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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 will answer the first part of Donald Cameron’s question, and there will be some updating on the second part. On the first point, I absolutely acknowledge that, in the absence of a reporting mechanism, the committee found itself in an imbalance of understanding, knowledge and information. From the first instance of that being the subject of discussion with me before the committee, I have always acknowledged it. I want to be as helpful as possible and have always explained my own personal experience from having had to do this at the other end of the spectrum—every week, the European Scrutiny Committee in the UK Parliament had a very thick sheaf of papers even after a sift by four legal advisers, all of whom were former UK ambassadors. The volume of material that can be scrutinised is enormous.

This is the first attempt at providing a mechanism that should point you towards what we have done, what we are considering and what we expect to be coming down the line, and it is a really good start. There will be areas for which one wants more information. One will be aware of the ground, which was perhaps not previously the case. I therefore totally agree, and I hope that we get the balance right. That is why I say again, if more is required, or less, or if things are needed in a slightly different format, let us try to make that work.

However, I hope that there is an appreciation that this is a very genuine attempt by the Government to work with the committee for the benefit of better lawmaking and scrutiny. We are open to any feedback about what needs to change in relation to that mechanism, but the work is just starting, so we can give it a chance to bed in and then take an iterative approach as we go forward.

George Macpherson, do you want to add anything on the tertiary law points?

I will have to furnish Mr Cameron with some advice from Cabinet colleagues who have primary responsibility for that. That is where one of the dangers lies in having a report that includes a myriad of listings of different legislative proposals, because one can pick one out of the hat, draw attention to it and ask questions about it. I want to be able to provide Mr Cameron with the answer to his question, but I am not in a position to do that.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the committee on the First Minister’s letter calling for an immediate ceasefire on all sides to allow the creation of a humanitarian corridor into and out of Gaza.

I start by reiterating the Scottish Government’s condemnation of the appalling attacks that were carried out by Hamas on 7 October. That barbaric attack was the single biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. We must all acknowledge the trauma that that outrage has caused not only for the nation of Israel and Israelis but among Jewish communities in Scotland and around the world. Among the victims was Bernard Cowan, an innocent Scot from Glasgow, and I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and to the families of all his fellow victims.

Our condemnation is clear: Hamas missile attacks on Israel must stop and Hamas must release immediately and unconditionally all hostages. As we have repeatedly stated, Israel clearly has a right to self-defence, and Hamas and organisations like it cannot be a part of Gaza’s future. We must be clear: Hamas is not Gaza, and Gaza is not Hamas. All Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in peace and security.

As President Biden has said, in defending itself and its citizens, Israel must act in a manner that is consistent with international humanitarian law, which prioritises the protection of civilians. The situation that is now unfolding in Gaza is disastrous. More than 1.4 million people have been displaced. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East—UNRWA—reports that more than 670,000 people are in its shelters, which is three times what is supposed to be their maximum capacity. Water, food, fuel and medical supplies are restricted. The trickle of aid through the Rafah crossing is nowhere near enough, and the World Health Organization has warned of an imminent public health catastrophe.

All the while, fatalities continue to mount. In addition to the more than 1,400 Israelis who have been slaughtered by Hamas, more than 8,500 Palestinians have now been killed. The head of UNICEF has said that

“more than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza each day”.

A tragedy is unfolding before our eyes. That is why the First Minister has written to political leaders across the United Kingdom to emphasise that we must do everything within our powers to stop it. He has called for all parties to commit to an immediate ceasefire and to allow a humanitarian corridor to be opened so that life-saving supplies can get into Gaza and innocent civilians who want to leave can be given safe passage out. That is consistent with calls by the United Nations secretary general and many other world leaders.

For those Gazans who want to stay, humanitarian aid will be vital, and we have already pledged £500,000 to UNRWA, to support its flash appeal. The First Minister will meet UNRWA later today, and I can confirm to the committee that, this morning, we will announce that we will provide a further £250,000 to support the immediate humanitarian effort.

It is imperative that humanitarian agencies are able to safely deliver aid into Gaza in the quantities that are needed. All parties should work together to that end. For those who want to leave, the First Minister has expressed our support for the creation of a worldwide refugee resettlement scheme.

My colleague Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, has written to the Home Secretary to formally request that the United Kingdom Government use the already established UK resettlement scheme to work with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to establish a route to safety for the most vulnerable Gazans, such as children and families and those with severe health needs, and those with links to residents in Scotland. She has also reiterated that Scotland is ready to play its part in the medical evacuation of injured citizens from Gaza, and Israeli citizens if required, through activation of the UK medical evacuation scheme. Scottish hospitals stand ready to treat injured civilians where we can.

Finally, all parties recognise the value of having strong and supportive communities and the importance of community cohesion. Although Police Scotland has not reported a rise in hate crime in response to the events in the middle east, we must all remain vigilant. There is no space in Scotland for antisemitism or Islamophobia. We must be alive to discrimination and racism in all its forms, and must ensure that there is one Scotland where people of all faiths and none live in peace and harmony and where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.

It is absolutely right to say that there are tremendous organisations of the kind that Ms Forbes has just mentioned that have great experience of dealing with refugees who have arrived here, whether from Ukraine, Yemen or Syria. We have a strong track record in Scotland—the Scottish Government, local authorities and the third sector—of helping people to arrive, seek refuge and find a new home here.

