That ends the statement by Fergus Ewing on future prosperity for the North Sea. My apologies to two members and I simply couldn't call, but we need to move on to next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 14245, in the name of Humza Yousaf, on responding to global refugee crisis. Members who wish to speak in debate should press their request-speak buttons now and can remind all members that we're extremely tight for time all afternoon. I call on Humza Yousaf to speak to and move the motion, Mr Yousaf, for 14 minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I, like many here, have been moved to tears twice in as many weeks, in both for very different reasons. Firstly, you would have to have a heart of stone not to be deeply moved by the image of Ireland Kurdie's body washed up on a beach in Turkey. All of us here will have desperately tried to hold back from wandering into the realms of what if, what if it hadn't been Ireland Kurdie's body but that of one of our own children? What if it had been your nephew or your niece? What if it had been your grandchild? What if it had been your godchild? How would any of us have possibly coped? The second time I was reduced to tears was for a very different reason, one of joy. This weekend I joined thousands of others across Scotland, a vigil to show solidarity with refugees fleeing conflict and persecution across the world. I have seen some amazing things in George Square in my lifetime, but I never suspected that I would have seen the day that people would come out in their droves to demand their government provide safety to refugees here in Scotland and across the UK, and everybody who attended those vigils should be applauded for showing such solidarity. That display of common humanity was a beautiful spectacle. A reminder that how difficult things can get and how difficult things can seem, we should never allow ourselves to wallow in a pit of despair because it is often, in the darkest of times, the light of human kindness can often shine through. The death of Eileen Kurdie may have acted as a wake-up call to the world to take notice of a crisis on a global scale. However, the terrible reality is that he was one of many of thousands of men, women and children who have perished making that journey, that perilous journey, from war to on Syria to the safety of Europe. That is not a new crisis. It has not happened suddenly. It is a crisis that has been going on for years. For over four years, a war has raged in Syria. The loss of life has been utterly appalling. The devastation of homes and communities has led to an exodus of refugees that very few of us will have seen in our lifetime. At this point, let me deliberately use that word again, refugees. The idea that those fleeing Syria are immigrants or even purely economic migrants is as laughable as it is, ridiculous. The belief that parents would risk their lives and the lives of their children for social security, for a food bank voucher is warped and not one that this Government accepts. Much of the focus has rightly been on the plight of Syrian refugees. More than four million Syrians are now registered as refugees in countries neighbouring Syria, and over eight million are now internally displaced. As we have seen so graphically, many thousands have undertaken a desperate and dangerous journey to try and reach the safety of Europe. Perhaps war in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world used to seem very far away from us, perhaps at one time it was. The pictures of desperate people arriving across Southern Europe bring the consequences of that war so much closer to home. President Junker last week of the European Commission was right when he said that we in Europe needed to remember that Europe had its own refugee crisis in the past, with people fleeing from war, persecution, especially during the conflicts of the last century. The Scottish Government has been calling on the UK Government to accept more refugees from Syria for over two years. I and other ministers have consistently and regularly raised that with the UK Government and its ministers impressed for more to be done. We have always made clear that Scotland would play its part in accepting more refugees from that conflict. On 4 September, the First Minister hosted a summit to set out Scotland's response to the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Southern Europe. Ahead of the summit, the First Minister wrote again to the Prime Minister, urging him to sign up to the EU's proposal on relocation of refugees and refugee resettlement to enable the UK to take its fair share of people fleeing persecution from conflict. We should look to the contribution of other countries across Europe of a similar size and economic equivalence. In Germany, for example, we have taken more refugees in one weekend than, for example, the UK's proposal over five years. The summit brought together stakeholders from the refugee community, local authorities, third sector and other representatives of civic Scotland in a positive and productive environment to discuss the situation and what Scotland can do to help. We heard extremely powerful testimony from people who have escaped war and persecution and sought sanctuary here in Scotland. They talked of how they had been welcomed to Scotland and also about the practicality of settling into a new country. I was particularly pleased that the summit attracted cross-party support and put again my thanks and the thanks to the Government for the attendance of all the party leaders from across the chamber for joining that summit. Following the summit, the Prime Minister finally announced last week that the UK Government would accept 20,000 refugees as an expansion of the existing Syrian vulnerable person relocation scheme over the next five years. Back in January 2014, the Scottish Government welcomed the establishment of the VPR scheme, and we are pleased that more than a quarter, 55 out of the 216 refugees who have arrived through that scheme have come to Scotland and been welcomed by Glasgow City Council. Although the expansion of the scheme is extremely welcome, we believe that the UK must do more than that. The figure of 20,000 refugees over five years—sure. Does he agree with me? Does he reject the suggestion that we should be deterring people from coming here? There can be no greater deterrent than the hundreds of thousands of people who have died in Mediterranean Sea as a result of that dangerous crossing. It is nonsense to talk about creating a deterrent in this country. I accept that point, and I think that Willie Rennie makes it well. For those who have suggested that having, for example, search and rescue facilities in the Mediterranean as a pool factor, the evidence has shown that that is not the case as well, so I accept the point that the member makes. The figure of the 20,000 should not be seen as a cap, 20,000 over five years, nor an upper limit. We believe in the Scottish Government that the UK should play its part in responding to crisis on the southern European coast. As for Scotland, the figure of 1,000 refugees that was mentioned by the First Minister on Friday 4 September was a response to how many refugees we should immediately be ready to accept. It should, in no way, be seen as a limit or an upper cap. I thought that let me be clear that whatever figure the UK Government proposes, we in Scotland will take and are prepared to take a proportionate share. We understand that the UK Government wishes only to take people living in refugee camps surrounding Syria. However, we believe that the scheme must extend to including those in Europe, so that the UK can play its part in tackling the problem immediately on our doorstep. The Scottish Government has repeatedly called on the UK Government to play a part, a co-ordinated part, in the European approach to asylum. Following the First Minister's summit, Scotland's practical response to the crisis is being co-ordinated by an operational task force. I chair the second meeting of the task force this morning. The task force is urgently engaging with organisations across Scotland to establish capacity across a range of key services. That will ensure that refugees coming to Scotland will be able to integrate successfully. Local authorities are crucial to the successful integration of refugees into our communities. The task force has heard about the overwhelming and unprecedented response from local authorities, with the majority of councils indicating a willingness to accommodate refugees from the current crisis. I would like to pay tribute to their positive and generous response, which we will build on to ensure the appropriate support and integration services are put in place. The task force is also examining how Scotland can harness the enormous goodwill and offers of help from members of the public. Humanitarian organisations, as well as the Scottish Government, have received a huge number of offers of practical help from individuals and groups across the country. The task force today launched an online hub to signpost members of the public to information about how they can donate, how they can register their willingness to help refugees in other ways such as befriending, teaching English as a second language, or integration support. That website is www.scotlandwelcomesrefugees.scot. I encourage every member to look it up and share it across their social media networks. As members will be aware, the Scottish Government has allocated an initial £1 million to support the work of the task force and the practical preparation of services and support across Scotland to deal with the arrival of refugees. Further support will be considered as the task force progresses its work. Of course, it should be recognised that Scotland has a long experience of welcoming refugees. We have a history of refugee resettlement. Over the past 20 years, refugees from Bosnia, from Kosovo, from the DRC have found a new home in Scotland through resettlement programmes and have been able to rebuild their lives here. Scotland also has well established—oh, yes, of course. I thank the minister for giving away. I visited the Scottish Refugee Council myself on Friday and met a number of refugee women in Glasgow. Their big request of the Government would be early support for language development, particularly English-speaking skills. I wonder if the minister could share with the chamber any specific support that the Scottish Government could offer in this regard. I think that I know the group of women that she met because I met them yesterday as well. Absolutely. We will look to see how we can support English as a second language and teaching English immediately. In fact, it is part of the vulnerable personal relocation schemes that some funding is secured specifically for teaching English, but English is a route into employment, education and, therefore, something that the task force will be examining. Scotland does have well established structures in place for integrating those who come here to seek asylum. Glasgow City Council, in particular, has enormous expertise in that through its role in asylum dispersal over the years, as well as participation in the Syrian VPR scheme. A number of other local authorities have experience in a number of other refugee resettlement schemes as well. Scotland also has a dedicated refugee integration strategy, New Scots integrating refugees in Scotland's communities, which is now nearly two years old. It is important that none of us kid ourselves. All members here have knocked enough doors in their lifetimes to know that there still exists plenty of negative attitudes towards refugees and those seeking asylum. We will have to work hand in glove with local communities and work on getting integration, which is a two-way process, getting it right from the very start. With our focus on Scotland's refugee resettlement here, we must not forget or lose sight of the millions of refugees who remain in camps around the world, as well as those who are going to mention it. Just before the minister moves on to those located elsewhere, I have written today to the First Minister, but perhaps the minister could answer that question. Those Scots who wish to open their homes to refugees who come to this country will require disclosure checks and, if so, will the resources be made available to Disclosure Scotland to ensure that there are no delays in the process? I am sure that the First Minister will reply, and the broader reply will be sent to him. The priority and the desire would be to ensure that refugees are resettled in social housing and housing associations. That would be the immediate priority and the task force for those who are resettled. With families, perhaps, unaccompanied children, they will be with people who already have disclosure checks such as registered foster parents. That is some of the things that are being examined. If there is a need for disclosure checks, that is something that we can explore as a task force. In regard to the international humanitarian needs for those in the camps, the Scottish Government has already allocated money towards the Disasters Emergency Committee in 2013, but there is no site of the end of the conflict in Syria. At this point, it is worth giving credit to the UK Government for the generous donations that it has made to Syria and overseas aid and to refugee camps in the surrounding area. It is guided by the operational task force of the Scottish Government to explore what more it can do. In conclusion, this is a global humanitarian crisis, which requires a global response. There are no easy solutions, but we all have responsibility as human beings to recognise the extent of the crisis and do something about it. Doing nothing is simply not an option. The overwhelming support that we have seen from across Scotland over the past two weeks, from the Scottish people, from local authorities and the third sector shows our willingness to help the most vulnerable in the world. To paraphrase President Juncker again, we have not forgotten that there is a reason that there are more McDonalds living in the United States than the entire population of Scotland. We as a nation have to step up and respond in a way that matches the scale of the crisis. I have the best job and it is best kept secret in Government. I get to sell Scotland right across the world. In that role, I am often asked what I want Scotland to be known for. It is quite simple. I do not want Scotland to be known as the wealthiest country in the world as nice as that may be. I do not want us to be known for our military might as important as our defences are. If there is one thing that I want our nation to be known for, then let it be for the most compassionate country in the world. So, when history judges us and history will judge us on how we responded to this humanitarian crisis, then our future generations will look back and say, when the world needed leadership, when it needed courage, when it needed compassion, then Scotland, all of us together, we stood at the front of the queue and did not cower away in the background. So I pledge once again that Scotland will leave no stone unturned. We will do everything we can to help refugees. We will not forget Elan Cudi and all the lost lives that he represents, and we will not walk on by. I now call on Claire Baker to speak and a move amendment number 14245.2. Ms Baker, 10 minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to start first by thanking the Scottish Government for bringing this debate this afternoon and for bringing forward a motion that hopefully we can all unite behind. From the outset, I confirm that we will be supporting the Government's motion. Today is another opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to speak with one voice on this crisis, and I hope that we do so. We have already seen many moving contributions in this chamber with regard to the refugee crisis, including the First Minister, Kezia Dugdale and Patricia Ferguson. The harrowing scenes that we have witnessed over the last few weeks and months have not been the beginning of the crisis, and I appreciate the opportunity that we had before recess to speak in Alec Rowley's member's debate on the Mediterranean crisis. However, those heartbreaking pictures of Alun Cardi were the beginning of public demand for action, forcing a welcome rethink from the UK Government on their position. The actions that they have taken to increase the number of refugees the UK will accept, create a new ministerial post and financially support refugee camps are all welcome, but it is not enough. Those measures are all highlighted in the motion from John Lamont, and I do recognise the Government's contribution, but I do have concerns about the choice of the word sustainable. We are in a crisis situation, and we need to make sure that we have a response that matches that. Even the pictures of Alun or the refugees marching down the motorway or of the refrigerated lorry at the side of the road failed to fully express the sheer scale of the crisis. A report published in June from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees stated that one in every 12 humans is now either a refugee seeking asylum or is internally displaced. 