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We have been working with local authorities and third sector partners to ensure that awareness of the tenant grant fund is as extensive as it can be. We continue that work, because the fund is important, particularly in this difficult time of rising living costs. We will continue to raise awareness and encourage people to apply.

Scotland has a proud history of welcoming refugees and people who are seeking asylum. The Scottish Government and Scotland’s local authorities have made it clear to the United Kingdom Government that they stand ready to offer refuge and sanctuary, where necessary, for those who may be displaced.

The UK Government’s current proposals to support Ukrainian refugees via community sponsorship are insufficient, and the Scottish Government continues to call on the UK Government to act now to develop a comprehensive resettlement programme. The Scottish Government is working with the Home Office, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, local authorities and other partners to provide people with the safety and security that they need to rebuild their lives.

I reiterate what I said in my earlier answer: multiple surveys are on-going, and they are complex, given the engineering issues and the specialist skills that are required. The reports will be finalised in the coming weeks, which will allow us to consider which buildings can be deemed to be safe and, importantly, which buildings will require remedial action to be taken. Of course, the £97 million that is available will go some way towards dealing with that, but we absolutely need clarity from the UK Government on the consequentials and on the developers levy.

My Welsh counterpart and I have written to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to call for our Government to be part of any discussions with developers, given the impact on our countries. We do not have powers to institute a developer tax or to compel UK developers to contribute to a fund in Wales or Scotland. We therefore need the UK Government to clarify whether we will be part of that fund, but so far we have no clarification.

The majority of the funding that local authorities receive for tackling homelessness is provided through the annual local government finance settlement. The distribution of funding through the local government settlement for 2022-23 was discussed and agreed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and the City of Edinburgh Council will receive its fair share according to the formula. However, we remain open to looking at whether the position needs to change.

In relation to the £9.3 million, Miles Briggs will be aware that what has happened is a result of the choices that the City of Edinburgh Council made about where homelessness services sit. It is for the council, not for the Scottish Government, to decide whether changes are made. That decision is for local decision makers. If Miles Briggs thinks that they should be delivering their homelessness services separately and differently, he should discuss that with them.

The fact that the UK Government has issued fewer than 1,000 visas is, frankly, embarrassing, given the scale of the response by other countries across Europe, many of which are a lot poorer than our country, in opening their doors and accommodating people. As the First Minister has said, we should allow people in and sort the paperwork later. Despite that, we are working at pace to ensure that we stand ready to receive people, on the assumption that the UK Government’s position cannot hold. That work is on-going.

Work is also on-going to try to co-ordinate the response from the community so that there is a single place where people can offer support, because people want to help. Some of that support will be utilised, although, for good reasons, some of it might not be. The Scottish Refugee Council will be a critical agency in that immediate first-place support, and we are working with it to help it to scale up.

I thank all the members who have spoken in the debate. We have heard some fantastic, powerful and moving speeches from around the chamber. As Katy Clark described it, it has been a day for sisterhood.

Before I get into my speech, I congratulate Meghan Gallacher and her partner on their wonderful news. Perhaps I might also give them some advice. When I had my daughter nearly 20 years ago—I can hardly believe that it was 20 years ago—I put enormous pressure on myself and came back to work far too soon. I strongly encourage Meghan Gallacher to take her maternity leave—it is her entitlement and she should take it. [Applause.]

I begin, as other members did, by offering my unqualified support to the people of Ukraine. It is, as others have said, shocking and appalling that, on international women’s day, we again see women and children fleeing their homes from war and violence. Our thoughts are with all the people of Ukraine. Scotland stands ready, with open arms, to welcome those who have been displaced by that terrible war.

Tess White talked about women being the main casualties of war. We of course accept her amendment.

Other members talked about the atrocities that women have faced. Gillian Martin talked about the plight of Afghan women, with their rights being removed, schools being closed, their removal from their jobs and a return to dark days at the hands of the Taliban. She talked about toxic masculinity and the worst of humanity being made heads of state. That is absolutely true.

Ruth Maguire talked about women in many other countries, including Yemen, whose plight is sometimes out of sight. She talked about the pressures on Moldova, which is one of the poorest small countries in the world, yet is taking in many refugees.

We in the Scottish Government will continue to work at pace with our key partners, including the Refugee Council and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, to put in place the necessary arrangements to ensure that people from Ukraine who want to come to Scotland receive the support that they require.

