This update is part of a regular series of rundowns of policy developments and reports on our work in Scotland, by CLES Senior Researcher and Scotland lead, Naomi Mason.

Building on the Bill

It isn’t often that economic development is exciting – or at least that’s what my friends tell me when I talk about my job. But, for those in the community wealth building space, the long awaited Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill has been hotly anticipated. So, when it was released last week, it felt like a pivotal moment. Whatever else may be said, this legislation remains the first of its kind in the world – certainly something to be celebrated.

But let’s be honest here, the Bill was never going to fulfil the hopes and dreams of all who responded to the consultation back in 2023, let alone everyone who has an interest in more inclusive economies.

“the content of this Bill should be of little surprise”

When the Bill was announced last Friday, I went back to the consultation to remind myself of the questions it asked and the responses. Reflecting back on those, the content of this Bill should be of little surprise. There will be a statement from the Scottish Government on the “measures they plan to take to reduce economic and wealth inequality between individuals and communities in and across Scotland, and support economic growth in and across Scotland”. Alongside this, a duty will be placed on local authorities and public bodies to collaborate on producing community wealth building action plans and the Government will publish guidance on the creation of these, alongside additional guidance on “facilitating and supporting the generation, circulation and retention of wealth in local and regional economies”. Actually not that exciting, once you get into it. In fact, there is nothing particularly new, or groundbreaking here, beyond the novelty of seeing the words “community wealth building” in a legislative context.

That said, I don’t want to use this blog as a space to talk about all the things missing from the Bill, or to criticise what is there: there’s plenty of that already out there, and I am not sure it helps bring about change. Instead, I want to focus on what’s next – we have a Bill, and it looks like this…so what? And that so what – that space where we build on from the Bill – is, in my opinion, where the exciting work can happen.

“community wealth building is a journey”

An action plan on its own will not achieve much. But an action plan that takes the ethos of community wealth building and threads it through all local strategies and policies certainly would. Community wealth building is a journey, it centres around a core ethos of building fairer economies to create stronger communities. But each place and community are different, and each will have its opportunities and challenges, its history and its identity. Developing the vision for the future we want to see in our places and thinking about how to get there through the lens of community wealth building – that’s the exciting place that community wealth building can flourish in.

The Bill is not just about threading the five pillars (employment, ownership, spend, land and property and finance) into legislation. These pillars are important, but not separate, they weave together and they touch on other levers of change which can be equally important in places. Community wealth building is not just the sole preserve of economic development, it is the thread which all activity can operate around as we push towards an economy that works better for our people and places: an economy with wellbeing at its heart where communities flourish.

It’s not just for the public sector either, community wealth building is increasingly being talked about and actioned by the private sector and it impacts on the third sector. Let’s involve them in conversations, in actions, in plans. Community wealth building is for anyone who cares about their place. Like so many things in life, community wealth building and the partnerships it facilitates, are always greater than the sum of their parts. Setting the vision is key, tapping into common aims and aspirations will bring people along, and seeing results will keep everyone on the journey.

“creativity, will and commitment”

If we want to seriously reduce “economic and wealth inequality between individuals and communities across Scotland” as the legislation states it will, then we need to remember we are all part of that economy, and it can be harnessed to make our lives better. To do so needs creativity, will and commitment. It can’t be forced and we certainly don’t want to stymie the local innovation of practice which we at CLES have been privileged to see and support across the UK through our work. We’ve worked across the length and breadth of the UK helping places use their vision to create strategies, action plans and partnerships to help them meet their local challenges through community wealth building. And we will continue to support places in Scotland as they take community wealth building even further and push the boundaries of what has been done before.

And thinking of that innovation is how I want to end this blog. Legislation is nice to have. It can break down barriers, make things easier and add momentum. But other parts of the UK don’t have it, nor do they have a government focused on community wealth building, yet some of them have been quietly getting on with things for years with local drive and commitment.

“truly unique ways of supporting local economies”

But here in Scotland we have this legislation and it creates an opportunity for us. That political determination and energy can be harnessed. We have a government signalling they want to tackle economic and wealth inequality, and they recognise that local economies are where it can be done most effectively. What our places need is the space to create action plans that can deliver their vision for how their economies can flourish. These action plans can help tackle challenges through innovation and create truly unique ways of supporting local economies and communities. We at CLES are here to help and support that journey, working with places so that they can, as the title of this blog suggests, build on the Bill.