53 per cent of all refugees come from one of three countries, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Over four million Syrians have left their homes in search of safety, and a further six million have been internally displaced. That is the scale of this crisis. It is a crisis that has been with us for some time. I know that the Scottish Government has made representation to the UK Government calling for action. In Labour's manifesto for the general election, we made a direct commitment to ensure that Britain continues its proud history of providing refuge for those fleeing persecution by upholding our international obligations, including working with the UN to support vulnerable refugees from Syria. Evette Cooper deserves credit for her work at Westminster on the refugee crisis and in trying to change the position of the UK Government that has at times proved reluctant to take action beyond the aid packages that it has sent to the region. I am pleased that she is now going to head a Labour task force on refugees. I am pleased that the UK Government has finally promised to meet what I believe is our moral obligation to accommodate more refugees in Britain. However, 20,000 over the course of the UK Parliament, while welcome, is not enough. We need to do more the crisis as now. At this stage, we do not know if the number will be front-loaded as requested by humanitarian charities who understand the situation on the ground far better than any politician in the UK. The refugee council has stated that the programme needs to be front-loaded as the crisis is now and the expansion must happen as a matter of urgency as people are living in desperate situations in the region and cannot wait until 2020 to reach safety. It is also wrong that the Prime Minister has ruled out helping those who have already reached Europe but still need accommodation and our help. We have seen the struggles that are facing Greece and Italy, who are in an impossible situation, the negative reaction of other countries such as Hungary, with fences being erected to keep refugees out, and the contrast is with Germany, who have made a huge contribution to offering asylum, but they cannot do this alone. Our moral obligation must be extended to help those who have felt it appropriate to risk their lives in making the dangerous journey to Europe. The theory put forward by the UK Government that by only taking refugees from Syria and its neighbouring countries, that will stop people attempting to make the journey to Europe bears a remarkable resemblance to the theory that by stopping search and rescue in the Mediterranean, the boats would no longer come. That theory will again feel to match reality and people will still make that journey, many of them will tragically die. We must work to ensure that we have safe and legal routes from overseas and that we must ensure that those who make the journey over the Mediterranean are treated with humanity. That number currently includes some 3,000 unaccompanied children that is 3,000 children here without a mother or a father. There can be no argument, political or moral, that concludes that those children do not deserve our help simply because they made and survived the grueling life-threatening trip to Europe. History has shown that Britain has been ready and willing to act in the past and in the lead-up to the Second World War, 10,000 Jewish children arrived in this country. That was the right thing to do then. With 3,000 unaccompanied children in Europe now, it is the right thing to do again. That is a key campaign that Saves the Children is calling for and they have set out a five-point plan for government action. The brief from the Scottish Refugee Council also highlights that we need an appropriate response to the increasing numbers of vulnerable women and children who are fleeing. We also need clarity on what will happen to children who come here once they reach the age of 18. We must ensure that when history looks back at this point in time, it does not find Britain wanting. That has been a UK Government that has moved only under pressure. The increase in the number of refugees to 20,000 came not on the immediate aftermath of the pictures of Alan, but only when it became apparent that the picture on the front page of most newspapers was beginning to change the mood of the country. That, with pressure from the opposition, is what has caused the Government's U-turn. On the refugee crisis, the UK Government has been reacting rather than leading. The UK Government must reconsider its refusal to participate in the EU reallocation scheme, and it is important therefore that we as a Parliament should continue to apply pressure on this issue. As a joint letter sent in November by charities such as Oxfam and the Refugee Council said, while we applaud Britain's generous aid contribution to the crisis, it is clear that aid alone is not enough. Serious neighbours are struggling under the weight of this unprecedented crisis, and it is time that we stop asking of them what we are not prepared to do ourselves. The choice is open to us that should not be about either delivering aid or accommodating refugees. The response has to include both. The poignant images of public support from Glasgow and Edinburgh at the weekend and the minister talked about George Square alongside the number of local campaign groups that have sprung up across the country to support refugees is something that we as a country can be proud of. Following Labour's calls for Britain to take at least 10,000 refugees, I was pleased that the Scottish Government confirmed that they were willing to take 1,000 as their fair share, and confirmed that this was the starting point and not a cap. Now that the UK Government has confirmed that it will take 20,000, I welcome the Scottish Government's confirmation, not that I ever doubted it, but I do welcome the confirmation that it will continue to take its fair share, which would now be 2,000 refugees. Is the Scottish Government able to say, is there a way in which it can frontload the numbers that will come to Scotland so that we can give help most where it is needed? I also ask the minister if he has yet had any discussions with the UK Government and local authorities over increasing its initial calls for 1,000, and if the fair share of 2,000 will still not be considered a cap. Scotland has led the UK in our reaction to the refugee crisis, and we must continue to do more and I very much welcome the comments made by the minister in his speech today. I also ask the Scottish Government how discussions with councils have been progressing. Are they aware of how many refugees are able to settle in each area and what, if any, resources will be at their disposal, either from the Scottish or the UK Government? The Scottish Refugee Council emphasised the importance of a national co-ordinated response, allowing for the reduction of transitional costs and calling for a national reception centre. Can the minister respond to those points in closing? Settling on the number of refugees that we will welcome into Scotland is only the beginning. We must look long-term into how we integrate them into our society. Will the Scottish Government task force look into this important aspect of the crisis and will the Scottish Government consider publishing a plan on how they will achieve that? Organisations such as Fife Migrants Forum are well placed to support integration, but they need support for translators, for volunteers, they need the resources to do that and they need the financial support to them as soon as possible. As an amendment to the Government's motion highlights, there are already positive measures taking place. Glasgow University must be congratulated for the action that it has taken in supporting refugee students by offering fee waivers. It has also extended its talent sponsorship scheme and is accommodating to Syrian academics as PhD students. I do hope and encourage other universities, colleges and businesses to look at this example and think about how they can do the same. I hope that this can be achieved with support from the Scottish Government. Many refugees' studies have been disrupted, their jobs and their trades lost, their careers have been halted by this crisis, and that too is something that we can help to tackle. We must offer people sanctuary and when the time comes and if they wish to return to their home country, which many of them will wish to do, they can then be equipped with the same skills and talent that would benefit their economy, their culture and their country in the future. Let's not give refugees in Scotland just a home, let's give them hope for the future. This is an achievement that we should all be working towards. I move the amendment in my name. The whole country has been deeply moved by the on-going humanitarian crisis in Syria and North Africa. The heartbreaking coverage of desperate families and children trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe demonstrates the plight of thousands fleeing their homes because of violence.  Emotions are understandably running high. We are all distressed by what is happening, but we must use our heads as well as our hearts when deciding on the best, most effective response to this increasingly complex crisis. Britain has a long and proud record of assisting those in need, and this is a record that must continue. Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has been the second-largest Government provider of humanitarian assistance, and Britain is the only major country in the world that has kept the promise to spend 0.7 per cent of its GDP on aid. It is simply wrong to say that the UK has stood by and done nothing to help Syria in recent years. Over the last few months, the crew and HMS bill work have been working hard in the Mediterranean and have transported 6,700 people to safety. Britain is the second-largest bilateral donor of aid to the Syrian conflict. A further £100 million recently announced takes a total contribution to more than £1 billion, the UK's largest-ever response to our humanitarian crisis. Let's look at what this money represents. It has been used to provide over 18 million food rations, give 1.6 million people access to clean water and provide education for a quarter of a million children. Over half of that new funding will support children, with a particular priority on those who have been orphaned or separated from their families. No other European country has matched that level of support, and without the UK's aid to refugee camps, the numbers attempting the dangerous journey to Europe would undoubtedly be much higher. In the specific point of taking refugees, the UK is also acting. Sanctuary has already been provided to more than 5,000 Syrians in Britain, and a specific resettlement programme has been introduced alongside those already in place to help those Syrian refugees, particularly at risk. The Prime Minister has also announced that a further 20,000 refugees will be provided safety in the UK, and a new Government minister will be responsible for co-ordinating the policy's delivery. We have seen the Scottish Government, councils, boarding schools, churches and individuals come together to express their willingness to help. That reflects a wider generosity and care from families and communities across Scotland and across the United Kingdom. In my own area in the Scottish Borders, I am proud that residents are doing what they can to help too, including April Humble from Willysleaf, who has travelled to the island of costs to personally help refugees arriving there. I am fully aware that there has been disagreement between my party and others about the correct approach in this difficult crisis. I agree with much of what the member has said. He mentioned his constituent, who is travelling to the island of costs, and I have been moved by many who are travelling to the island of costs to Lesvos and other places. Does he agree that that demonstrates that there is a crisis going on in Europe? Will he be able to urge his colleagues in the UK Government to at least explore getting involved in European resettlement of refugees from Europe, just as his constituent is helping out those on the southern European coast? There is undoubtedly a crisis across Europe that is going to define how Europe moves forward, and Britain is playing its part in the European efforts to deal with this crisis. The Prime Minister said very clearly, as I am trying to do today, how we think how the Conservatives believe the best way to deal with that. The Germans set out their position, but we are already seeing today, in the past few hours, how their position has changed remarkably in light of the changing by a challenging position that is emerging in Europe. Some of the language that the minister has used has been unhelpful in the discussion of the past few days. It is unfair to accuse the UK Government of lacking compassion based purely on the number of people who are allowed to stay in the United Kingdom. As far as it is correct that the UK is taking in more refugees, that is only part of the solution to an increasingly difficult and desperate humanitarian crisis. More than 11 million people have been driven from their homes, flaying the terror of Assad and Islamic State. According to the UN, by the end of last year, more than 60 million people have been forcibly driven from their own homes. That is not a number of people which Scotland, which the United Kingdom, can hope to solve themselves in Syria or beyond. That is about meeting humanitarian responsibilities and doing all that we can to help those who are most in need. That is why it is absolutely right that we should be prioritising those in camps just outside Syria. Those who have already made that dangerous trip to the EU and to Europe are arguably in a relatively safe place already compared to the higher number of people who are left in refugee camps and who are displaced internally within Syria. By providing safety to those who are in Turkey, Jordan and the rest of that region, and by providing safe passage from there to the United Kingdom, we will stop more refugees getting on dangerous boats. That approach balances the need to give sanctuary to a greater number of people, while at the same time trying to dissuade vulnerable families from undertaking that dangerous journey across open seas. I accept that the UK Government should look closely at the number of people coming into this country that it is taking, but we must face the fact that simply taking more people in is not the solution to this crisis. In Syria, we need a comprehensive solution that deals with the people most responsible for the terrible scenes that we see. President Assad, the butchers in Islamic State and the criminal gangs that are running the terrible trade in people, we need a solution that helps stabilised countries with refugees that are coming from, and that should be a priority for Europe and America in the coming months. I move the amendment in my name. Many thanks. I turn to the open debate. I'm afraid we're very short for time. Speeches of a maximum of six minutes, and that may have to change later on in the debate. Sandra White, to be followed by Patricia Ferguson. