Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress his Department has made on the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

The Scotland Office is working closely with local partners and the Scottish Government to deliver for the people of Ayrshire through the £251 million Ayrshire Growth Deal.

As part of this, my department is supporting a programme review of the Deal in order to make strategic changes to ensure the originally envisaged benefits of the Deal are realised.

This includes proposals from the Ayrshire Councils to develop the new Prestwick space and aerospace proposition. This is a normal part of the Deal process, to ensure the programme can respond to external challenges such as inflation whilst having the greatest possible impact.