The theme of this year’s international women’s day is “break the bias”. Sadly, every woman and girl in Scotland and around the world will be touched by gender bias in some form during their lives. That point was made by Kaukab Stewart, Pam Duncan-Glancy and Pam Gosal. Some women and girls experience that more acutely and often, including for example disabled women, women living in poverty, women from minority ethnic communities, and refugee and migrant women. The pandemic has shown that and it has exacerbated the deep-seated inequality that has been a feature of our society for too long. To return to the status quo as it was before the coronavirus is simply not good enough, which is why gender equality must be at the heart of our pandemic recovery.

Women have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19. The challenges of balancing childcare, paid work and caring responsibilities with the stresses and uncertainties of the pandemic have without doubt been unprecedented. Women were more likely to lose work or hours during the pandemic and to care for those who have been ill with Covid. We are now—we hope—moving step by step out of the pandemic, and we are starting to look ahead. Many members mentioned those pressures, including Natalie Don and Pam Duncan-Glancy. We need to learn the lessons and, as we move forward, make sure that we tackle those fundamental inequalities.

We have much to do. However, as others have said, this Parliament has already taken important steps to break the bias. We have raised awareness, changed policy and passed legislation that we can all be proud of. We have world-leading legislation to make free period products accessible to every woman and girl who needs them. We have legislation, which was developed directly with women’s organisations, that reflects the reality that domestic abuse is more than physical violence and is, in many instances, an insidious pattern of coercive, controlling behaviour and psychological abuse. Natalie Don mentioned that.

We have legislated to ensure that women are more fairly represented on our public boards—an issue that Pam Gosal mentioned. In December 2020, we unanimously passed the bill that became the Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021, which established a legal framework to ensure that victims of sexual violence can access healthcare and request a forensic examination without having to make a report to the police.

Work continues apace. We are delivering more childcare and we have published our women’s health plan, as Beatrice Wishart mentioned. The plan reflects the importance of recognising women’s healthcare needs, listening to women and responding appropriately. Since the plan was launched, we have developed a platform for women with information on the menopause, including information on symptoms, options for care, treatment and support. For too long, the impact of the menopause on women, including in the workplace, has not been taken seriously enough. We want to change that.

Through “Equally Safe: Scotland’s strategy to eradicate violence against women”, we are working with partners to eradicate violence against women and girls in all its forms. The work in schools on consent is vital. It is so important that young people including, importantly, boys understand the issue of consent.

We are consulting on a new human rights bill that will incorporate four international human rights treaties into Scots law including, importantly, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. That demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to upholding human rights and promoting and enhancing the current framework.

I join the First Minister and others in thanking Baroness Kennedy and the working group on misogyny and criminal justice in Scotland for their excellent report, which was published this morning. Rona Mackay mentioned the importance of that and how it will help to move us forward. The Scottish Government will take the report and look at moving forward with the recommendations in due course.

I said that the Parliament should be proud of the actions that it has taken to break the bias. I am grateful to our male allies around the chamber, who have made some powerful contributions during the debate. It is clear, though, that that progress would not have been possible without women standing here in our Scottish Parliament and speaking up about and championing the many issues that women and girls face and which are important to them. I do not think that we would have reached the position that we have reached on the issues that I have highlighted, whether through policy or legislation, without women in this Parliament moving them forward.

Christine Grahame talked about the importance of education and the story behind how many of us got here. Thank goodness Christine Grahame’s ancestors made the decisions that they made, otherwise we would not have her here among us to give us lovely, amazing and powerful speeches. One thing that we have in common is the power of education. My late mum used to drum home to me the importance of education. I was the first person in my family to get a degree, which was ground breaking. Education has been absolutely critical for many generations of women, and I really relate to that. We need to encourage the next generation of girls to recognise the importance of education to go into any roles, to go into science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to break through some of the barriers that, unfortunately, still mean that women are underrepresented in the workplace.

Last year, the Scottish Parliament came closer to the goal of equal representation, with women making up 45 per cent of MSPs. That is the highest proportion of women MSPs that we have ever had. However, as Katy Clark said, we are not there yet. There has been progress, but we are not there yet. The Parliament has to strive to reflect the people whom we serve. Although, as others have said, we are not there yet, we are closer than ever before. I acknowledge the presence among us of Pam Duncan-Glancy, Kaukab Stewart and Pam Gosal as women in the Parliament who are breaking barriers, breaking the bias, and making the Parliament look more like Scotland. That is absolutely fantastic.

