2 October 2015

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that the Scottish Government wants to help those vulnerable refugees arriving in Europe.

A few weeks ago she chaired a summit in Edinburgh on Scotland’s response to the unfolding humanitarian tragedy and announced an operational task force would be set up to examine capacity in a range of services in Scotland as well as an initial £1 million to support the taskforce. You can read more about that by clicking here.

She has since met Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in her office at the Scottish Parliament to discuss Scotland’s response to the issue.

Following the meeting it was announced the Scottish Government will provide £300,000 of humanitarian assistance to the many thousands of vulnerable refugees arriving on mainland Europe.

The funding will mainly divided between the British Red Cross and Mercy Corps charities who, with their partners, have significant humanitarian operations on the Greek islands where the emergency situation is severe. Donations will also go to two smaller Scottish based Charities, Glasgow the Caring City and Edinburgh Direct Aid which have sprung to action in order to deliver vital support.