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Sometimes and many times in this chamber, you wish you were not having to debate something, and this is certainly one of the times you wish you weren't when you see the images and you meet the people who are trying to survive from this horrific crisis. I thank the minister and the task force for answering the pleas of the many, many constituents and everyone's constituents basically throughout Scotland, not just in my area, for putting forward the task force a co-ordinated approach to this crisis, certainly by the launch of the website. It's a direct contact for everyone, and I think that that's absolutely fantastic and something that the groups have been asking for. Just one question that I would like to ask the minister in regards to the task force when people phone up the website. Will they be directed to loading bays where they can actually unload the things that they've gathered in? Collection points would be the word for it. Are they going to get help with transport to take goods to these sites? Just some of the questions I wanted to ask. Presiding Officer, as human beings, we have a moral duty to help those fleeing the global refugee crisis. 60 million people are displaced from their homes, half are women and girls, believe it or not. 30 per cent of the world's refugees are residing in Pakistan, Lebanon and Turkey, and yet the UK Government, as I've heard before, said that it will take 20,000 refugees from Syrian camps by 2025 years. As others have said here as well, that's just not good enough. It shouldn't only be those who are in the camps, it should be the terrible people who have risked their lives, not just their lives, their children's lives, their families' lives, fleeing the violence and persecution. Why would you try and do that if you weren't absolutely terrified for your life and why are they any less to save than the people who are already in the camps? I would ask, as the minister has already said to UK counterparts, you have to rethink this. You have to take people who are lying there in terrible, terrible suffrage when you look at Hungary, what's happening there as well. Imagine if it was any of us, or our relatives. As Michael Very once said, Scotland, we're all a land of mongrels. We've all got immigration in our past and we should be having a moral duty to ensure that we take as many people as possible from the terrible situation that they're in at the moment. I want to turn to the Conservative amendment, and I absolutely agree with what you say in regards to the last sentence when you mentioned notes that while taking a sustainable level of refugees is important, tackling the root causes of this crisis must be a priority for world leaders. I absolutely agree with this, but I do remind the chamber and the people outside as well that the west has a moral obligation and a responsibility to those people. You mentioned some of the dictators. Some of those dictators many years ago were friends of the west. You just have to look at what's happening in the Middle East. The west, the Governments here, have a responsibility to help those people, and absolutely we need to get to the root causes of it. We should be looking at the root causes as elected politicians as well as human beings and what's actually happened, but that will take a long time, unfortunately. At this moment in time, those people don't have that time, and we have to help them as best we can. We must ensure that when we look at the root causes and we get to the bottom of it, everyone's got their different ideas—I know what mines are—it might be different from others, we need to make sure that the people in the conflicts in the Middle East—this is basically when it's all happening, unfortunately—is resolved to the benefit of them, the benefit of the people, not to some Government and certainly not to the arms trade, which is something I feel very, very strongly about. I want to turn, Presiding Officer, to the Labour amendment. You mentioned the University of Glasgow. Absolutely, I was there today at the Freshers' Fair. They were there, and there's such a lot of good work there, and many people, Mary's Meals and others, who are helping during the refugee crisis. I do have to mention a couple of other groups from my constituents, and others have done as well. Margaret Woods campaign, Glasgow campaign for refugees, they leave to go to Lesbos on Thursday. With Margaret, it's Pinar, who is actually in Dengavall. There's a refugee. What is she doing now? Amal, one of the Glasgow girls, she's going over there also and a graduate of Glasgow university. Those people are going out there to help and obviously the Glasgow university support for the Syrian refugees, which in my understanding is that it was actually kick-started off by our own minister Fiona Hyslop mentioned a number of years ago. I also want to mention Alison Phipps, who has done loads and loads of work in GramNet to put forward the case for refugees, and all the ordinary groups and people throughout Scotland who are helping as much as they can from what happened in Glasgow at George Square, to people who are collecting, to people, as Hugh Henry or Andy mentioned, in regards to opening up their houses for them. A very good question. I actually raised there because people have asked me if that would have to be done. I think that it's a great debate, but we have to remember that we as human beings have a moral obligation to make sure that they live a peaceful and happy life, and it's not just bringing them here. It is looking at a long-term conflict, and we need to make sure that it's the people that get what they deserve, not the certain Governments. Thank you very much. Many thanks. I now call Patricia Ferguson to be followed by Willie Rennie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Since this issue was raised at First Minister's Questions two weeks ago, the UK Government has made a welcome change to its policy on accepting refugees from Syria. It did so because of mounting public opinion and a real anger in this country that our Government's response was so inadequate. That the number of refugees that the Tory Government has now promised to take has risen to 20,000 over five years is indeed welcome news. But what is still extremely disappointing is that the number is so low and that the Government has refused to offer resettlement to refugees already in Europe or to participate in the EU's proposed refugee resettlement and relocation schemes. I welcome the UK Government's financial support for aid in the region, but I fundamentally disagree with the Tory Government's approach to refugees. They say that they want to help those who are most vulnerable and that that is why they will now take 20,000 over five years from the region itself. But the point that this Government seems to miss is that to be Syrian is to be vulnerable today and that many of those who have made it to Europe are in and of themselves extremely vulnerable indeed. I want to return to the point of vulnerability later on. I do not intend to repeat the statistics that we have already heard. It adds nothing to the debate, but what I would say is that, as we have heard by the end of the year, the number of refugees from Syria is estimated to reach some 4.27 million, with Lebanon having the largest refugee population in the world, standing at 1.5 million in a country with a population of only 4.5 million. It is hard to imagine what my life must be like in Lebanon for Syrians or indeed for the native population. I heard reports that the weekend that UNICEF is actually running out of money to be able to support refugees in Lebanon, because not all of them are living in camps, some of them are living in shanty towns and elsewhere, and the money is just no longer there because of the scale of the problem. As we know, the politics of Lebanon itself are fairly fragile, so we must do more to support it and its neighbours who are on the front line in this situation, particularly if we want to avoid further humanitarian tragedies in the region. David Cameron, in my view, must give a lead and not allow his party's fear of the issue of immigration to colour his response to a humanitarian disaster. We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world and we cannot shirk our responsibility. I spoke earlier about the most vulnerable of refugees and the fact that the UK Government has said that it will accept 20,000 of those vulnerable people into our country. I now want to focus on a group of vulnerable people who will not be offered help by the UK Government and the children who have made their way alone to Europe. Approximately a quarter of those who are making that dangerous journey and seeking refuge in Europe so far this year are children. Unaccompanied children are at the greatest risk of all refugees and migrants. Many of them are already in Europe and are travelling alone without family support. They face particular dangers such as abuse and exploitation. Aid agencies are calling on the UK to recognise their particular plight and their particular vulnerability and to offer them, some of them at least, a home. That is a call that I would echo. Over a year ago, in a speech about Syria, I made the point that there was a very real danger that an entire generation of young Syrians might be deprived of an education. However, since then, the situation for those young people has worsened beyond our understanding. Those are the young people who now find themselves in Europe and often find themselves alone. We owe them the chance of a safe home, the opportunity to fulfil their potential, to realise their ambitions and to contribute to the success of our local communities and our country. If we need examples of how to integrate people into our society, you need to look no further, Minister, than the Maryhill integration network, which I know you are familiar with already. Their work is remarkable in this area. To their credit, most of Scotland's local authorities have offered help in this crisis, and Glasgow is no exception. My city has a proud record of assisting refugees and asylum seekers to settle and to make their homes amongst us. It was a privilege to be able to join so many of my fellow citizens at the vigil in George Square on Saturday. Our local authorities will need support to allow them to do the job as well as they can. Help to support our health and social services and our schools will be needed. For example, in Glasgow schools, 134 languages are spoken, and we must ensure that the support is in place to manage the practical difficulties that such challenges present. Support for and from the housing association movement will also be required, and I know that the Wheatley group has already offered help, which is welcome, but I am aware that Mr Dornan has been very closely involved in that issue and may want to speak in that later, so I will not dwell on it. John Lamont was absolutely right about something that he said in his speech. We can look back with pride in the way in which our country has welcomed refugees from around the world in times of crisis. We have to ask ourselves how future generations will judge us, because my fear is that they will judge us harshly. I very much hope that the UK Government will reverse its policy on accepting refugees to our country and ensure that that fine tradition, that good tradition of hospitality and openness is continued in the coming and future months. Thank you very much. If I could make a plea for members to keep to six minutes and therefore we may not have to cut the time of colleagues later. Willie Rennie, to be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. With this debate, we're sending a pretty powerful message, I think, not just to the UK Government, which has been a big focus of this debate, but also to the public and those who are seeking refuge, safety and freedom in this country. The message is that Scotland is ready and willing to take our share of people to support people in difficulties. People tell me that they are keen to contribute in any way that they can. I've had emails that I'm sure other members have had as well, from a variety of different people wanting to step up and help. The co-ordination of that will be quite a considerable job, because there are many contributions coming from right across society. Some of the responses that we've seen across Scotland have been truly extraordinary, but I think that the most extraordinary response has been from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who I think has really stepped up and accepted huge numbers of people, including those people who were stuck in Hungary. To see the German people in the train station in Germany applauding the refugees who were coming through made my heart skip. I thought that that was a tremendously uplifting experience just to watch it on the TV. I can't imagine what it would be like to be there, but it was certainly a lesson for us here and the UK Government that we need to step up and follow that compassion and humanity that the Germans have led on. Resettling 20,000 refugees is welcome, but, as others have said, it is simply insufficient, especially over the five years. When we heard the figure 20,000, I thought that that sounds significant, and then we heard the figure five years, and then that just dissipated in an instant. I hope that the UK Government will revise its plans and step up and do more, because certainly more does need to be done. In fact, the German plan, the Germans have taken more in a single weekend than the UK Government are planning to do over five years. I think that puts it in context. The UK Government has drawn a distinction between people who have remained in the camps and those who are making the potentially deadly journey to Europe. In fact, 2,500 men, women and children have drowned in the Mediterranean already this year. If making that perilous journey between your family's life in the hands of unscrupulous people traffickers isn't an indication of a dire need and desperation, then frankly, I don't know what it is. However, the existing plans offer them a little hope. Those refugees are instead simply greeted by barbed wire and new higher fences should they reach Calais. I know that my colleague Tim Farn was deeply affected by his visit to Calais earlier this summer. He was absolutely convinced at that point that the vast majority of those people were not migrants, not economic migrants but refugees, and should be treated as such. The risk is that we will offer refuge to those who are comparatively safe, well-housed and fed potentially in the camps and some of the camps, although the income in those camps is going down. However, we neglect those people's suffering elsewhere, and we have seen it whilst the holidaymakers are enjoying their holidays in some of these Greek islands side by side with refugees who are struggling just to get something to eat. I think that that should send us a pretty chilling message. I hope that the chamber will join me in urging the Home Secretary not to ignore those who are already travelling to Europe in search of safety. Do not unjustly punish someone for making the most difficult of decisions. We