Launched today [Thursday 8 January] by Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, the Local Growth Fund will help drive economic prosperity across Scotland.
The five regions’ allocations from the programme over the next three years (26/27 – 28/29) are:
- Glasgow City: £60.9 million
- Edinburgh & South East: £37.8 million
- Tay Cities: £19.5 million
- Ayrshire: £11.8 million
- Forth Valley Region: £9.8 million
The programme will fund regional projects which will drive economic growth. That might mean projects like infrastructure investment, business support, or skills development – projects which will make a real difference in terms of skilled jobs and people’s prosperity.
Secretary of State for Scotland Douglas Alexander said:
The UK Government is today backing regional economies across Scotland with £140 million of new investment.
This new investment will allow local leaders to decide how best to use the funding, which could include projects to improve infrastructure, business support or skills development. The UK Government will now work with local partners to develop investment plans tailored to each region.
By investing in local areas, reducing child poverty, and bringing down inflation, the UK Government is focused on delivering material change to people across the country – boosting living standards and improving public services.
Further information on the Local Growth Fund
The LGF programme is subject to full business case clearance by MHCLG and HMT, and further details on the delivery of the LGF, including investment themes will be set out later in Q1 of 2026.
The new Scottish LGF will provide targeted funding to boost economic growth and improve living standards by investing in the regions that contain the areas with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income (RDHI) per capita.
Funding has been allocated at regional level, via Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs), to enable strategic decision-making and maximum growth impact. Allocations have been allocated across the five eligible REPs in proportion to their population.
REPs are collaborations between local government, the private sector, education and skills providers, enterprise and skills agencies and the third sector to deliver economic prosperity across Scotland’s regions.
The detailed allocation methodology for the LGF is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-growth-fund-scotland-allocation-methodology from 07:00 on 08/01/2026
Further information on UK Government funding programmes:
The UK Government is investing more than £2 billion over 10 years in dozens of important local and regional projects the length and breadth of Scotland, bringing much-needed economic and community renewal. These include:
- £140m Local Growth Fund
- £280m Pride in Place Programme (Phase 2)
- £12m Pride in Place Impact Fund
- £40m Growth Mission Fund
- £200m support for ten Scottish towns (Pride in Place Phase 1)
- £320m for the Glasgow City Region and North East Scotland Investment Zones
- £52m for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and Forth Green Freeports
- £81m for Community Regeneration Partnerships in Dundee, Scottish Borders, Argyll & Bute, and Na h-Eileanan Siar
- £188m to complete Levelling Up Fund projects
- £76m in UK Shared Prosperity Fund transition funding for 2025/26
- £60m innovation funding for Glasgow City Region (across the Innovation Accelerator 2025/26 and new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund)
- £17.3m for Energy Transition Zone
- £5m for Community Ownership Fund projects
- £2.6m for V&A in Dundee
- £752m to deliver Scotland’s 12 City Region and Growth Deals over 2025/26 – 2034/35
Full List of REPs / LAs
23 LAs in REP With LGF location
| Ayrshire | 3 councils: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire |
| Edinburgh & South-East Scotland City Region | 6 councils: City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife (also in Tay), Midlothian, Scottish Borders (also in South of Scotland), West Lothian |
| Forth Valley | 3 councils: Stirling, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire |
| Glasgow City Region | 8 councils: Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire |
| Tay Cities | 4 – Angus, Dundee City, Fife (also in ESES) and Perth & Kinross |
9 LAs in REP Without LGF allocation
| Highland and Islands | 6 councils – Argyll and Bute,Highland, Moray, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands |
| North East | 2 councils – Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire |
| South of Scotland | 1 council – Dumfries & Galloway (Scottish Borders also part of South of Scotland, but is part of ESES which is receiving an allocation) |
Further information on local and regional funding
The UK Government has introduced a new, targeted and long-term approach comprising four new funds:
- Phase 2 of the Pride in Place Programme (PIPP) – up to £280m for Scotland announced 25 September with neighbourhoods confirmed on December 12th;
- the Pride in Place Impact Fund (PIPIF) – £12m for Scotland announced September 25th;
- the Growth Mission Fund (GMF) – £40m for Scotland announced at Autumn Budget 2025 (£20m each for Inchgreen and Kirkcaldy – subject to business case approval);
- and today’s new Local Growth Fund (LGF) – £140m for Scotland over the next three years (2026/27 – 2028/29).