The progress that we have made cannot be taken for granted. We have to strive to do more. As the First Minister highlighted in opening the debate, the misogyny and harassment that women and girls experience are harmful for all, including for women in visible positions, such as in politics. Being an MSP, an MP or a councillor is a privilege, and misogyny, abuse and harassment should not be seen to be, and must never be accepted as, part of the job.

I urge all political parties to keep taking action to ensure that more women, more disabled women, more women from minority ethnic communities and other women who are not represented as they should be in the Parliament are supported through our parties’ selection processes to make our Parliament and, indeed, our town halls, more equal.

In conclusion, I know that one could be disheartened by the fact that we still need an international women’s day to acknowledge that women and girls around the world still face the inequality and violence that we have heard described across the chamber, but I am not disheartened because, as long as we do that, we can highlight that inequality and violence and collectively, as parliamentarians, show our resolve to back the day and its intention to end gender inequality across the world. We have done much, but there is more to do. That is a goal around which political parties can find common ground, as we have this afternoon, and that has been true of the Parliament going back many years. We can be proud of that, and I am absolutely optimistic that that will continue. I can give members my commitment to keep working to break the bias and make Scotland a fairer, safer and more equal country for all women and girls.

We selected 25 high-priority residential blocks of flats for an initial phase to test and develop our free single building assessment. Surveys are on-going and some reports will be finalised in the coming weeks. That will allow us to understand what actions need to be taken to further support affected home owners and seek the most appropriate solutions.

Where construction is found to be unsafe, we will continue to urge other parties, such as developers, to play their part. We are continuing to discuss with the United Kingdom Government what its plans are for the establishment of its announced £4 billion fund.

I agree that the bill is not about whether trans people should be able to live their lives as they wish. They have those protections explicitly under the Equality Act 2010, which has been in place for 12 years, and they have had the ability to obtain a gender recognition certificate for close on 20 years. It is important that we remember that the issues and the way in which we discuss them have a real impact on trans people.

As I said, hate crimes with a transgender aggravator recorded by Police Scotland have increased every year since 2014-15. That is not a good position and we need to change it. That is why it is vital that we think about the way in which we talk about such issues. Our language matters and how we conduct ourselves in the debate matters, too.

We are not setting one set of people’s rights against those of another. All rights matter. We are stronger as a Parliament and a nation when we promote and strengthen everyone’s rights.

First, I thank Meghan Gallacher for her tone and for her offer of constructive scrutiny. That is very welcome.

Concerns about women’s rights and safety are of course sincerely held, and in my statement I have not suggested otherwise. We—I—have listened to those concerns. I understand them. That is one of the reasons why I am making this extended statement.

However, as legislators, we must always look at the evidence. The evidence is critical in relation to this issue. As I said my statement, all the evidence shows that the threat to the safety of women and girls comes from predatory and abusive men, not from the trans community.

In addition, if we look at the experience of the 10 countries that have in place similar processes—Ireland, for example, has had such provisions for seven years—we see no evidence that some of the fears that Meghan Gallacher outlined have come to pass. We have to look at the evidence. I am sure that the Parliament will do that, collectively, through its committee work and through our cross-party work. We must make sure that we look at the evidence. However, I welcome the member’s tone.

Yes, I would agree with that. I thank Alex Cole-Hamilton for his questions and the tone of his contribution.

It is important that we listen to the experiences of people who are going through the process, and in my statement I tried to give a couple of examples of people’s actual experience of that. It is interesting that, according to the UK Government’s figures, there are around 25,000 people in the trans community in Scotland but only around 600 of them have a gender recognition certificate. I see the bill as the law catching up with how people are already living their lives. Far more of those 25,000 would have wanted to obtain a gender recognition certificate, but the process, as outlined in my statement and by Alex Cole-Hamilton, puts people off doing that, and we can understand why. We should focus on that.

“Compassion” is an important word here. We have a good tradition, in this Parliament and in Scotland, of showing compassion. Trans people are one of the most marginalised sections of our community, and the bill is important to them. It is important in saying who we are as a nation, as well. I hope that we can go forward on that basis.