need to work with our European partners in responding to the biggest humanitarian crisis in the generation. Peace meal, unilateral action, is not the answer. The Conservative motion notes that tackling the root causes of the crisis must be a priority. The only sustainable solution in the medium to long term is to bring about the conditions required for people to wish to remain in Syria or the surrounding region. The UK Government intends to raid the international development budget to fund domestic resettlement efforts. If we believe in the first, if we believe that keeping people in the area in the region is the best thing to do, why are we cutting the international aid budget to fund some efforts over here? We should be boosting. I know that we have a great record on 0.7 per cent of GDP, but during this crisis we should be doing even more, not less, on the international field. The Prime Minister's response throughout this crisis has been confused. He cannot decide whether those travelling to Europe are economic migrants or refugees. He cannot decide whether to erect barriers or to embrace our humanitarian responsibilities. He cannot decide whether to work unilaterally or with our European partners. I urge the Prime Minister to choose compassion, to choose to embrace our moral, social and political obligations, to choose to be part of a co-ordinated international effort. We cannot wait until the war in Syria ends before we act for the people who need help here right now at this time. I urge the Prime Minister and I urge the Conservative benches to echo the words in this chamber today because we need their support to get through to the UK Government to actually see the sense of having that co-ordinated compassionate effort. That way, I think, we can make a real effort. Many thanks. I now call Stewart Stevenson to be followed by Neil Bibby. Presiding Officer, the origins of the catastrophe that faces us today lie with Governments, but the most effective response to what has happened has been with individuals. That has often been the case down the paths of history. In 1898, Emma O'Zola, a French literary giant, took on the power of his Government when injustice was done to someone in the army. His efforts were recognised by two consecutive nominations for the Nobel Prize for Literature, and he eventually overcame, but posthumously. We saw in 1968 that Jan Palak emolatied himself in Wensler Square in Prague, which was part of the Prague Spring. That eventually led to change in his country and indeed in the Soviet bloc. In 1989, in Tiananmen Square, we saw a single individual stand in front of the tanks. Those people did not do it for personal glory or for any reward from anyone else. To this day, we do not even know the name of the man who stood in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square. When we look at the Scottish response to the situation, we look at the response of the individuals in our community, which has been excellent, and throughout the United Kingdom and in countries across Europe. People have, historically, from our countries, been welcomed to other countries. It is now our turn to welcome those in their extremity to our shores and to our support. I very much welcome today the launch of the website www.scotlandwelcomesrefugees.scot. I see an excellent contribution from the Scottish Refugee Council on fundraising and how practical help might be given, and I hope that many people look at that. It is worth looking at our own situation in Europe. We are the home of colonising nations, benefiting enormously over hundreds of years from countries around the world. Now, in their extremity, it is our turn to help those who helped us to build the wealth that we depend on today. Of course, the whole thing is not just about money, although money is the most important thing that many of us will be able to contribute to it. In fact, it is hardly about money at all, because this is, as Sandra White said, a moral issue. No man, no woman, no child stands alone in the world, and the palm of our hands is the future of desperate people around the world there. Very lives depend on us. Physical threats drive people from countries, violence, lack of shelter, lack of food, lack of water. None of these are new, but the scale of the problem today is, alas, very different from what happened previously. In the late 30s, we supported Jewish children, in particular, out of the hands of the Nazis. Tens of thousands then ordered a magnitude greater now. Forty years ago, I visited a refugee camp in the west bank, and I remain moved by that just thinking about that visit. I know others in the chamber in this Parliament have visited refugees in many places around the world. It was only towards the very end of my father's life that I discovered that he had briefly worked with a Christian charity and was based in an office in Brussels getting Jewish children out of Germany in the late 1930s. Indeed, he told me that he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1938 in Cologne. My father, being my father, taught his way out, but today's refugees simply can't taught their way out of their extremity. They need our help. They need us to speak for them. The amendment from the Conservatives talks about underlying causes. Of course, they are not simple. They are very diverse, and there will be future challenges to our morality and our practicality. As the minister who took through the climate change bill in this Parliament, I return to that subject as something that will cause huge problems in future, as the climate changes and we benefit above all else people around the world will find themselves migrating on the back of that. We have seen in Europe many other examples in recent times Bosnia. One of my friends has just spent many months out in Bosnia working with people who were affected by the war. Let me remind us that the area that concerns Syria and adjacent areas is very important to our history and where we are today. Samaria, which is essentially part of Lebanon adjacent to Syria, was essentially where the origin of money came in, where the herdsman culture made a transition to agrarian culture and the need for money. Our number system comes in there. Much of the intellectual underpinnings of our society comes in there, and Damascus is the oldest continuously occupied city in the world. The Poles have come here in the 1940s and 1950s, but the Scots went to Poland in the 1830s. We do not demand action because it is easy to do. We demand action because it is incomparably more difficult for refugees if denied help. More than ever, it is for us to provide that help in the refugees' extremity. Our response to the current global refugee crisis that we face from this Parliament and the country should start from the principle that we should treat our fellow human beings the way we would wish to be treated ourselves in such a crisis. No-one set sail across a sea in an overcrowded rubber dinghy if they are not desperate, nor do they put their families' lives and their own in the hands of people traffickers if it was not their only hope.  Just last week, we saw in the news that people in Syria have been subjected to chemical attacks. The use of chemical weapons is truly shocking, and no wonder people are fleeing that and many other atrocities. Everyone has been shocked by the horrific scenes and deaths as millions of people from Syria and other countries seek refuge and thousands in Europe. However, the truth is that it should not have taken a refugee crisis in Europe and the public outrage at the death of Alain Curdie for the Prime Minister to take action. The humanitarian crisis requires to be dealt with with the utmost urgency. People need to access help and refuge as soon as possible. The commitment by the Prime Minister to take 20,000 refugees over a five-year period, and as Claire Baker has said, that is not enough. Particularly given the millions affected and that 20,000 equals the same population as the town of Renfrew spread throughout the whole of the UK. Clearly we need to take a long-term view, but if people need refuge and we are offering it, why do people have to wait five years for us to meet our commitments? I believe that we need to seek countries not just making commitments, but delivering on those commitments and delivering on them now. I am sure that some people will disagree, but to them I would say that 20,000 refugees might sound like a lot, but as the minister has already said, Germany has taken many more than that. As David Miliband said last week, the United Kingdom gave refuge to 75,000 people during the cost of a crisis. Britain Scotland's response to the cost of a crisis where our intervention was necessary demonstrates that we have led the world previously during such humanitarian crisis and we should do so again. In 1999, my mum was a social worker for Renfrewshire Council and met young children and their families from the cost of a crisis off the plane at Glasgow Airport. We should welcome refugees from Syria now in the same way that we welcome those from the cost of 16 years ago. I am sure that there are lessons that can be learned on how we did that successfully then. We need to show the way again. We all have a responsibility to offer refuge to those who need it, and all Governments in Europe also need to take their responsibility, and sadly that has not been the case. As has been said, the President of the European Commission, John Claude Juncker, has appealed for Europe to take 160,000 refugees this year. This proposal also needs to be put into perspective as that equals the population of Renfrewshire spread throughout the whole of Europe. We need to do more. We know that Germany has offered refuge to many people, but many countries have not. The scenes of refugees in Europe and EU countries fighting to get on trains, walking in their thousands down motorways are deeply disturbing. I want Scotland and the UK to offer refuge as we are doing, but there needs to be an effort here by all EU countries. The Hungarian Prime Minister denying the crisis and saying that its Germany's problem is not the sort of leadership that we need right now. But often in the worst of situations, we see the best in people. People right across the country have shown over recent days how willing we are to offer help to those that need it. It is critical now that we match our words with action. In my own region we have seen many caring and selfless people such as Jade O'Neill from Renfrew, who has set up a group called Renfrewshire Refugee Aid to collect and transport much-needed aid and supplies to people in camps in Calais. Yesterday, I joined a summit at St Myrn's Cathedral in Paisley, organised by Bishop John Keehan, where churches, charities and local councils and many MSPs, including Hugh Henry, came together to form the Renfrewshire refugee support group. At that meeting, there was a consensus that the council was best placed to co-ordinate the response at a local level and praised for the arrangements already in place. I trust that any responsibility for strategic and practical response will be devolved from the task force to the councils in partnership with other civic organisations, local charities and churches to organise the response. However, there was also a recognition that it will not be easy. I want to welcome the money and the funding that the Scottish Government has committed to giving to local authorities. Although the contribution to the work of councils in helping and settling in refugees, I know that they will need to add to it from their own resources. I know that the minister has said that he will keep that under review, and I very much welcome that, because the Scottish Government assistance would work out currently at around £1,000 per refugee and the Scottish Government's figures at £500 per refugee if we take our full share of the UK Government's target. I thank the member for taking the intervention. I recognise what he says, but it is important to note that the VPR scheme comes with money already allocated to local authorities. I am not one to often give credit to the Home Office on Fairness, but in credit to them, they have shown a flexibility and openness to engage with local authorities and the Scottish Government to say how much more local authorities need to integrate refugees. There is a willingness from all partners to ensure that financial package is suitable to those who are resettling refugees. I thank the minister for that, and I welcome what he said, because it is absolutely critical that we ensure that refugees have the right support, whether that be in education, social work and housing, as well as translation services. Closing, Presiding Officer, there is an energy, there is a purpose and a willingness to act from our communities and people here. We now need our councils, the Scottish Government, the UK Government and other EU Governments to work together and act, because people in other countries will see if there is a difference between what we are saying and what we are doing. Many thanks. Christina McKelvie to be followed by Ann McTaggart. Presiding Officer, the Statue of Liberty faces towards Europe, drawing in the immigrants from across the world who have made the USA what it is today.  Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. In the current case, what we find as politicians is the media hiding behind a term that is both incorrect and dishonest, migrants. The tens of thousands of people seeking refuge in Europe are not simple migrants, and it is that dishonesty, that hypocrisy that drives me to speak in this debate today, because I see that dishonesty and that hypocrisy in the UK Government. My friend Sandra White spoke about dictators. Maybe the Conservative party in the chamber in their summon up today will tell us how it helps any of these countries to have a huge arms fair in London today, with many of the regimes invited along at taxpayers' expense, hosted by the UK arms trade export unit, the largest arms fair in the world. Maybe they can explain that. If they can't, then that is just utter hypocrisy. Presiding Officer, the people seeking sanctuary from Syria, Afghanistan or other countries are not making a choice about where they might live and work. They simply know that they cannot go on where they are. In other words, those people are asylum seekers and refugees. They are not dumping all of their worldly goods, their homes, their familiar culture, their friends and surroundings because they want to leach off the UK benefits system. They are seeking sanctuary, and Europe has a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and respect the rights and human dignity of all people arriving at its borders. The rights guaranteed in the 1951 refugee convention are sacrosanct and all Governments must respect them. There were a few keen tories involved in setting that up, and maybe some of them should go back and look at their history. As colleagues have already said, the UK response of taking 20,000 Syrian refugees from camps by 2020 is welcome, but more must be done, especially on a Europe-wide basis. The Scottish Government's task force can help in the medium term, but right now we need action to manage these anguished and destitute people so that they can find proper care and protection. We cannot simply just stand by and hope that other countries will pick up the slack and step in. In a climate of reactionary, right-wing and extremist propaganda regarding refugees and immigration more widely, the need to make a humane and compassionate stand is all the more vital. At the weekend, we saw tens of thousands of people across the world attending vigils and seeking to help some of those people. Scottish families are coming forward with offers of spare rooms, support for food and food, showing a real empathy with those victims. They know that it is purely a matter of chance that they happen to be living somewhere rather more congenial than a lepo or homes. Thereby, for the grace of God, go I. Again, Presiding Officer, I emphasise that we must tackle this crisis already on the shores of Calais, Lampedusa and at the borders of Austria and Hungary. We cannot just say, while they are already in Europe, that they are not our problem. Yes, we need to look ahead to developing solutions that can tramle the greedy smugglers and the notorious gangs that take every remaining penny from people and load them on to dangerous dinghies and high seas. However, while we struggle to tackle those aspects on a united European basis, the UK cannot simply stand by and say that it is not our problem. This is everyone's problem. Families trekking across Europe cannot be sorted out by telling them that they should just stay where they are, where people are fleeing for their lives. Those in a more comfortable position have a moral and a human rights duty of care and protection. Many of those people are fleeing the very bombs and guns that we are selling in London today. Presiding Officer, there is also a rights gap issue in relation to unaccompanied children who have refugee or humanitarian protection status, but they have no right to family reunion, even from first-line relatives, whereas older adults do, as they should, despite it being practically often inaccessible. The very least the UK Government can and should do in respect of this gap in terms of the Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme, given that the accurate, proactively identifying who to admit is to amend its criteria and hence amend the immigration rules. That is to provide such unaccompanied children this right, contrary to not only the UNCRC but also the non-discrimination protection for age and equality act of 2010. Clear injustice, as well as nonsensical too, as families should, if in the best interests of the child, be together. It really needs to be filled starting with Syrian VPR and the immigration rules and, ideally, filled for all unaccompanied children with refugee status or humanitarian admission. I am immensely proud of what Scotland has done. I am immensely proud of the Glasgow campaign to welcome refugees, which I joined 15, 16 and 17 years ago now. I am proud of the spirit and the compassion that propels our people and our Government. 