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Well, I think that that will show the committee’s workings in action. We are providing the context for the work that we are doing; we are aware of and assessing the proposals, and we are considering what we would wish to do to remain aligned and what implications that might have in the wider context that Mr Ruskell has outlined. That sort of approach leads to exactly those questions being asked.

I cannot be psychic, and neither can my colleagues. The list of legislation is very long, and there might be something there that is not interesting to anybody at all. However, given the variety of interests that members have, there might be really burning issues for you. Now, because we have been able to highlight the things that are on the docket, so to speak, if you have questions, you may ask them in writing, or if your questions are of such import that you wish me or any of my colleagues to give evidence, we can do that.

There is another aspect to this. The information that we provide has been done in such a way that the subject committees of the Scottish Parliament, which have a particular locus in different policy areas, can say that these environmental issues, to use the example that Mr Ruskell gave, should be considered in the round by the Scottish Parliament committee that deals with environmental and related matters. We hope that this process will make that easier.

It is not for me to sit here and outline specific bits of European legislation today, but this is the start of a process of giving the committee the opportunity to ensure that your colleagues on other committees are aware of proposals, what should be looked at more closely and so on, or whether you wish us to provide you with more evidence as part of your work as a committee, because you require more information about something and how it links with other areas. That is, I think, how the process is supposed to work, so Mr Ruskell is making the point for me. The point is for me to give you an awareness of what has happened, what we have done with it, what is being considered and what is coming down the track that we need to think about more.

Notwithstanding the fact that we are no longer in the European Union, there are still ways in which we can make our views about certain measures known to EU colleagues. A little bit of horizon scanning would be useful in that regard, and I hope that that is what can emerge from the reporting mechanism.

I will answer the second part of that and ask George Macpherson to come in on the first part and to say whether he has any subsequent things to mention on the car charging point.

That is also an issue where, in my mind, I really hope that the Parliament’s subject committees, which are aware of how the Scottish Government has sought to align with what has come through the EU institutions, ask themselves after some time whether it is working as intended, as they would do with anything else. That is how this is supposed to work. If is not working, we need to work out why, but something such as that is absolutely at the heart of committees’ scrutiny work. If you do not have enough information, ask for it. If you want ministers to give evidence about specific measures, have them do that. In the meantime, if there are technical issues or subjects that lie close to the heart of one member rather than the committee as a whole, please raise them us and we will deal with them in the usual ways.

I would have to discuss the detail of which organisations we have had and continue to have links with beyond the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is the principal agency for the international community.

We all appreciate that, because of the extreme nature of the circumstance and the extreme distress in which people in Gaza find themselves, it is primarily UNRWA, the UN agency, that has the capability. We should put on the record that UNRWA is also having to pay an incredibly high price for its efforts on the ground. I think that I am right in saying that, since the beginning of the recent conflict, more than 70 members of UNRWA staff have died trying to maintain the places of safety that they have and to get supplies to the warehouses to be distributed. That is why our principal focus is on UNRWA, which has launched a flash appeal.

However, we will keep under constant review our relationship with other charities and third sector organisations, in particular those with which we have an established relationship. We will try to ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent as well as it can possibly be spent in such circumstances. I am sure that people will welcome the fact that we and others are doing what we can to support the UN and other agencies to do what they can on the ground to help people who do not have food or drinking water, who often do not have shelter and many of whom now do not have hope. We need to do everything that we possibly can and we intend to continue doing so.

The First Minister has spoken in person to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and Lord Ahmad, who is Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations, about those questions. The committee and the country are aware that the First Minister has family who are trapped in Gaza, together with others who have a connection to Scotland, the UK and other countries.

There has been correspondence with the UK Government, and there has been correspondence between the Scottish Government and the Israeli embassy and with the Palestinian representative office in the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government’s positions in relation to the unconditional condemnation of Hamas, the right of Israel to self-defence, the support of international humanitarian law, the call for a ceasefire and the call for the support of international organisations to provide necessary aid to the people of Gaza have all been communicated to all those who I mentioned, and we will continue to do so.

The first step is to have intense points of contact with both communities. As members will be aware, the First Minister has visited the synagogue in Giffnock and has also been to a number of mosques. Initiatives are being supported via Interfaith Scotland to bring together not just the Jewish and Muslim faith leaders but those of Christian and other denominations. We are communicating with them intensively to work out what can be done.

As I have raised with my colleagues, I am mindful that various faith communities’ high and holy days are approaching in the weeks and months ahead. We must ensure that our communities are able to celebrate important days in their religious calendars without any fear or concern. We must therefore ensure that we talk to them as much as we can do—as a Government, but also as parliamentarians and community leaders in our own right. I look to all committee members, and all colleagues across the parties in the Scottish Parliament, to play a role in that. Notwithstanding the severity of the situation, and the challenges that we know people face, we must remain focused on doing everything that we can to maintain the best community relations that we can achieve. Sadly, current international examples illustrate such relations being tested very sorely.

