Your Voice, Your Community
The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in March this year and is currently at Stage One of the legislative process. The Economy and Fair Work Committee is now seeking your views on what’s needed to make community wealth building more effective.
What is Community Wealth Building?
Community Wealth Building is an approach to economic development that aims to ensure the wealth generated within local communities is also circulated and retained there. Too often, economic wealth flows to distant shareholders, disconnected from the communities that helped create it. Community Wealth Building seeks to change this by ensuring that the value generated from local resources and assets stays local, benefiting the people and places that contribute to it.
The Five Pillars of Community Wealth Building
There are five core principles behind Community Wealth Building:
- Plural ownership of the economy.
- Making financial power work for local places.
- Fair employment and just labour markets.
- Progressive procurement of goods and services.
- Socially productive use of land and property.
Why Change is Needed
The first principle is about locking economic wealth into local areas. Local enterprises are more likely to hire locally, purchase from nearby suppliers, and reinvest profits back into the community. Social enterprises, cooperatives, and socially responsible businesses all play a key role in helping keep wealth rooted in the community
For local businesses to grow, they need access to meaningful opportunities. That’s why local procurement is a key tool for building community wealth. Community Wealth Building encourages major buyers of goods and services to develop local supply chains which can deliver greater economic social and environmental benefits.
A core element of Community Wealth Building is commitment to Fair Work. In Scotland, initiatives such as the Fair Work Convention, the Real Living Wage, and the Real Hours campaign provide a strong foundation for advancing fair and secure employment.
Community ownership of land and assets is another key area where progress is being made. Community asset transfers and community right to buy have a central role in building the wealth of communities by bringing assets under local control and management.
The final principle – and perhaps the most challenging – is about unlocking financial investment at a scale that can transform local economies. This means tapping into existing wealth within communities, such as pension funds, credit unions, and community banks, to enable long-term investment and regeneration.
Get Involved
Scottish Parliament wants to hear of your views and to learn from your experience. Share your views before 23rd May or read more about The principles of community wealth building.