11 more children washed up in our shores this week. 11 more children just this week. We have to do something to prevent this, and we have to do it now. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on what has become Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, but I am sad that we all have to. So far in 2015, Save the Children estimated that more than 350,000 desperate people have made the journey across the Mediterranean Sea, and it is estimated that more than 2,700 people have died trying to reach Europe, with the majority of them drowning in the Mediterranean. Since January, in Italy alone, 7,600 children have arrived unaccompanied, without any parents or families at all, and for those children who do survive the treacherous journey, the terrifying ordeal is not over. Many have seen and experienced untold horrors during their journey, and the physical impact of travelling is also clear as many suffer severe sunburns and blisters from their journey. Many children have lost their toenails from the huge distances that they have walked. The truth of the matter is that those children will be helped very little by the measures that are being introduced. Last Wednesday, we saw an almost unprecedented sight of seven different political parties in the House of Commons uniting together, with a clear and simple message that the UK must do more to aid the humanitarian crisis. The people of Scotland were quick to recognise that we must do more to help, and in response, I am certain that we in this Parliament are united in adopting a strong cross-party approach. Councils around Scotland are already working to resettle refugees, and we will be supporting the collection of aid for delivery to refugees, because they have said that they have had an overwhelming unprecedented response, from local authorities making their initial inquiries as to how they proceed. As we have heard by others, Glasgow City Council has already provided home to 55 Syrians who have fled the war in their home country and have agreed to take in more, outlining their belief that it is simply the right thing to do. I was delighted to see the success of Glasgow City's Syria event in George Square on Saturday, with drop-off points with food donations from members of the public and to hear the new leader, Council leader Frank McAfee, call for the Government to accept more refugees during his speech. As Claire Baker had mentioned earlier, Glasgow University has also announced a series of measures to support refugee students who have settled in the UK, including offering four fee waivers, one for each of the university colleges. Those fee waivers will be available to applicants who do not currently qualify for free education. As many members will be aware, a crowdfunding project has been set up by a Lanarkshire group to pay for a convoy of vans to carry vital supplies to migrants in Calais, and a team from Whishaw planned to take sleeping bags, blankets, clothing, food and toiletries to a refugee camp near the port town in northern France in October. We must keep this momentum going and ensure that this crisis is confronted full on with all the compassion, help and support that we can provide. However, the response from Scotland and the UK is not unique. From Austria to Spain, citizens are standing in solidarity with refugees and have even been at the front line to receive them and directly offer humanitarian aid. What is clear is that the scale of the crisis means that no single country can deal with it alone. We truly need a global response. A number of international development experts have spoken out about other wealthy economies around the world, in addition to Europe. They can also share some of the responsibility, such as Japan and Hong Kong. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has argued that Europe cannot respond to this crisis with a piecemeal or incremental approach. Instead, it has recommended that there should be a mass relocation programme with at least 200,000 places, which all European states take part in with an effective reception and registration mechanism that can receive, register and identify people who need help. As stated by the UNHCR, we are facing exceptional circumstances and we need an exceptional response. I believe that what is needed is a comprehensive global programme that can help those who have already made a deadly voyage to Europe and those who are internally displaced in their own countries. However, I also believe that we need to go much further than what has been proposed to date. Britain has a long history of welcoming people who are fleeing war and persecution. This time should be no different. Many thanks. I now call Christian Allard to be followed by Patrick Harvie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Let me state from the outset that, like all the members who contributed to the debate before me, Bar 1, I will say that we need to increase the amount of refugees. It's very, very important that we don't limit it at 20,000. 20,000 should be a start, a starting point, certainly not an ending after four or five years. I'm asking that we take another particular notice of the language surrounding the subject. I think Christina McKelvie talked about it from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I read the reason why word choice matters and not confusing the two words, migrants and refugees. First of all, I would like to thank John Lamont for not having used the M word today. I think that's very, very important and it's commendable that in this debate we don't use it. Because there is a difference, like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said. Yes, there is a difference and it does matter, he said. The two terms of distinct and different meanings and confusing them leads to problems for both populations. This confusion has a significant impact for the refugees at our borders asking for sanctuary. On the 9 of September, like the minister said, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has been very, very clear on the matter. In the State of the Union speech, he said that true European refugee and asylum policy requires solidarity to be permanently encod in our policy approach and our rules and this solidarity that speaks of, presenting officer, will be supported and enhanced by accuracy and clarity in our language. From the beginning of this refugee crisis, I have highlighted the importance of language used. I encourage the correct and appropriate use of language when discussing the situation in Calais, supporting situation in Calais. I have been working on, for months, on behalf of the Scottish fishing industry, defining interest and in order to bring safety for both groups, HEV drivers and refugees. How the media reported the situation in Calais, followed the shameful tone given by the UK Prime Minister. One member before Mr Stevenson talked about a French writer, Emily Zola. Emily Zola was a journalist as well and one article, most famous article was Jacuz. Today, I accuse the UK Prime Minister and the Tory government to not use the right language from the outset in this refugee crisis. In this refugee crisis started at our borders, it started in Calais and the response to it was not only the tone, but to erect a fence, the same fence that we see in Hungary today. And I have to go back to the time when that fence was celebrated not only by politicians, but by the media as well. And if we are blaming Hungary now for what we are doing, we should point the fingers at ourselves, at our own UK government, who are taking that decision in Calais. We talked about compassion. Nine people died in July this year trying to reach the UK. What is the UK government doing about it? There is a refugee camp in Calais. What is the UK government doing about it? I heard some people talking, we should send the army, we should send the ghercas. I would agree, we should send the ghercas and why not sending the French foreign religion as well and helping those refugees, having time for them, assess them and making sure that they find sanctuary in the UK or in France. Because it's very important that that tone is used and used properly when we talk about migrants and when we talk about refugees. Our First Minister's tone couldn't be different, more different and clear than the Prime Minister. When she said it's important we don't describe this as an immigration crisis because it's a refugee crisis. And the media does respond to the tone of politicians. I know Christina McKelvey called them dishonest and that dishonesty first has to be laid at the feet of politicians. Politicians are the first one who gives the tones and the media follow. So it's very, very important that we keep that tone going. On the BBC Newsnight poll that they published a week ago on the title, Migrant Crisis, when questioned by Positive Action about the confusion of the stems during an interview, BBC Scotland's Sarah Smith said that she did not believe the term migrants were used at all in the commission of this poll. This was incorrect. It was not accurate. The poll asked the participants for their views regarding the thousands of migrants that have recently crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. Words, joys, matters. It's very, very important that we keep that in this debate. Presenting your face in conclusion, interchanging the terms of migrants and refugees is not helping. For anyone still asking the question refugee or migrant, which is right, here's the answer from the people who know the one assessing refugees across the world, the UN Refugee Agency. Refugees are persons fleeing armed conflict or persecution. It is too dangerous for them to return home and they need sanctuary elsewhere. They are not migrant, Presiding Officer. I'm a migrant and I'm no refugees. Unless we remember where we all come from, because in Scotland's story we are all worth the same. Thanks so much. Very, very tight for time. No call on Patrick Harvey to be followed by Christine Graham. Up to six minutes, please. Thank you. I begin by offering my support for the Scottish Government's motion and for the Labour amendment as well today. My recognition for the tone of the Scottish Government's response to this entire issue is one that we should all be willing to support. It contrasts strongly with the many, many years of racist and xenophobic rhetoric that we've seen in much of the media in this country and in other European countries in relation to immigration as well as asylum. Let's remember that just at the last UK election, when the crisis of people drowning, crossing the Mediterranean had been already going on for years, even at that time, those people were being described in the national press in this country as cockroaches, something shameful. The rhetoric that we've seen from newspapers such as The Daily Mail just weeks before the photographs of that little body on the beach changed the emotional response of the country. Just weeks before The Daily Mail had been condemning the BBC for broadcasting an episode of songs of praise from the refugee camp at Calais. Sorry, as The Daily Mail described the squalid migrant ghetto at Calais. That kind of racist and xenophobic rhetoric is something that has been driven deep into this country and many other countries' cultural response to the issue. Much of it rests on the assumption or the argument that to have refugees come and to have to accommodate refugees is to bear a burden, and that this is a burden that we should bear grudgingly. Any one of us who can't close our eyes at the moment and imagine swapping places today with somebody making that hazardous journey, or with somebody who found themselves this morning on the wrong side of a razor wire fence, any one of us who isn't capable of closing our eyes and thinking of swapping places with somebody in that situation doesn't recognise what it means to bear a burden. It's those people who have to ask for help for refuge. It's those people who have to flee, whether from war, from persecution or from economic poverty. They're the ones who bear a burden. Those who are in a position to be able to offer that help, we are the privileged ones. We are not the ones who bear a burden. When I see a Prime Minister going to a country like Lebanon, which, as we've heard, already hosts well over a million refugees, something like a quarter of its population, and then to hear from the same political quarter the language that suggests that we must only accept a sustainable level, I find it hard to express my deep, deep discomfort and objection to that kind of language. The idea that a country of the wealth and the scale of the United Kingdom can see a level no more than 20,000 over five years as being sustainable, when a Prime Minister has direct experience in the last few days of a country like Lebanon and the situation that it's in, I find indefensible. Of course there has to be support in the region. Of course there has to be support for the other countries dealing with the situation on that scale. I understand as well the intention of those who talked about creating safe havens in the region, but exactly how safe will they be and what is the logistic, the resource and potentially even the military implication of creating safety in that situation? I find that insurmountable and none of it, even if it was achieved, none of it discharges from us the obligation to meet the immediate need which faces us. I want to talk as well about this difference between refugee and economic migration. Yes, they are legally distinct, but they are all human beings