Community wealth building consultation

Page 1 of 10

Closes 25 Apr 2023

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General advancement of the Community Wealth Building approach

Through this consultation we would like to explore which new powers, abilities and duties will enable local authorities, public bodies, wider community planning partners and Regional Economic Partnerships to have more individual and collective influence in taking action to support Community Wealth Building (CWB) in their local area or region.

In this section we invite views on a legislative proposal for the general advancement of the CWB approach through an ambitious new CWB duty.

Proposal: A duty to advance CWB

The aim of the duty is to extend and deepen the implementation of CWB across Scotland, ensuring universal coverage and shared principles whilst allowing for local, regional and organisational flexibility.

We would like respondents views on three options for a CWB duty:

Option A) a duty requiring Scottish Ministers and prescribed public sector bodies to embed the CWB model of economic development into their corporate plans and wider strategies

Option B) a duty requiring those public sector bodies statutorily obliged to be involved in community planning to produce a collective CWB place-based strategy and action plan which contains specific actions across the five CWB pillars to advance the CWB model of economic development in their local authority area

  • This requirement could be taken forward at a regional level if neighbouring local authorities and their community planning partners have a preference for that approach

Option C) a combined option – featuring a union of both options set out above

All of the options create different opportunities for ensuring the involvement of local communities. For Option B and Option C, there could be a statutory requirement to include business, third sector and communities in the development of a strategy and action plan.

Q1. a) We are proposing a duty to advance Community Wealth Building, which form do you think this duty should take:

Please provide a reason for your answer.  In your answer please include views on:

  • which bodies should be covered by the proposals
  • how to best ensure accountability for implementation to the Scottish Parliament
  • how to best ensure the involvement of local communities, business and the third sector in the implementation of the duty
Q1. b) One way Scottish Government could support the implementation of the proposed Community Wealth Building duty is to provide statutory or non-statutory guidance. Would this be helpful to partners in meeting the proposed duty?

Please provide a reason for your answer.  In your answer please include views on:

  • areas in which it would be helpful for this guidance to focus on, e.g. areas to consider when implementing the five pillars, links to further support materials
  • whether the guidance should be statutory or non-statutory
Q2. a) Are there other non-legislative measures that you believe are required to accelerate the implementation of the Community Wealth Building approach in Scotland?
Q2. b) Are there specific actions required to advance delivery of the items contained within the Shared Policy Programme outlined on page 11?