You are absolutely correct that the international community is concerned about the potential for widening an already appalling situation, and you are right to point to the risks of escalation in Lebanon and Israel. The feeling is that, every day, the shooting between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces is ratcheting up. Yesterday, the Yemeni armed forces launched missiles in the direction of Israel, and other organisations in and around Israel will be close to the Iranian Government. International Governments—not least that of the United States of America, which is able to exercise significant diplomatic and military presence—are focused on ensuring that the conflict does not escalate more widely. The Scottish Government does not have a direct locus in that: foreign affairs, defence and security are matters for the United Kingdom Government.

Our position would be to support UK diplomatic efforts and those of the international community to do everything to ensure that there is not a widening of the conflict. I do not need to tell this committee, nor anybody watching the proceedings, that the situation in Gaza, the west bank and Israel has been long and troubled and previous wars have involved neighbouring countries. The risks are in plain sight.

We would support anything that can be done to help avoid an escalation and we encourage those with a locus and an ability to do so to emphasise restraint on all parties. We would welcome that.

The First Minister wrote to the ambassador of Israel on 11 October and wrote to the Palestinian representative to the UK on 13 October. Channels of communication remain open. Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians have a consulate general in Scotland, but routes of communication with both the Israelis and the Palestinians are open, and I have no doubt that there will be further communication.

I have not been privy to those conversations, and Mr Cameron will be aware that that is not my direct area of responsibility. He will also appreciate that operational matters for the police and the security services are for Police Scotland and the security services. I have no doubt that they are assiduously assessing the situation and making the necessary decisions.

However, there have been conversations where I and colleagues have a locus—indeed, I think that we all do—with regard to doing everything that we can to support the best community relations possible here. Unfortunately, we have seen that those community relations are being sorely tested in some other parts of Europe and the world.

We must do everything that we can to support Scotland’s Jewish community and to work with our Muslim community, especially people of Palestinian descent. It is very important that we do everything that we can to ensure that, although what is happening in the middle east is a tragedy, it does not lead to a worsening of community relations here.

Mr Ruskell is absolutely right to say that we should not lose sight of the very testing and difficult circumstances in the west bank, which is occupied Palestinian territory. That does not just concern the displacement of Palestinians; it has involved the deaths of Palestinians in recent days. The circumstances for people there are extremely difficult.

The Scottish Government’s position remains as it has always been: the west bank and the Gaza strip form the basis of Palestinian territories that we believe should be part of a two-state solution—a solution that can help to provide both security for the people of Israel and independence and security for the people of Palestine. We will use whatever influence we can.

This is perhaps an opportunity to underline the points that Mr Ruskell and I have made. We should not lose sight of the fact that, notwithstanding the very understandable focus on Gaza, the challenges for people in the west bank continue to be substantive. The Israeli authorities, as the occupying power, have a responsibility to ensure the life, liberty and security of Palestinian people in the west bank, not just of Israeli citizens. We will definitely continue to monitor that.

The offer of help and support for potential refugees from the conflict was outlined in a detailed letter from Shirley-Anne Somerville to the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, with a view to initiating such conversations—to get officials from the Scottish Government and the Home Office, and others, into discussions to begin the process of considering how one might manage and best do such a thing.

Mr Cameron is absolutely right. There is a context, in as much as we have experience in all that, which is a good thing. However, every situation that involves the arrival of refugees is, by its very nature, different. One of the big differences between this conflict and the conflict in Ukraine is that, in Ukraine, people who were living in non-occupied territories had a way out. That is not the case for people in Gaza—they are not able to leave. Nobody, therefore, anticipates any sudden and dramatic movement of people. In fact, over the years and decades, Governments in the region have been clear that they do not want the displacement of Palestinians outside the west bank and the Gaza strip. We are therefore right to say to colleagues in UK Government departments that we wish to begin those technical discussions. I hope that that offer will be taken up and that those discussions can take place, because they should take place.

In the immediate period, given the scale of casualties and the inability of the health system in Gaza to deal with them, it has to be a priority for everybody to try to help and support, in the first instance, the Egyptian authorities and health system to treat the most seriously injured casualties who cannot be treated in Gaza. The Egyptians have set up an emergency medical facility very close to the Rafah border crossing to treat injured people close to where they are, but there may be very serious cases where advanced medical intervention could be better provided by other countries, which might include our own. In addition to any preparations for helping refugees, we should be alive to that, because we have an excellent health service with considerable experience. We should do our best to help people who are in need of medical support, as well as those who seek refuge.