and whichever legal category a person is described as, their innate dignity deserves the same level of respect. Although the issues of the humanitarian crisis and the level of refugees and others coming to Europe at the moment is on a bigger scale than Europe has known for some considerable time, one thing is new, and the UN agencies acknowledge that. One thing is new, which is what they describe as mixed flows. Large numbers of people on the move at the same time with a range of different experiences are a range of different reasons why they may be travelling and from a range of different places. I expect that that is going to continue to be the case. I expect that that is going to be an increasing feature of these challenges across the world as time moves on. I think that a new settlement is going to be necessary. Certainly one that involves EU-wide co-ordination. Certainly one that involves the provision of safe routes of passage, but also one that recognises the mix of causes of displacement—war, persecution, exploitation, poverty and environmental destruction—and our contribution to all those causes. The contribution that wealthy, powerful, dare I even say it, oil-producing countries have made and will continue to make to all those causes, as well as the arms trade that has been mentioned by Christina McKelvie, which this country still manages to fuel and companies such as CELX and Edinburgh mentioned in a different context in the chamber last week with a track record of dealing with the Assad regime. We must take responsibility for all of those. Many thanks. Now, Colin, Christine Grahame, to be followed by Richard Simpson up to six minutes, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Migration is, of course, reserved, but thankfully compassion is not. I congratulate the Scottish Government and members across the chamber for their unequivocal support for the refugees. Sad, dispossessed people trudging across Europe after terrifying desperate journeys in seas and fragile inflatables. Their individuality is stripped away. It makes the electrician indistinguishable from the professor. It is a kind of bleak type of egalitarianism. It is sad but true that only we reinstate that individualism in the image of a small child washed up on a tourist beach as human flotsom that at last called into account as Europe and the UK Government for their inaction, and it is brought into stark question. Will that deep swell of emotion and shame last, is it being translated into action, which is what counts? Sadly, with exceptions such as Iceland, Germany and Scotland mentioned by others, Europe is literally retreating behind its national boundaries. Fences reminiscent of World War 2 camps, forbidding steel barricades draped with ragged barbed wire, through which even the most desperate wire cutters cannot tackle. While I support the amendments, again like others, I cannot let the Conservative Government off at Westminster, not completely off the hook. It took far too long and is now too little promise, but it is something. It must be more than the vulnerable person's relocation scheme, which has taken only 216 Syrians since early last year.  At the same time, the Cameron Government is actually considering bombing in Syria. More bombs, more people displaced and dispossessed, people whom we now know, have already been enduring chemical weapons. I am sure that the majority of Scots support this Parliament, but I want to call to account those who do not. To some extent, we have Patrick Harvie referred it through some of the newspapers that stirred up venom for the refugees. I recently wrote in the Edinburgh evening news about the distinction between the shock and distaste of the public at the shooting of a protected lion, Cecil, to the attitude to refugees to be shown compassion when they are in the water, but to be labelled migrants and to be a problem once they were on dry land. As everyone else has said in here, including Christian Allard, language is absolutely everything. Here are two unwelcome comments that I received, and I will spare the blushes of the people who sent them to me. Those are genuine quotes. I could not care less about the rabble migrants. Most decent, honest people, there are some of us left, obviously not MPs or MSPs, do not want them in Europe. Send them back or let them perish at sea, it is their own fault anyway. People quite rightly came more about Cecil. That does represent a lone voice, but there are voices like that in Scotland, and we must not ignore the fact that they are there. Here is another. I am writing to you to express my disappointment and anger at today's announcement by the First Minister to volunteer Scotland for a minimum of 1,000 asylum seekers. I find it extraordinary that the Scottish Government is finding itself so busy taking the short-term moral high ground and ignoring both the short and long-term implications of opening the doors to what no doubt will be thousands of immigrants who know nothing of Scotland's traditions and history are unlikely to integrate and will never return to their homeland. Will she accept that, horrific as those comments are, that there is a tiny number among a huge amount of outpouring of support? The point that I am making is that we must tackle those people as well. We must challenge those views that have been brought into question since one child drowned and was washed up as many other children have. It took that for some of the tabloids to be shame-faced, but stirring up that in some of the tabloids is reflected in the views of some people who are right, and of course they are in the minority. However, I thought that it was important to put that voice in here because not everybody is kind and humane in Scotland, but the vast majority are. However, I hope that those individuals are listening because they are lucky that I am not naming them. I was so disgusted at their comments, but I do hope that they are listening, and anybody else who takes those views is listening and should be ashamed to even think that way. Ordinary people across Scotland are taking action. Across all our constituencies and mining, the borders have been loading, collecting clothes, shoes—very important, people have worn out their shoes, shoes and toys for the children. Those are the actions of the vast majority of the Scottish people. Those are the actions that speak louder than words. Those are the majority voices of Scotland. Not those few, but I wanted them to have their voice heard in here and challenged. The scale of the crisis is now clear. The desperation of those moving to and through Europe is daily on our screens. The futile and punitive response of many governments is a blot on our collective consciousness. The abject failure of the European Union to even agree and develop a rational strategy is an indictment on our political institutions. According to a recent Al Jazeera English article, so far this year nearly 340,000 people have crossed Europe's borders. Certainly a large number, but this only represents 0.045 per cent of Europe's total population of 740 million. The problems faced by Syria's neighbours are much greater, and others are referred to that in terms of the numbers, which are huge. Even Saudi Arabia, which has been criticised, has accepted 2.5 million Syrian refugees. An interesting lane response to Patricia Ferguson has now entered 100,000 into their public school education system. Our response reminds me of our previous patchy response to Jewish immigration. We have heard about the kind of transport in recent years and how wonderful that was in recent days when we took some 10,000 children. However, we failed to recognise the programme that condemned 6 million Jews, gypsy travellers, homosexuals and others to death. I have a relative by marriage, who, along with his brother, fled to Canada, but much of his extended family died in the camps. I remember in primary school hearing testimony about the ship with 900 Jews being turned back because they did not have the right paperwork. Colleagues, we are hearing that again today. Back then, our government only responded to public pressure. They did not take a principle stand. Is it really much difference to now? Money, money, money, very valuable, very helpful, but money is not enough. I want to spend in the short time that I have, the rest of this speech, on health issues. The WHO has reported in the recent regional refugee and resilience plan the 3RP, which is the current framework aiming to address the fundamental needs of Syrian refugees residing in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The plan places emphasis on not only refugees but on the host communities and the effects on them and the sustainability of response activities. To date, the United Nations agencies and NGOs have received only 23 per cent of the $4.5 billion that is required for those operations. The protracted nature of the crisis now in its fifth year has seen funding actually diminish despite the unflanging need, which has diverted to other international disasters. The health sector continues to struggle in particular. There is a funding gap of 83 per cent, and the assistance is really severely hampered in availability for refugees in the host communities. The health challenges in Syria are huge. Vaccination coverage has decreased drastically from 99 per cent in 2010 to 62 per cent in 2014. Water supplies dropped to half pre-war levels, and at the same time, unhealthy and overcrowded living conditions for displaced persons have led to an increase in hitherto uncommon communicable diseases such as hepatitis A, typhoid and brucellosis. Polio and measles have become a major concern. Leishmanosis, previously confined to northern Israel, has now spread to Lebanon and Jordan. Last week, 11 laboratory-confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infections were confirmed in Jordan for the first time since 26 August. Five of those 11 patients have already died. I want to use a quote from an MSF doctor. There are too many patients and too many stories, but one patient shows the madness of this crisis, a child whom I will never forget until I die. He would injure his all over his face, arms and legs, and yet he was laughing, just laughing and laughing. Children are usually afraid of our injections and needles, but he was not. He just laughed and laughed at everything. Our health professionals involved are the bravest of our health professionals. Five medicines on frontier staff were abducted in 2014, although they were subsequently released. MSF operates 100 clinics, health posts and field hospitals. The WHO, in its 30 or later report, said that there have been 242 attacks against healthcare facilities, 615 attacks against healthcare workers, 172 deaths, and these attacks have increased. I finished by saying this, Presiding Officer. Kezia Dugdale, today, has asked the Scottish Government to work with the five medical schools, the Scottish Academy of Medical Colleges, the BMA and GMC to bring over and support Syrian medical students identified through the UNHCR whose studies have been interrupted. In our amendment, we congratulate Glasgow University for the initiative. There are two other groups that we should focus on. Nurses whose training have been interrupted, junior doctors whose training is needed in trauma, both physical and psychological, communical diseases, as I have mentioned, rehabilitation and restorative surgery. I hope that the Government will allow me to be involved in helping to coordinate a response involving the colleges, the BMA, the GMC and the nursing unions. I have also finally raised the issues of very much. That is excellent. We must stop now, Dr Simpson. I now call on Roderick Campbell to be followed by John Mason. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. It cannot have escaped anyone's attention that, in Europe, we are experiencing the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, where this in mind had high hopes of last week's Commons Opposition Day debate, led by the SNP's Angus Robertson, during which he called for the Prime Minister to think the unimaginable by urging him to accept many more Syrian refugees, including those who are already present in Europe. Unfortunately, an SNP parliamentary motion, which called for the UK Government to publish a report detailing what more it could do to alleviate the plight of Syrian refugees, was defeated by 311 votes to 259, despite having cross-party support. I welcome, though, the UK contribution to refugee camps in countries that are joining Syria is that it cannot be the end of the matter. I welcome, though, the UK's record in reaching 0.7 in its international aid target is that it cannot be a case of either war, of either aid or refugees. A small country like Denmark manages to achieve its obligation to both, nor does it mean that, in any way, we should seek to encourage people smug. The Scottish Government has been clear that it will do its part. I welcome the Scottish Government's announcement of a humanitarian task force and the willingness of Scottish ministers to help and offer sanctuary to those in crisis. Such a response has been led by the First Minister, who has joined with public figures, such as the Finnish Prime Minister and Bob Geldoff, who have each stated that they would warmly accept refugees into their homes. In communities throughout Scotland, there have been overwhelming messages of support for Syrian and other refugees. I believe that the strength of positive feeling towards such refugees defines Scotland as a country—friendly, welcoming and accepting of those who are from different backgrounds. Let us be clear who we are speaking of when we employ the term refugee. Refugees are human beings first and foremost. They are usually desperate people who have been forced to leave their homes to escape persecution and civil war. They are not economic migrants or migrants, as some have suggested. The figures for refugee populations by their country or territory of origin provided by the World Bank indicate that the number of Syrian refugees is rising at an alarming rate. The UNHCR has stated that at least 1.66 million people submitted applications for asylum in 2014—the highest level ever recorded. That figure is set to rise, but it is important to note that, as daunting as these figures may appear, we must not shirk from our responsibility to help our fellow human beings. Indeed, in his first annual State of the Union address in the European Parliament, John Claude Juncker acknowledged that numbers were frightening for some, but he declared, quote, now is not the time for fright. This is time for bold concerted action. It is a matter of humanity and dignity for Europe. It is a matter for historical fairness. And it is simply not an issue, as some people argue, just for the Schengen countries. Presiding Officer, less than two weeks ago, I asked the First Minister if she agreed that Fortress Britannia is the very opposite of what is required to manage the refugee crisis, and I argued that what is needed is a pan-European approach. I continue to think that such an approach is needed, which is why I am so concerned by the actions taken yesterday by Hungary to close its borders. And then this morning, we wrote to the news that the first refugees have been arrested for attempting to cross into Hungary from Serbia overnight. Hungary's actions are part of a worrying trend by some, but not all countries in Europe, to pass the buck instead of seeking to work collectively shoulder to shoulder with their European neighbours. Here, although the UK government has taken a first step by announcing that it will set up to 20,000 refugees over the next five years, I believe that it can do much more. At a time when we have seen Germany committing to taking on as many as 800,000 refugees, 13,000 in one weekend arriving in Munich, if Germany can do it, then a state as wealthy as