FAQs
What happened at the Ministerial Launch?
On July 31st 2024, we hosted a Ministerial Launch with Equalities Minister, Kaukab Stewart MSP, at Cumnock Town Hall for the launch of the fund.
We brought together key local stakeholders who all participated in some really good discussions about what what depopulation means for us in East Ayrshire, and what we need to do about it.
Speaking at a launch event at Cumnock Town Hall, Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “East Ayrshire is a brilliant place to live, work and raise a family, but the working-age population is not evenly balanced across all parts of the local authority area.
“This strategy will set out ways to attract and retain the people needed for the local economy and public services – particularly in acutely affected places like Cumnock, New Cumnock, Ballochmyle and Doon Valley.
“Encouraging young people to stay and settle here will be an important part of this, and it has been great to hear how the Children & Young People’s Cabinet think the area could be made more attractive for them.
“This is all part of our Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, which sets out our steps to strengthen communities facing population decline across Scotland.”
What does this mean for East Ayrshire?
East Ayrshire Council has been awarded some of this funding to address the population issues emerging across the authority. Much like the Scottish picture, we have some areas of increasing population, mainly in the north of the authority, and other areas where the population has fallen over several years. Furthermore, we have an aging population - in some areas the population of those over the age of 65 has increased by 30-40% in the last ten years.
If you would like to find out more information around these statistics please visit the important links signposted or contact email Amy Fraser.
What is the Scottish Government Addressing Depopulation Fund?
The Scottish population is aging rapidly. There are now over one million people aged over 65. The number of people over 65 grew by 22.5 per cent between 2011 and 2022 – a much faster growth rate than the population overall. This is also reflected in East Ayrshire with similar increases projected in all Wards.
In February 2024, the Scottish Government launched the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan (ADAP). As a key commitment contained within the (ADAP), and as part of beginning to scale up this new programme of work, the Scottish Government has launched an Addressing Depopulation Fund alongside publication of the ADAP.
In line with the Verity House Agreement’s maxim of ‘local by default, national by agreement’, the Fund will initially provide three local authorities with funding of £60,000 each, in each of the financial years 2023/34 and 2024/5, to develop and trial new pathfinder interventions in rural and island areas which are experiencing depopulation, which may help address population attraction or retention challenges. This work intends to generate learning with regards to successful approaches that can be shared and delivered more broadly across Scotland.