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As the Scottish Government is not required to hold information on operational matters related to Scottish Water, I again refer the member to the published data available on Scottish Water’s website at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/help-and-resources/document-hub/key-publications/urban-waters-improvements and https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Your-Home/Your-Waste-Water/Overflow-Spill-Data . Should the member wish further information on this data, he may wish to contact Scottish Water directly.

As environmental regulator, it is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to monitor, classify, protect and improve water quality at designated bathing waters. SEPA assesses the water quality of Peterhead (Lido) as “excellent” and further information is available on its website at https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/39944/peterhead-lido-bathing-water-profile.pdf .

I again refer the member to the answer to S6O-02060 for further information on wider measures to improve Scotland’s water environment. On 23 March 2023. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 23/03/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

I have met with a range of stakeholders in the energy industry since taking on this ministerial role. As the Scottish Ministerial Code states, information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published online three months in arrears from the end of that month. Therefore, at the time of writing the current list, which provides details of engagements up to the end of February 2023, is up to date. It is anticipated that a list of engagements undertaken in March 2023 will be published shortly, with engagements held in April and May subsequently issued in line with the Ministerial commitment as described above. Once published the information can be found at: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the price of energy generated by Torness nuclear power station. This information is of a commercial nature and shared only between the contract holders and the customer.

However, what is clear is that existing nuclear is expensive: under the current contract awarded by the UK Government to Hinkley Point C, the electricity that will be generated will be priced at £92.50 per megawatt hour (using 2012 prices). In contrast, wind is one of the cheapest forms of energy. Electricity being generated from offshore wind will be priced at £37.65 per megawatt hour.

In addition to this direct funding, nuclear developers have had the potential to profit from a Contract for Difference for 35 years for Hinkley Point C and will be able to use a Regulated Asset Base funding model that further reduces their financial risk for future projects. In contrast, other technologies with high capital expenditure costs, such as Pumped Hydro Storage, have not been able to utilise these market mechanisms to facilitate deployment. We continue to call on the UK Government to put in place a suitable market mechanism for Pumped Hydro Storage developments.

The Expert Reference Group (ERG) on Digital Assets was established to provide legal clarification on accommodation of digital assets within Scots private law. The ERG is currently drafting a response to the Law Commission for England and Wales’ (LCEW) Consultation Paper on Digital Assets. The response will take into account any areas of divergence between Scots law and English law but will also confirm those areas where alignment might be of benefit.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme would be a major part of our efforts to reduce littering. The Scottish Government does not consider that section 67 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 is relevant to any bottles or cans which have been littered and therefore no assessment has been made of its impact on the scheme.

As 7 June, over 670 producers responsible for more than 2 billion drinks containers, representing 95% of products sold in Scotland had registered with Circularity Scotland.

This represented the full range of drink producers from global brands to small craft breweries and distilleries.

The Scottish Government position on nuclear power is clear – we do not support the construction of new nuclear power stations in Scotland. As set out in our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, significant growth in renewables, storage, hydrogen and carbon capture provide the best pathway to net zero by 2045 and will deliver a climate friendly energy system that delivers affordable, resilient and clean energy supplies for Scotland's households, business and communities.

Member states of the EU have a wide range of views on the use of nuclear energy, and we are aware that policy is evolving across member states. In April, Germany shut down the last of its three nuclear power plants, joining other member states which have no nuclear power stations and remain opposed to nuclear power, including Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and Portugal. Several other member states, including Spain, have plans to phase out nuclear power. In contrast, Finland has recently constructed the first new nuclear reactor in Europe in 16 years.

Across the four quarters of 2022 the average capacity factors of onshore and offshore wind were as follows:

1. Onshore wind: 28.2%

2. Offshore wind: 36.0%

For reference this information is published on the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero website, in Energy trends 6.1: Renewables - Energy Trends: UK renewables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

The Contracts for Difference scheme is a UK Government mechanism.

Information about all Contracts for Difference strike prices is available in the public domain here: Contracts for Difference - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

According to The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), the average lifetime capacity factor for Torness Nuclear Power Station was around 75% for Unit 1, and 74% for Unit 2 in 2022.