the UK can and should do more. Although I accept that the UK has granted asylum to 5,000 Syrians in 2011, the figure of up to 20,000 over the next five years to me seems somewhat insignificant. And of course, we have Theresa May announcing that the UK government would opt out of the EU's quota plan to relocate 160,000 refugees. Well, fortress Britannia indeed. However, despite the reluctance on the part of the UK government, praise must go to the efforts of many charities across Scotland and the UK. Save the Children has launched the emergency child refugee crisis appeal to fund support programmes to help families, including young children, who have been forced to flee their homes in Syria and other countries across the Middle East and Africa. In the first 24 hours, the appeal raised over 500,000. The money raised will go towards supporting the various relief programmes extending as far as Syria itself. This response not only confirms the dedication of charitable organisations, but also that of the public who are contributing. And the petition calling for the UK government to take more refugees has raised over 400,000 signatures already. Vigils such as those held in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the past weekend truly underline the solidarity of people in Scotland and indeed elsewhere. Presiding Officer, in my view, the overwhelmingly positive attitude shown by the people of Scotland must be matched by a commitment by the UK Government to do more. The UK Government needs to lead by example to build on its rich history of accepting refugees. Presiding Officer, in conclusion, it is only by coming together across Europe that we can alleviate the plight of the refugees and find long-term solutions to this crisis. Many thanks. Myr Collin John Mason, to be followed by Hugh Henry up to five minutes, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. There clearly is a human response to this tragedy and others have spoken very movingly from all sides of the house on that this afternoon. As human beings, we have a responsibility for our neighbours, be they in the next street or in the next continent. However, I think that there are a range of other reasons why we should welcome refugees as well, and I would like to focus on some of those this afternoon, perhaps partly in answer to Christine Grahame's constituent's correspondence. For one, Scotland is a land with a lot of empty space. We cleared people out of the highlands over a long period of time and the abandoned ruins of their homes are still to be seen. We have never really recovered from that and the empty space is still there. Again, one of the problems in recent decades for Scotland has been the failure to grow the population. I know that Jack McConnell recognised that and I think that successive Governments have done so as well. It is very hard to grow our economy if the population is not growing. So, if we are seeing an opportunity to get numbers of especially young people who are keen to work, then that could be a great opportunity for Scotland. My understanding is that often it is the better educated who are coming able to come here to Europe as refugees. That gives us the opportunity of gaining a young, educated and enthusiastic workforce. I have been looking at some of the figures in this area and I have found some very interesting facts. Countries with higher net immigration—I do not accept that either migration or immigration are always negative words to echo Patrick Harvie—have seen a relieving of pressure on the Government debt due to the fact that most migrants are of working age, pay tax and the country's debt falls, according to a report called Fiscal Impact of Immigration. In fact, for the UK, non-EU migrants have made a net fiscal contribution, which was reckoned to be £5 billion for the years 2000 to 2011, according to research by the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration at the University College of London. The research also noted that immigrants who have arrived since 2000 are 43 per cent less likely to claim benefits than UK citizens are. Over the period 95 to 2011, a immigrant who lived in the UK provided the UK labour market with human capital that would have cost £49 billion if it had been produced through the UK education system. On top of that, immigrants have contributed £82 billion to fixed public goods, i.e. goods that have a constant amount of funding, like defence, no matter the size of the population. On Bloomberg last Wednesday, Professor Christian Dustman, director of CREAM at UCL, said that it is very likely that we are seeing well-trained young and skilled migrants who, if they enter the labour markets, will very likely make a contribution. He points out the barriers that are present such as language, but notes that those are challenging but estimates that the cost of those programmes of dealing with that is insignificant in the scale of national budgets and the potential gains are substantial. Most importantly, he sees this crisis as an economic opportunity, not an economic burden. My basic argument here is not only do we have a duty, and we do, to help with a clear humanitarian need, but it is also good for Scotland to see a wide range of new folk coming here. Apart from anything else, Scots have left our shores over the centuries and moved to many other countries, hopefully bringing benefit to Canada, Australia, Malawi and elsewhere. It seems only fair that now it is our turn to receive people here. Our people have been welcomed overseas when they needed a home. Now it is our turn to welcome people to Scotland. I say too that I am not just arguing that Scotland benefits economically, culturally and in many other ways we benefit. Our schools do better because we have youngsters from an Africa and Asian background whose enthusiasm for education can hopefully rub off on young Scots. I hope that I have argued today that all of us in Scotland can benefit from the arrival of refugees and asylum seekers. It is about love for our neighbours, but it is not only about love for our neighbours. I am encouraged by the tone of today's debate. I exalt all the parties in Scotland to continue that positive tone, and I urge the UK Government to be a little less fearful and a little more welcoming. Thank you. Thanks very much. I now call on Hugh Henry to be followed by Kevin Stewart in five minutes. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It would take someone with a heart of stone not to be moved by the events that we have seen in Europe in recent months from the dead boy, Allian Curdie, being washed up on the shores in Turkey to the columns of desperate people marching along motorways and railway tracks in Europe to the desperate scenes in the refugee camp in Calais. I think that it will behoves us to turn our eyes away from that crisis irrespective of where it is, but it is sad that it has taken some of those recent events to provoke the kind of reaction that we are now seeing. I think that there is a challenge to each and every one of us. Neil Bibby mentioned the meeting that was organised yesterday in Paisley by Bishop John Keenan. There were representatives from local churches, including the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church, the Episcopalian Church. The four main political parties were represented. Charitable organisations such as St Vincent de Paul were there. What was happening was that we all spoke with one voice. We had put all our differences aside to say that we did want to do something locally in Renfrewshire. We thought that our Governments, both Scottish and UK, should do whatever they could and should do more to help. It was heartening to see local people wanting to do something to make a difference, but we should not underestimate the complexity of that. It is not just need-jerk simple reactions that are required. It is commendable, as Neil Bibby has said, what local people like Jado Neil are doing. I know that my colleague Mary Fee has also been helping to organise clothing and other goods to take to Calais. That needs to be done, but we are only helping a small number of people in doing that. It is commendable that we are offering to take in up to 20,000 refugees over five years, but that is but a fleabight of the problem that exists in Europe and beyond Europe today. We really need to do much more than that. The human reaction is to help that which we see put in front of us, but there is much more that needs to be done. Other speakers have mentioned about the root cause of those problems, the political decisions that are made by the west that we are now paying a high price for or more that those poor unfortunate people are paying a high price for. Yes, we need to help those in the refugee camps. Yes, we need to take more, but Europe, that the people who are arriving on our borders in Europe is only a tenth of the total number of people who have been displaced in the Middle East by those conflicts, so something does need to be done for those who are on the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and so on. We cannot ignore their plight, we cannot just respond to the people who are arriving in Europe, and we also should reflect on the fact that Lebanon, which is bearing such a heavy burden of refugees from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, has been burdened for many years by having to cope with the conflict in Palestine and many people who have been in those camps for generations, so that is not a new problem for them, although we may now just be responding to that. Something needs to be done to help those in those areas, nor should we forget particular groups who are very hard hit by those conflicts that are going on. We should remember what happened to the Yazidis and to the many of them who are still incarcerated by ISIS in some of their camps. We should not forget the beleaguered Christian community, some of the oldest Christian communities in the world, who are being persecuted not just for political reasons but for religious reasons. That is a multi-faceted problem. It does not just require a simple solution so that we solve our conscience in one or two days by sending something to people who are immediately in the press. There is a need for a long-term solution to that problem, and I am delighted that, in Renfrewshire, we are all saying that we are in this together to do what we can. Many thanks. Now, Colin. Kevin Stewart, five minutes, please, after which moved the closing speeches. Thank you, Presiding Officer. In response to the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting that was held yesterday, Amnesty International said, It is disappointing that again the UK Government has refused to take part in the immediate relocation of 160,000 refugees from Italy, Greece and Hungary as agreed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council. The response to this crisis must be co-ordinated across Europe. They have gone to say that we are further concerned by the Home Secretary's proposals for removal centres or safe camps in Africa, where refugees who cannot be returned to countries such as Eritrea would be sent. Given the huge underfunding of refugee camps currently, that leads to insecurity, unsanitary conditions and a lack of adequate food, water and shelter. It is clear that establishing new long-term refugee camps will suffer from exactly the same problems and further risks of human rights abuses, and some of those points have already been made by Mr Henry in his speech just now and by Dr Simpson roundabout the medical aspects of some folks having to live in refugee camps. Amnesty International is very critical of the UK Government and of the Home Secretary. The UK Government has obviously not risen to the challenge here, but the people of Scotland and elsewhere most definitely have in terms of some of the things that they have been doing to try and alleviate the difficulties that many thousands of refugees are facing. I would like to pay tribute to the Aberdeen refugee solidarity campaign, which has gathered up so many donations. It is quite unbelievable. It had the use of the Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts for a couple of days last weekend, and it had two full rooms of goods in no time at all. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were full of what people were actually doing. People felt like they needed to do something to help others. It is only a pity that some of the Governments in Europe, including the UK Government, are not reacting in the same manner as individuals in Aberdeen right across Scotland and elsewhere in the world. Those overwhelming responses are truly amazing to see. It has also been mentioned during the course of the debate, that we already have a number of Syrian refugee families here in Scotland, and it is particularly horrific for them to watch what is going on in the southern borders of Europe and also in the refugee camps surrounding Syria itself. Without going into too much detail, I have had correspondence from a Syrian who is currently living in Scotland, someone whose brother was kidnapped by ISIS and who currently has three female relatives in Turkey, vulnerable relatives in Turkey at this moment in time. He has said that he is absolutely desperate to get visas for those relatives to come and join him here. He says that I would be responsible for their accommodation and I would be responsible for their living costs. So no burden on the state, no need for anyone else to take folks in. This man wants to help his relatives as we all would under the circumstances that we are seeing across Europe and in the countries next to Syria at this moment in time. What I would do today is appeal to the Home Secretary to look at cases such as this, where people would be able to support their own relatives to come here and actually be flexible in terms of granting visas to those people. That would be one way of showing compassion and doing it quickly. We now move for closing speeches and I call on Jamie McGregor six minutes please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I am pleased to close today's debate which has been interesting and very timely about what we can all accept is one of the greatest challenges facing the international community for many decades and I also thank those organisations which have provided excellent briefings including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International. I agree with other members today who have rightly praised the many individuals, charities and local authorities in Scotland who are already working with Syrian refugees to alleviate suffering or stand ready to do so when they arrive in this country. This includes local authorities in my region of the Highlands and Islands who are making practical plans to assist refugees. We are a compassionate and tolerant nation and will, I have no doubt, make refugees welcome in our communities as we have done in the past. I readily acknowledge that many people in Scotland, as across the rest of the UK, have been deeply moved by the media coverage of the truly desperate plight of Syrian people fleeing from the terror of Assad and ISIL and the tragic deaths that have occurred as they have tried to reach northern Europe. There has been some criticism today of the UK Government's approach to the Syrian crisis so I want to put on record again some of the facts about the situation and the support the UK is providing as our amendment seeks to do. In terms of Syrian refugees, the UK has already provided sanctuary to more than 5,000 Syrians in Britain. The Prime Minister announced last week that the UK will accept 20,000 additional refugees over the course of the Parliament. These refugees will come from the camps in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, providing the refugees with a more direct and safe route to the United Kingdom, rather than risking what the Minister