East Ayrshire is set to benefit from more than £6million of funding as part of a new UK Government cash pot aimed at replacing money previously provided through the European Union.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will provide £2.6 billion over the next three years to fund a range of projects across the UK, focussing on communities and space; supporting local business; and people and skills.

East Ayrshire will receive core UKSPF funding of £5.049 million, with a further £1.054m for Multiply - a programme which will support people with no or low level maths skills to return to work, offering free personal tutoring, digital training and flexible courses to improve confidence and numeracy skills.

The UKSPF is intended to replace cash previously available through the European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund.

While the funding allocation will delivered locally, it is proposed that a pan-Ayrshire approach will be applied to the delivery of the programme, reflecting the well-established partnership processes which have been developed across the three Ayrshire authorities.

The Ayrshire Regional Economic Joint Committee will ensure that plans for the three authorities are aligned to wider regional approaches in Ayrshire.

The total allocation for the Ayrshire Economic Partnership is £17.353m, with £2.997m of that going to the Multiply programme.

In order to access the funding, local authorities will be required to complete an investment plan, setting out how they intend to use and deliver the funding.

Councillor Douglas Reid, leader of East Ayrshire Council, said: “East Ayrshire benefitted extensively from European funding in the past, and with this funding source now drawing to a close, we welcome the opportunities this new funding stream can bring.

“I very much look forward to working with our colleagues in North and South Ayrshire to develop investment plans.”