Chamber and committees

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) publish spending in relation to PPE and Covid-19 testing kits as part of their annual accounts, which are published on their website.

NSS’ 2021-22 annual accounts, once finalised, will be published in line with their financial reporting timetable.

Detail not provided within their accounts would require to be requested from NSS.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08988 on
‎ 22 June 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Our absolute priority is ensuring the wellbeing and safety of displaced people from Ukraine. It is not the case that anyone was removed from accommodation against their will. A number of weeks ago, a small group of displaced people from Ukraine volunteered to change hotels to make rooms available for those arriving late at night into Edinburgh airport. The Resettlement Team ensured everyone understood this was a voluntary arrangement and that rooms were available should they decide to stay.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure that there is temporary accommodation available in cities where people may arrive late at night. This, as well as the temporary nature of some of the hotel availability means that in some cases, people will be requested to move into another hotel. The Scottish Government is working to reduce this need and to support people to move on from hotel accommodation into longer-term accommodation.

Agricultural workers from Ukraine are critical in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. The seasonal worker Labour Providers have a contractual and data sharing agreement with the Home Office. Numbers relating to Seasonal Workers are only shared by labour providers with the Home Office as part of this. Following engagement with officials in the Home Office and DEFRA our best assessment of the information available is that there are approximately 500 Ukrainian Nationals on seasonal work visas currently residing in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is working towards the development of a Scottish Education Exchange Programme fit for Scotland. We will provide more details in due course.

Agricultural workers from Ukraine are critical in the production of soft fruit and vegetables in Scotland. As a result of the conflict, there are significant concerns about the needs of these workers and JustRight Scotland's new Worker Support Centre, supported by £41,000 from the Scottish Government will provide independent outreach and legal support for seasonal workers in Scotland. The Centre follows models used around the world to offer temporary migrant workers advice and support in times of crisis. In addition, The Scottish Government also funds the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) which has long-established connections to the wider agricultural community and related support services in Scotland.

The information on properties purchased through the Scottish Government shared equity schemes (Help to Buy (Scotland), the Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme, New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) and the First Home Fund is not recorded by Scottish Parliamentary region. It is recorded by Local Authority area and information on the numbers of properties purchased in each year of each scheme can be found in the published figures at the following links.

Help to Buy (Scotland) under Monitoring Information Report

https://www.gov.scot/policies/homeowners/help-to-buy/

Open Market Shared Equity and New Supply Shared Equity under Affordable Housing Supply Programme annual out-turn reports and related data

https://www.gov.scot/policies/more-homes/affordable-housing-supply/

First Home Fund

https://www.gov.scot/publications/first-home-fund-spend-and-units-monitoring-information-report-december-2019-to-march-2021/

The UK Government's response to the Ukraine crisis is predicated upon complex, bureaucratic, short-term visas, not humanitarian need. Inordinate time and effort has been required to patch this broken system. Scotland's super-sponsor scheme seeks to do just this. But there remain serious gaps in the UK's schemes even in the short term – in particular routes for vulnerable unaccompanied children and others left out of the existing schemes.

In my regular correspondence, I have pressed the UK government to put people before process. I have been clear that, while many displaced people will want to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so, the UK should offer sanctuary for as long as is required, and permanently if necessary.

The Resource Spending Review provides the financial parameters for Scottish Government portfolios to collaborate with delivery partners and stakeholders to develop more detailed financial and organisational planning ahead of the next Budget in Winter 2022.

The Scottish Government has had and continues to have discussions with key stakeholders to understand their priorities and requirements for an International Education Strategy which works for Scotland.