemic but as we see new opportunities across our communities.

I welcome the opportunity to debate what we can do now to support the people of Afghanistan. The debate must be about our responsibilities to the people of a country that we have been involved with for 20 years, and today we need to unite as a Parliament and show our support for humanitarian action, the civil rights of the Afghan people and women’s rights, in particular.

We do not have time to debate the wider lessons that need to be learned from the 20 years of our involvement in Afghanistan. For that reason, I welcome the call for the restoration of UK spending on international aid to be reinstated by the Tory Government in the amendment that Donald Cameron has moved today. However, that cut should never have been made. It demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the vital nature of international aid and support in Afghanistan and across the world.

I hope that everyone who is in the chamber is thinking about the women who are now being denied the opportunity to live their lives without fear, of all the young girls who benefited from education in the past 20 years but might never get the chance to show the world their contributions to society, of the work of our armed forces and all those who worked incredibly hard to keep those who were seeking to flee Afghanistan the best chance to get to the UK, of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country and in the belief that they were building something better, and of those in charities and development organisations who are still in Afghanistan, helping people on the ground and putting their own lives at risk.

We now have a crisis of global proportions and one that requires a joined-up international response. As an immediate priority, people who are fleeing Afghanistan need to be able to cross the border into neighbouring countries, NATO should be called on to offer logistical assistance where that would be helpful, and western democracies must offer financial support to those nations. European countries need to support that effort by opening their borders, and we, in the UK, must play our part in that. It is especially urgent that the UK Government steps up to ensure that people who have the right to British citizenship are supported and that those who claim asylum are helped. We must honour the work of everyone who has been involved in our diplomatic and military operations in the country.

I stand with my Labour colleague Lisa Nandy MP in demanding that the UK Government does not abandon the thousands of people who have been left behind in Afghanistan and that it increases the resources that it is deploying to help refugees to reach safety in the UK. The stories from MPs about the failure to connect with people who have been getting in touch are appalling. In that respect, the Lib Dem amendment’s call for the UK Government to lift the overall cap on the number of people we should be supporting is important and needs urgent action.

I thank the Scottish Refugee Council for the work that it has done and for its excellent briefing, which highlights the need for a change of direction from the UK Government and calls on all of us to share responsibility in our actions to address the scale of the situation and the number of Afghan refugees who need our support.

The Labour councillor for Roxeth in Harrow, Peymana Assad, came to the UK as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of three. This week, she spoke passionately about our collective sense of duty to a country that is living in fear. It is vital that refugees are given the opportunity to work when they settle in our country so that they can contribute their skills to our economy and our communities. Across the UK, we have witnessed the benefits that refugees bring to our communities when they are allowed to participate in our society. That has been evident most recently in the number of successful businesses and community groups that have been set up by Syrians who fled the civil war and persecution in their country.

In turn, we, in Scotland, need to welcome refugees and, in doing so, support local community groups such as the Welcoming Association here, in Edinburgh, which make the transition to life in Scotland successful for everyone.

It is vital that our councils are properly funded so that they can welcome those people who choose to settle here. In the past few days, I have spoken to my Labour colleagues on the City of Edinburgh Council. They have previously raised the need for funding to assist them in addressing the issue of homelessness in our city. They estimate that there is already a gap of £9.5 million, which should have been received during the Covid emergency. The Scottish Government must not short change people in Edinburgh who need help to find a home, including the people who are arriving here from Afghanistan, whom we all need to help. I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

I call on the Scottish Government to provide the targeted support that our councils need to ensure that refugees who arrive in Scotland are given the life and the opportunities that they deserve and not just rhetoric, however good it is. Our amendment highlights the importance of our local authorities, community organisations and individual citizens in ensuring that every refugee is given the support that they need, now and in the future, to ensure that their new lives in Scotland are successful.

Afghanistan is divided, it is suffering economic collapse and its people are living in fear. The Taliban say that they have changed, but most commentators very much doubt that. The world is watching. Aid and support that have been pledged from countries across the world need to be delivered to the people who need them instead of going into the pockets of warlords. As well as supporting people to come to Scotland and the UK, we need to play a progressive role in speaking up for humanitarian assistance and support for human rights—especially women’s rights—and for democracy.

I move amendment S6M-01003.3, to insert at end:

“, and recognises the importance of Scottish local authorities, community organisations and individual citizens in helping ensure a successful transition for every refugee.”

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to enshrining a rule in the national planning framework 4, where, for every new building, 1 per cent of the cost is given to the arts. (S6O-00093)

Constituents who are upset about the cost of testing in advance of people travelling abroad have been in touch with me. Could the NHS not charge a nominal fee to provide that service and cover the costs while ensuring that a safe and reliable public service is available? Not all travel is for holidays. Many people have families abroad or they need to travel for work, especially those who work in the transport sector.

I am still waiting for a response from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to my question to the First Minister last month.

[Inaudible.]—on the NHS, with regard to the capacity for planned operations and the rise in delayed discharge levels. What additional care packages are being put in place so that people are supported and enabled to leave hospital? Are all patients now automatically tested for Covid before being discharged?

I have a question about the impact of the legislation and the reporting framework on theatres and cultural venues. The impact of the restrictions is a critical issue for them as they are planning ahead for Christmas performances. They also have issues about how the restrictions will operate over the next few weeks. Can further clarity be given on the limits on the numbers of people who are able to access our theatres and cultural venues during the summer and after the end of September?

I apologise for not clarifying that the issue that I was getting at is whether there will be a cap on the number of people in venues, in addition to the requirement for 1m distancing. I thank Mr Swinney for allowing me to make that clarification.