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I absolutely agree with Stephanie Callaghan, and she is right to raise the concern, which I share, that the slow pace of visa processing has meant that there are problems with people getting here. The translation of visas into arrivals is a major concern, and I remain very frustrated at the pace of the UK Government’s visa schemes. We now see the consequences of the decision, and reports of hundreds of people abandoning their efforts to come to the UK altogether; however, we know that households across the UK want to welcome displaced Ukrainians to the UK and provide them with a place of safety in our communities. Last Thursday, I raised those points with the UK Minister for Safe and Legal Migration.

Although Scotland stands ready to assist within the current system, we remain of the view that the UK Government must follow the example of the European Union and waive visas for Ukrainian refugees.

In the current financial year, the Scottish Government will provide £70.1 million to support Historic Environment Scotland. We are maintaining our enhanced support, given the impact of the pandemic on its commercial income. Its inspection programme—which is designed to assess the condition of, and the impact of climate change on, some of Scotland’s most significant heritage sites—is already under way. I continue to engage regularly with it to discuss the progress of those inspections and the current and future outlook for our heritage sites.

Claire Baker is fortunate in that there are, in the region that she represents, 17 sites of interest. I am sure that she would welcome the opportunity to visit some of those sites with HES to see the work that is being progressed.

The closures and access restrictions are regrettable but necessary. I am sure that members will appreciate that health and safety must remain the top priority. By restricting access, HES is making sure that it does not expose visitors or HES colleagues to possible risks. I continue to discuss the closures and restrictions regularly with HES, and I will continue to impress on it the need for its communications plan to provide clarity and consistency for sector stakeholders and the public, as we approach the summer visiting season.

In relation to finances, the inspection programme is on-going. HES is working hard at all its properties to uncover the extent of the issues that are faced. We will thereafter make a full assessment of costs.

Over the course of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has announced £256 million of support to the culture, creative, heritage and events sectors. That includes a £20.8 million fund administered by Creative Scotland to support cultural organisations as a result of the omicron restrictions. Creative Scotland will publish the recipients of that fund shortly. Three Glasgow based culture and heritage organisations received funding under Historic Environment Scotland’s historic environment recovery fund, totalling £88,900. The Scottish Government has contributed more than £7.5 million to the refurbishment of the Burrell Collection. Discussions are going on regarding the Scottish Government’s support towards the refurbishment of the Citizens Theatre.

I am sure that Annie Wells will be familiar with the fact that the Scottish Government has already funded the most competitive rates regime in the United Kingdom, and that it has gone over and above the UK Government’s scheme in providing support to businesses and ratepayers across Scotland. If she has a particular proposal that she would like to offer, then I and my Government colleagues would be happy to hear it, in order to ensure that we are providing all necessary support to the institutions that she, and I, hope will recover as quickly as possible—not just from an economic perspective, but also a wellbeing perspective.

I really sympathise with Rona Mackay’s constituents in that case. Sadly, people remain at the mercy of the Home Office visa processing arrangements. Rather than properly funding a humanitarian resettlement scheme, the homes for Ukraine and family schemes are characterised by significant administrative issues, complex application processes and unacceptable delays for individuals who are forced to flee their homeland. The UK is now in the unenviable position of being the only major European country without a legal route in for unaccompanied children who have no family connection. That exposes highly vulnerable children to preventable harm.

I raised those points with the UK Minister for Safe and Legal Migration last Thursday and, although Scotland stands ready to assist within the current system, we remain of the view that the UK must follow the example of the European Union and waive visas for Ukrainian refugees.

The Scottish Government is providing funding to JustRight Scotland to support its confidential legal advice line for Ukrainians seeking sanctuary in Scotland. That includes advice about our supersponsor scheme. As soon as the United Kingdom Government issues a visa to anyone naming the Scottish Government as their sponsor, our national contact centre sends that person a welcome message in Ukrainian and Russian. That includes a freephone international contact number for further advice.

Once in the country, the Scottish Refugee Council’s integration service, funded by the Scottish Government, can give further advice on issues such as registering for a general practitioner or enrolling children in school.

To raise awareness of Scotland’s supersponsor scheme, my officials have been working closely with international organisations and non-governmental organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as the Polish, Romanian and Moldovan authorities, to provide clear in-country information to explain how the scheme works and why it offers enhanced protection.

I met the Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko last week and discussed Scotland’s offer. I hope to visit Poland in the coming weeks.

Kaukab Stewart is absolutely right. I concur particularly with the sentiments in the second part of her question. I met Lord Harrington, my ministerial equivalent at Westminster, and Kevin Foster, the minister with responsibility for immigration in the Commons, last week. At that meeting, I raised matters such as the ones that she asks about and my concern to ensure that we communicate effectively across the UK on safeguarding.

I also raised the need to ensure that people who are arriving from Ukraine know that the safest route is through Scotland, where the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities operate a statutory matching service, and that there is no need for private matching. One of my major concerns about informal, social media matching is that it is often well intentioned but it poses significant risks. I called on the UK Government to implement a UK-wide supersponsor scheme to ensure that substantial safeguarding is put in place across the UK.

Donald Cameron should be reassured, as should scothosts, that I have regular meetings with COSLA and local authorities, as he would expect. We have issued guidance to all local authorities, which is published on the Scottish Government website for everyone to see, to ensure consistency of application in what people should expect when they arrive and in the longer-term arrangements.

I say to Donald Cameron, as I said to Foysol Choudhury, that my officials have met Gary Gray and scothosts. Suggestions that have been made are being considered.

I absolutely concur with that point. The Scottish Government’s response to situations unfolding around the world has been consistent: we want to provide people with a place of sanctuary and support in Scotland regardless of where they have come from. We have a good system in place, having a true partnership with all 32 local authorities and our third sector partners through the Syrian scheme, which we look to replicate for the Ukrainian scheme.

There have been well-documented issues with the Afghan scheme, which operated using a different approach and was not a true partnership between the UK Government, Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities. We are looking at what can be done to provide as much assistance as possible to Afghan refugees in Scotland who seek further support.