Meeting and AGM of the CPG on Migration Date: 6 December 2022 Location: Committee Room 6, with the option to join remotely via Microsoft Teams MSP attendance: • Bob Doris MSP • Paul Sweeney MSP • Mark Ruskell MSP Non-MSP attendance: • JustRight Scotland • Our Grades, Not Visas • We Belong • Maryhill Integration Network • Community Infosource • British Red Cross • Freedom from Torture • Friends of Scottish Settlers • Joseph Rowntree Foundation • VOICES Network • Scottish Detainee Visitors • Outside the Box • Poverty Alliance • Grampian Regional Equality Council • United Nations House Scotland • LGBT Health • Student Action for Refugees • Migrants Organising for Rights and Empowerment • Gianluca Palombo • Shawn Fernandez • Mala Fernandez • Yolanda Apologies • UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts, Alison Phipps • Ellen McGeough • Church of Scotland • Glasgow Asylum Destitution Action Network Topics discussed: • Election of Office Bearers o Convener – Paul Sweeney MSP re-elected by Bob Doris MSP and seconded by Pinar Aksu, Maryhill Integration Network. o Vice Convener – Bob Doris MSP re-elected by Paul Sweeney MSP and seconded by Ahmed Alhindi. o Secretariat – Maryhill Integration Network re-elected by Paul Sweeney MSP and seconded by Alham Souidi. • Education o Presentation from Mariam Bafo from We Belong on the 2012 law change which meant young people granted refugee status were not entitled to student loan and their campaign work thereafter. o Contribution from Ahmad Alhindi from Our Grades, Not Visas which outlined lived experience of the restrictions on SAAS on migrant students and provided an update on their campaign work. o Presentation from Andy Sirel from JustRight Scotland, highlighting legal case against the Scottish regulations and imminent Scottish Government consultation on new regulations. o Group members shared experiences of themselves and friends and the barriers they faced in trying to access higher education. • English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) o Variation in access to ESOL support and classes across different local authority areas.