Hamza Yousef described himself as the desperate and dangerous journey to Europe, what the Amnesty calls the deadly central route, which has cost so many lives. We will use the established United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees process for identifying and resettling these refugees. In addition, the UK Government plans to expand the criteria used for the UK's existing Syrian vulnerable persons relocation scheme. This is to be welcomed, not just now, and will lead to an increase in the number of the most vulnerable refugees being granted refuge here, which many want to see. As is the Prime Minister's decision yesterday to appoint a new minister with the specific remit of looking after the interests of Syrian refugees coming to the UK. I also want to emphasise just how much the UK is contributing to the international aid effort in relation to the Syrian crisis, including to support so many of the nearly 4 million refugees currently living in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, and 8 million more displaced Syrians still living in Syria. Millions more Syrians who are yet to leave their homes are also suffering from the violence and they are also in need of assistance. That must never be forgotten. We are the world's second largest bilateral donor of aid to the Syrian conflict. As John Lamont says, we have provided more than 18 million food rations and given 1.6 million people access to clean water, we are providing education to a quarter of a million children and will increase this number. The UK Government announced a further 100 million in aid last week, taking our total contribution to over £1 billion. That is the UK's largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis and we should be proud of that. I'm proud of the fact that the UK is one of the only major countries in the world to honour its commitment to spend 0.7 of GDP on foreign aid. Now the Syrian refugee crisis is horrendous, heartbreaking, upsetting, all of us can agree with that, but reaction to this crisis must be a motion combined with rationality and I'll come back to that later. But the refugee crisis is a direct consequence of the political situation and violent civil war within Syria, therefore we should surely concur with the UK Government and the international community as well that we must adopt a comprehensive approach that tackles the causes of the problem as well as the consequences. The greatest contribution the UK can make is to work to end the conflict and altogether and we must continue to see a peaceful settlement that enables a political transition and an end to violence. Is that not really what we want to see? However hard that may be and however far away from that position we might be now, we must take a similar approach towards Libya and other states where political violence and turmoil is harming the people of these countries and driving the refugee crisis. Hugh Henry is right and I'm sure that no one in this parliament has a heart of stone. The images in the media are truly heart-rending especially the drowning of innocent children. I cannot even imagine the grief that those parents go through. But as I said before reaction to this crisis must be a motion combined with rationality. That means proper organisation on a massive scale and that is what serious politicians are expected to do and we have never been more needed than we are now. I certainly welcome the debate that we've had and the consensus that we've had in this chamber today around this issue. The minister mentioned negative attitudes and we acknowledge that there are differences in views and whilst it is a minority that could be described as Christine Graham described it that that's why we need to have this debate because we need to encourage discussion and debate across our whole country. So if there is any fear that's within the country in terms of the number of refugees coming into the country then we should have an open dialogue and discussion around that and remove the fear that is there. The image of a three-year-old boy lying dead on a beach in Turkey shocked the world and if there was anything good to come from the death of three-year-old Alan Curday his five-year-old brother and his mother then I hope and pray that it is that the world will act to help those fleeing persecution conflict, generalise violence and human rights violations. The fact is that the world is facing a global crisis on an unprecedented scale. 60 million people displaced around the world, around the country the Syria itself, 4 million refugees, 2 million of which is children and that's a point that we need to get across half the population, the refugee population in the world is children. Anne McTaggart when she spoke was right to say that we need a global response but sadly Willie Rennie was also right when he said that the UK Government and David Cameron seems confused on this issue and so as well as stepping up to the mark and ensuring that the whole of the UK plays its role in terms of welcoming refugees and ensuring that there is the right support and the resources and the infrastructure put in place to support those refugees we also as a country and as a united kingdom need to lead in terms of the rest of the world to ensure that we do face up to what is at the end of the day a global crisis that requires a global response. Now in terms of the debate that we've had in here today and I did well welcoming the the consensus and the views that we've been expressed I did wonder as a parliament and as a government in Scotland what is it we're going to do to try and ensure that the UK and the British Prime Minister steps up to the mark and I think you know we need to look at everything that we can do. Now the Scottish Refugee Council has set out clear recommendations for what they believe the UK Government need to do. They say that the UK Government should afford full refugee status to Syrians resettled in the UK through the Syrian vulnerable persons scheme and any other resettlement programmes grant full family reunion rights including to children resettled in the UK through the Syrian vulnerable persons scheme increase the number of refugee resettlements places in line with their European neighbours as part of the EU wide resettlement programme review refugee family reunion policies to allow family members to join relatives already in the UK open safe routes to the UK from overseas providing humanitarian visas to enable people to get to safety countries such as Austria Denmark Italy the Netherlands and Spain have already done this and if we look to the UK government the point out the UK government has actually made it more difficult for Syrians to come here legally by dramatically reducing the proportion of visas it grants to Syrian nationals since the conflict began in 2010 the UK approved 70% of visas for Syrian nationals in 2014 this dropped to 40% and that's why we have families women and children having to put their lives in the hands of people smugglers and risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean and in this year alone in this summer alone we've seen two and a half thousand men women and children die as a result of trying to cross the Mediterranean so we need to look at opening up the legal routes that can come into Europe over land and it's something that that in this place we need to push but we also need to push the UK government to do likewise also they go on to say we should suspend returns under the Dublin regulations so that no one is returned from the UK to another EU country for the purpose of deciding their asylum claim we should treat refugees arriving in the UK fairly and humanitarily ensuring that they can access the asylum process receiving a fair hearing on their claims that are adequately supported to live a dignified life and not detained and they go on to say if the scottish government that the scottish government should push the UK government to participate in collective EU responses to this crisis including by playing its role and taking responsibility for refugees in Europe and that's the point i think if this parliament agrees the motion that's put forward today the question we need to be asking ourselves is what are we going to do in terms of pushing the UK government we need to show that scotland has a stronger voice and being able to to do that i think it's all so important and i want to touch back on it because having this debate here today in the question of negative attitudes i certainly have written a few pieces over over the last few weeks and as well as people welcome in and send to me that i was right in what i was saying there are people who have approached me and said that they have concerns they have fears you know two weeks ago i heard the director of shelter scotland talk on the BBC radio about the crisis and housing that we have in scotland so for people who who are part of that crisis you can see the fear that they have that that housing crisis is going to get worse and that's why i would also say to the ministers today that yes we should welcome and we should be doing everything in our power to move to a thousand refugees to two thousand refugees and and as the point that john mason made earlier we have a vast vast area land in our country it's not like scotland is full up we should be doing that but we have to ensure that the investment comes in and that we are able to put the infrastructure in the basic needs like housing for example you know we already as politicians in here are arguing for a national housing programme to tackle the housing crisis for the people that currently love in scotland so we need that level of investment and that cannot be stressed enough but i would want to say that the comments that john mason made i would want to associate myself with absolutely because it's not just about the humanitarian crisis and it is right that we step up to that but we need to be pointing out the benefits that scotland can get from welcoming refugees into this country and john mason outlined them so in conclusion welcome this debate today let's encourage that debate and discussion across scotland but let's make sure that when we're welcoming people to this country and up in an increase in the numbers of people coming to this country that they will come in and be properly supported, properly resourced and have a roof over their head so we need to put the investment and that is a duty in this place the scotland's government and the UK government thank you many thanks i now call on the cabinet secretary alec neal to wind up the debate cabinet secretary you have until five o'clock thank you very much indeed today presenting officer i think this is one of the best debates the parliament's had and shows the parliament in a very good light can i say at the beginning that the government from the other side will be supporting the labour amendment and we will be voting for the Tory amendment although i do have to say the scottish government shares some of the concerns expressed from different parts of the chamber in relation to some of the wider aspects of the UK government's policy in particular there are two areas of special priority one is we do believe that 20 000 should be seen as a minimum number and not as a maximum number in terms of meeting our commitment to these people and can i say you know it's not the first time there's a conservative prime minister in very different circumstances has lived up to our moral and international responsibilities in 1972 when the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ejected every Asian from Uganda within hours prime minister Ted Heath agreed that the UK would take 28 000 of those refugees and we took them within a matter of weeks not within five years so there is a good lesson to be learned in terms of what Ted Heath did well in a minute and the second point of course which has been made very ably by Alec Rowley and others is that while we welcome the fact that we're doing what we can to help the people in the camps there is a wider issue of people in Italy in Greece in Hungary and we should be doing what we can to help these poor people because it's from that population where the drownings are taking place trying to get across the Mediterranean into these countries and we need to play our part and of course not only do we need to work with and pressurise the UK government to live up to its moral and international responsibilities but we also must make sure that the European Union lives up to its responsibilities because as has been said earlier in the debate the EU has been found wanting in many aspects of this area of policy. I'm grateful to the cabinet secretary for giving way and I'm pleased that he shares some of the objections which I and others voiced about the Conservative amendment but there is I think a feeling that there would be some desire for consensus in the interest of avoiding a division would he welcome as I would an intervention even at this late stage acknowledging the reasons at least acknowledging the reasons why some of us find the term a sustainable level of refugees uncomfortable and perhaps reflecting on whether it could have been better chosen wording. I certainly would allow for an intervention from the conservative benches if they so wish to explain that I don't know if they do I don't know if John Lamont wants to take the opportunity. The purpose of the amendment clearly was to try and find consensus so we could all agree sustainable simply reflects perhaps the point that Alex Rowley made in that there are concerns out there about housing and other issues and we're just trying to bring people together whilst at the same time acknowledging the concerns that do exist out there but it's not designed to be divisive in any way whatsoever but just trying to get across the point that needs to be done in a managed way not just here in Scotland not just here in Britain but across the entire union of the European countries. Thank you very much indeed I think it would be extremely helpful if the Parliament were able to unite in the vote tonight at five o'clock but obviously that's a decision for each group to take. Can I just say in terms of this negativity I agree with Alex Rowley that it is very much a minority of people who take this point of view but I don't think it can be ignored and our responsibility is to take on the negativity and explain to people why it is our duty to do what we're doing for the refugees from Syria and that this does not represent a major threat to people on the housing list or in any other way in terms of what they're looking for from the Scottish Government or from local authorities and indeed can I say that hopefully when we get into deeper discussions with the UK Government on the issue of resourcing the infrastructure and the other support to the refugees we will be in a position to point out that some additional resource has been made available so that we can do what we need to do and helpfully do even more than what we've already announced and these are the jobs that the task force has taken on and as a member of the task force can I say some of the other issues that have been raised in the debate will be and are being addressed by the task force and its two subgroups can I for example say to Sandra White who raised a very important point about collection points and the ability to organise ourselves and to get the information through the website that we are taking urgent action on that matter to try to make sure that people can mobilise support whether it's local authorities public agencies individuals local groups or charities or whatever it is very important that we do everything we possibly can to mobilise the maximum amount of support from the Scottish nation. Can I say, although this is an unprecedented number of refugees, I think it's very important to get this into context. We are talking, as somebody mentione