Over 165,000 energy bill support payments have been made in East Ayrshire, according to UK Government statistics.

New figures highlighted the scale of the support provided in the three-month period between October and December last year.

The figures show that a total of 165,580 payments were delivered in East Ayrshire out of a total of 169,560 payments that were due to be delivered.

The UK Government figures also show that a total of 14,500 vouchers were redeemed out of the 20,180 that were issued to customers in East Ayrshire.

MSP Sharon Dowey has said that these figures will have brought some relief to the people of East Ayrshire.

Ms Dowey said: “I know that rising energy bills have caused anxiety in households up and down the country, and that’s why I welcome the support of the UK Government to address this.

“These figures confirm that there has been a major success rate in delivering payments during the winter months of last year in East Ayrshire as well as a huge uptake in the number of vouchers being used.

“The UK Government are on the consumer’s side in East Ayrshire and I hope that these payments will have given residents some relief. That said, if anyone has questions about receiving this support, they should contact my office and I will be more than happy to help.”