Community wealth building, or CWB, is an approach to economic development that tries to use the influence of ‘anchor organisations’ – which might include bodies like the NHS, large private sector employers, universities and enterprise agencies – to grow and retain wealth within a local economy through sustainable practices.  

Under the CWB approach, these types of organisations might, for example, use their spending power to procure locally, pay the real living wage, or facilitate community ownership of land or assets.  

Scotland’s local authorities have been taking forward activity on CWB since 2018. However, these are not always underpinned by formal plans and the extent of implementation varies.  

The proposed bill would place a duty on the Scottish ministers to publish a CWB statement which sets out the measures they will take to facilitate CWB. It would also require local authorities and named public bodies to publish and implement a CWB plan for their area.  

A second tier of public bodies would need to consider CWB guidance when developing their corporate plans and delivery strategies to ensure their activities align with the principles of CWB. 

To inform its consideration of the bill, the committee has opened a consultation and wants to hear from local authorities and the public bodies who are responsible for producing plans. It also wants to hear the views of community and third sector organisations, business representatives and experts in economic development. 

Colin Smyth MSP, convener of the Economy and Fair Work Committee, said: “Community wealth building approaches have the potential to grow and retain wealth within a local economy, but are the plans introduced by the Scottish government going to make the difference it hopes? How will these impact local community organisations and small businesses? 

“If you are responsible for producing local plans, or if you have a stake or interest in community wealth building, we’re keen to hear from you. We’d like to know if the bill and the named public bodies are what you expected, and if you think the bill will affect the change it sets out to.”