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: S4W-06205

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service ensures that everyone with a communication support need has the necessary information about (a) giving and (b) receiving blood.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is aware of its duties under the Equality Act and the Disability Discrimination Act and will, whenever and wherever reasonable, try to provide facilities for individuals whose first language is not English, or who have other difficulties in communicating. Potential donors with such difficulties are advised to seek advice from their local Blood Service Help Line before attending a donor session to ascertain whether their needs can be met.

To comply with the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, SNBTS must provide every donor with accurate educational materials, which are written in terms that can be understood by members of the general public. Every donor must complete a health and medical history questionnaire and undergo a personal interview with a health professional. Every donor must also provide written informed consent to proceed with the donation process, countersigned by the qualified health professional responsible for obtaining the health history.

A qualified health professional may assist a donor in the completion of the health and medical history questionnaire and in understanding the consent statement and any other information provided by SNBTS. To facilitate comprehension of the donor information leaflets, the health and medical history questionnaire and consent statements, SNBTS uses alternative formats, e.g. a language other than English, audio, computer, or Braille. Donors must be able to demonstrate clearly that they have understood this material. At present there is no standardised way of assessing comprehension, so this will be a personal judgement made by the qualified health professional.

As explained in the answer to S4W-06202 on 26 March, the UK Donor Selection Guidelines offer guidance on the use of interpreters. As noted in the answer to S4W-06200 on 26 March 2012, SNBTS is not responsible for the direct care of those receiving blood.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-06200

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what legal responsibility the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service has for (a) blood donors and (b) people receiving blood transfusions.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is governed by the provisions of the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, against which the service is inspected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The standards which are applied to protect the health of both donors and patients are laid out in the UK Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion Services.

SNBTS owes a clear duty of care directly to the donor in respect of, for example, all aspects of the donation process including: the provision of information on the basis of which the donor may choose to self exclude; confidentiality of donor information of a highly sensitive nature; care around the act of venepuncture, and counselling in the event of screen positive results.

SNBTS is responsible for ensuring that its processes and systems provide for a high standard of blood components to be supplied to NHS boards for use in treatment, as set out in the 2005 Regulations. Direct responsibility for that treatment rests, however, with the clinicians undertaking blood transfusions and their employing NHS boards.

Question reference: S4W-06207

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service ensures that deaf people have the necessary information about (a) giving and (b) receiving blood.

Question reference: S4W-06202

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service puts in place for (a) deaf blood donors who use British Sign Language, (b) deafblind people and (c) people with an acquired profound hearing loss.

As with donors with any type of disability, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) strives to make reasonable adjustments to its services based on individual needs. The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 state that the UK Blood Services have a responsibility to ensure that all donors must fully understand the donation process and give valid consent to the process and to the testing of their blood for diseases that may affect its suitability for use.

The UK Donor Selection Guidelines offer guidance on the use of interpreters which would include, for example, an interpreter of British Sign Language. It is permissible for any third party interpreter to act as an enabler by helping to reassure the donor and to assist in establishing effective communication between the donor and the qualified health professional. The third party must not, however, be present during any exchange of confidential information, unless they are not personally known to the donor and understand the requirements of the relevant part of the regulations. Confidential parts of the process include the evaluation of the health and medical history questionnaire, the medical interview and the obtaining of valid consent. Any third party, with the permission of the donor, may accompany the donor through other parts of the donation process that do not include the exchange of confidential information.

For those donors who are wholly or partially deaf, SNBTS conducts the interview in the most confidential way possible. SNBTS has a written protocol to explain the donation process and risks associated with giving blood. SNBTS can also provide assistance in completing the forms.

For those donors who are blind, the donor health check will be read to the person by the member of staff undertaking the donor screening, in the most confidential way possible. An audio version of the donor information leaflet is also available on CD and on the SNBTS website. This leaflet is also available in a Braille version.

Question reference: S4W-05971

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 26 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning plans to meet the Scottish Division of Educational Psychology (SDEP) to discuss SDEP's proposals to maintain training courses.

The Chair of the SDEP Executive and Training Committees wrote to me in November 2011 regarding the training of educational psychologists and I replied indicating that I fully recognise the importance of educational psychologists in the education system. In light of changes to align funding of postgraduate training with other postgraduate courses I also confirmed my support for continued work between Scottish Government officials, SDEP and others to ensure that there is a sustainable supply of educational psychologists in the future. I have no current plans to meet the Scottish Division of Educational Psychology to discuss SDEP’s proposal to maintain training courses.

Question reference: S4W-05558

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 February 2012
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will launch the bidding process for the proposed national football academy.

I was pleased to announce on 21 February that Stewart Regan, Chief Executive of the Scottish FA, had agreed to chair a Steering Group to oversee the delivery of the National Performance Centre. The first meeting of the Steering Group will be held on 14 March and the first order of business will be to develop a detailed workplan setting down the timescale including key milestones involved in ensuring that the Centre is delivered by 2016.

Question reference: S4O-00744

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 March 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to promote collective bargaining energy schemes as a means of tackling fuel poverty.

Question reference: S4O-00700

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with firefighters regarding their pensions.

Question reference: S4O-00677

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners have completed an alcohol-related course in the last year.

Question reference: S4O-00635

Asked by: Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 February 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the proposed single fire and rescue service has the capability to effectively coordinate emergency responses across Scotland at a local level.