Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-11871

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 06 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assurances it has received from the UK Government on current (a) EU consumer protection, (b) product safety and (c) market surveillance legislation being adopted into UK law after Brexit, in light of the impact on people in Scotland.

The intention of the UK Government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill (introduced to the House of Commons 13 July 2017) is to convert existing EU legislation into domestic law. While the Scottish Government accepts that preparations should be made for withdrawal from the EU, including preserving a functioning legal system, for the reasons set out in our Legislative Consent Memorandum (lodged on 12 September 2017: http://www.parliament.scot/S5ChamberOffice/SPLCM-S05-10-2017.pdf) we cannot recommend the Parliament consents to the Bill in its current form.

The Scottish Government is clear that it will not accept a position where consumers or businesses in Scotland have inferior rights and protections compared to those in other EU countries. The Scottish Government has set out why the best way of securing those rights and protections is for the UK to continue membership of the EU Single Market and Customs Union.

Question reference: S5O-01287

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes when drafting educational documentation, equality monitoring and learning tools to ensure that showpeople are considered.

Question reference: S5O-01198

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent commentary on GERS figures, what its position is on the recent GERS report and the robustness of the findings within it.

Question reference: S5W-10433

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported findings of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a routine inspection of Bio Products Laboratory premises, what action it is taking regarding any impact on patient safety in Scotland.

The Scottish Government have been working with the MHRA to establish any potential impact in Scotland on both patient safety and supply. The MHRA have confirmed that in light of all of the information currently available, their assessment is that no patients have been harmed and none put at any additional risk of harm.

At present, in terms of supply, the MHRA do not envisage any disruption. In Scotland a three month contingency stock of plasma products is held by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. The national oversight provided by the National Plasma Product Expert Advisory Group and this three month contingency stock would allow for smooth transition to alternative products in a controlled manner, which would not expose patients to any risk, should a supply issue occur.

Question reference: S5W-10431

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the quantity of Bio Products Laboratory products that are used in Scotland.

Fractionated plasma products derived from human plasma are a diverse group of prescription-only medicines used for both prophylaxis and treatment of a wide range of clinical conditions. The main groups of plasma products procured by NHS Scotland and under the oversight of the National Plasma Products Expert Advisory Group (NPPEAG) are:

Specialist immunoglobulins e.g. anti–D, anti-hepatitis B;
Volume expanders e.g. albumin;
Immunoglobulin products (intravenous and subcutaneous immunoglobulin); and
Coagulation Factors: four factor concentrate.

These products are procured through national contracts by NHS National Services Scotland, National Procurement on behalf of NHS Scotland Boards, and distributed directly to Boards through the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. The table below lists the quantity of Bio Products Laboratory products that were received in Scotland from August 2016 to July 2017.

Bio Products Laboratory Ltd (BPL) SNBTS Goods Received, Aug 16 - July 17

Brand	Description	Total Qty (units)
D-GAM	D-GAM 500IU IGG VIAL	10,700
HEP B	HEP B IGG FOR IM 500IU VIAL	700
RABIES	RABIES IG VIAL	97
SUBGAM	SUBGAM 1500MG VIAL	3,400
TETANUS	TETANUS 250IU IGG VIAL	1,500
VIGAM	VIGAM 10G	6
	VIGAM 5G / 100ML INFUSION	17
ZENALB	ZENALB 4.5% 500ML ALBUMIN VIAL	18,800
ZOSTER	ZOSTER IGG 250IU VIAL	1,000
Grand Total		36,220

Question reference: S5W-10432

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 15 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much of the Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) products that are used in Scotland are affected by the reported findings of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a routine inspection of BPL laboratories.

During a recent routine inspection of Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) plasma centres, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) inspectors identified poorly validated software which resulted in a concern that there may have been issues with the plasma collection processes. These issues were traced to a change in IT software.

The MHRA has informed the Scottish Government that there is no evidence to indicate that this incident has resulted in any increased risk to patient safety. They do not envisage any disruption to the supply and availability of BPL plasma products.

Question reference: S5W-10314

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the impact on Scotland, what information it has on how the UK Government inquiry into contaminated blood will be conducted, including whether it will be led by a panel and what protocols there are for coordinating the four UK nations, as provided for by section 27 of the Inquiries Act 2005, in the case of a statutory inquiry.

The UK Government is engaging with those affected and their representative bodies before taking a decision on what type of inquiry should be taken forward and what the inquiry's scope should be. It is not yet clear what arrangements will be used to coordinate input from the governments of the UK nations. The Scottish Government has made clear that we expect to be fully consulted from now on regarding plans for the inquiry.

Question reference: S5W-10313

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 8 August 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to clarify the position of the UK Government regarding Scottish input into the UK-wide inquiry into contaminated blood.

Following the announcement, the Scottish Government contacted the Department of Health to seek further information about the proposed inquiry. I then wrote to the Secretary of State for Health on 17 July to seek further clarification regarding the scope of the UK Inquiry and its implications for Scotland. I also had an initial telephone discussion on these matters with Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Minister for Mental Health and Care for England, on 19 July.

Question reference: S5W-10312

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 July 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 July 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what contact the UK Government made with it prior to announcing a UK-wide inquiry into contaminated blood.

Question reference: S5O-01175

Asked by: Richard Lyle, MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 June 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 June 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities last met North Lanarkshire Council and what was discussed.