Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much of the funding allocated to the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal remains to be spent.

The UK Government has committed £65 million to the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal. Across Scottish and UK Government investment into the deal, around 6% of Government funding has been drawn down by Deal partners so far.

The slow start to spending is a result of supply chain issues, inflationary and other pressures driven by external factors such as the Covid pandemic or cost increases of raw material.

To boost delivery progress, the UK and Scottish Government approved a reset of the Deal in March - confirming a more affordable and deliverable financial profile for projects.

As a result of this, drawdown will significantly accelerate this financial year.

All of this means the Borderlands Growth Deal is now well placed to deliver an additional 5,500 jobs and attract over 4 million new visitors to the region.