It is absolutely right that we have initiated contact with the UK Government to begin the process of thinking—and we hope, in time, talking, too—about how we might be able to help. However, I reflect that the experience of people in Gaza, not just now but historically, is that their movements have been very restricted in times of peace, and that is the case now in times of war. As we saw on our television screens yesterday, we are only now beginning to see people being allowed out of Gaza.

It is right that we think about everything that we can offer. In addition to people seeking refuge, should they be allowed to leave, a great number of people have suffered injury in Gaza, where hospitals are overwhelmed and have been threatened with closure and, in many cases, ordered to evacuate. Therefore, there might also be a role for us and others to offer help and support to people who require medical treatment—from the national health service but also from military medical services, because there is a great strength in that in the UK.

Therefore, it is right for us to think about all those things, and that is why we have initiated contact with the UK Government. We are still waiting to have substantive discussions about what that might amount to, but we are right to make preparations for the situation of people being able to leave who would seek refuge and have no alternatives with regard to where they were able to go.

I thank Mr Bibby for his introductory words.

Those questions were raised by the First Minister in his discussion with the Prime Minister. At that stage, the UK Government and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office were not clear how many Scots residents were among UK passport holders in Gaza. The UK Government has an idea of the total number of UK passport holders in Gaza, but, because we do not record residency as a matter of course, there is not a definitive answer to that question.

On the UK effort on the ground, I think that I am right in saying that UK nationals, if they have been identified by the FCDO, are being updated. That is complicated by the fact that, as has been widely reported, telecommunications have been subject to interruption. Up until now, because the Rafah border crossing has not been open, people had been informed that they were unable to leave.

Since yesterday, lists have begun to be posted to highlight which nationals are able to leave on a day-to-day basis, so I have no doubt that the FCDO teams on the ground are involved in trying to inform people about how and when they will be able to depart. All that is, of course, complicated by the fact that, although the Israeli military focus is largely on northern Gaza, there are still air strikes and artillery rounds landing in southern Gaza, which makes the journey to Rafah dangerous.

I give a commitment to the committee to share any further update as soon as there is one. We will take the question away and ask for an update, given that there has been a change of circumstance, with people beginning to be able to leave, so that we can best inform you about the FCDO’s take on the process of helping people to get out, how people are being informed about that and how they can be informed if there continues to be breaks in communications. We will make sure that committee members are provided with that update as soon as we get it from the FCDO.

The situation in Gaza is obviously very different from that in the west bank, in that there is a war currently going on in Gaza and the ability to get any supplies into Gaza is extremely restricted. That is one of the things that have caused real distress to the United Nations and its agencies. It is still only a very small proportion of humanitarian supplies—such as food and the oil supplies that are required to maintain generators for hospitals and other public services—that are getting in. That is only a tiny percentage of that which UNRWA calculates is required.

Mr Ruskell has named a number of towns, cities and communities in the west bank, which are in a different situation: they are not in the same war situation as Gaza at the present time. I am sure that communities in Scotland that have links there will be thinking a lot about what they can do, in exactly the same way that the Scottish Government has been thinking about what we can do to help people in distress. That is why we have been supportive of the United Nations, which has the organisation on the ground and which is best able to calculate how best to provide support. I encourage local authorities that have links with communities to avail themselves of the likes of UNRWA, the United Nations agency with responsibility for supporting Palestinians in the near east, as a primary point of contact. Many other organisations also have an established track record of working in the west bank and, in the past, in Gaza.

I am not aware that there has been any change in the guidance, but if it would be helpful to Mr Ruskell, I will ensure that I forward on to him—through you, convener—the current status of that. As I have just said, however, I am not aware of there having been any change in that guidance.

As I confirmed in my opening statement, in addition to our already-announced commitment of £0.5 million of support for the people of Gaza through UNRWA, the amount of money has been raised, and the total now stands at £750,000.

The United Kingdom Government has also announced humanitarian aid support, and members of the public who want to be supportive need to know that a range of organisations, not least UNRWA, can be supported. UNRWA has launched a flash appeal, but in addition there is the likes of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which is very involved on the ground and is also seeking to raise funds to deal with the scale of the crisis. It is a good opportunity to underline what the Scottish Government, the UK Government and members of the public are able to do.

One of the hopes in the days ahead—I know that there is a lot of diplomatic effort behind the scenes to try to make this possible—is that supplies will be able to get in. It is not simply a question of being able to open the Rafah crossing. Given the level of destruction in Gaza, it is extremely difficult to get supplies to different parts of Gaza, so it is a very complicated situation.

I think that we can rest on the fact that the likes of the United Nations and the IFRC have impeccable track records and the strongest infrastructure on the ground. I have no doubt that there are other organisations that are extremely capable—for example, Islamic Relief is an organisation that is very active in Scotland, and there will no doubt be other faith-based charities and others that are very well established and are unimpeachable.

As long as people support those well-known and well-trusted organisations, I think that there is little reason to worry. Nothing has been raised with me that gives me concern, but should there be, I will make sure that the committee is updated.