Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026

Prospective

5 Community wealth building action plan S

(1) Each local authority, working jointly with the relevant public bodies relating to it, must prepare a community wealth building action plan for the area of the local authority in question within the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which this section comes into force.

(2) Each local authority must publish the community wealth building action plan prepared in accordance with subsection (1) as soon as reasonably practicable following its preparation.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify further details about the format of the plan to be published under subsection (2) or the revised plan to be published under section 7(3).

(4) Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

(5) In relation to the functions conferred on them by this Act—

(a) a local authority and the relevant public bodies relating to it are collectively referred to in this Act as a “community wealth building partnership”,

(b) a local authority and each relevant public body relating to it are individually referred to in this Act as a “community wealth building partner”.

(6) A community wealth building action plan must set out the measures the community wealth building partnership is taking, or intends to take, to facilitate and support the generation, circulation and retention of wealth in the local economy.

(7) The measures referred to in subsection (6) may include—

(a) using public procurement and commissioning to facilitate or support such generation, circulation and retention,

(b) supporting local economic operators to access public sector contracts,

(c) promoting—

(i) employment opportunity,

(ii) workforce development,

(iii) equality in the workplace,

(d) diversifying ownership of land, energy or other assets by facilitating or supporting community ownership,

(e) utilising common good property to provide financial, social or environmental benefit to the community, including the transfer of ownership to community organisations,

(f) bringing vacant and derelict land back into use in a way that provides financial, social or environmental benefit to the community,

(g) encouraging local business start-ups or entrepreneurship,

(h) promoting or supporting the development of—

(i) employee-owned businesses,

(ii) co-operatives, including co-operative financial institutions,

(iii) social enterprises,

(iv) supported businesses, as defined by section 11(3) of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014,

(i) promoting access to investment opportunities that provide a benefit to the community and to local businesses,

(j) measures to support local climate resilience and mitigation of the effects of climate change,

(k) such other measures as the community wealth building partnership considers appropriate.

(8) A community wealth building action plan must set an indicative target for the percentage of the total expenditure incurred pursuant to public contracts entered into by the community wealth building partners which is to go to local economic operators.

(9) A community wealth building action plan—

(a) must set out indicators by reference to which the community wealth building partnership intends to assess progress made in relation to the implementation of the measures set out in the action plan,

(b) may set targets in relation to the implementation of the measures set out in the action plan.

(10) The indicators mentioned in subsection (9)(a) may include—

(a) the performance of businesses, including—

(i) the number of new businesses established,

(ii) the total number of businesses,

(iii) the total business output,

(b) employment outcomes, including—

(i) average wage,

(ii) availability of skills development programmes,

(c) the diversity of ownership models, including the number of businesses that are—

(i) employee-owned,

(ii) co-operatives,

(d) the variety of land use, including—

(i) use of the community right to buy,

(ii) such other use of land as the community wealth building partnership considers relevant,

(e) the proportion of pension funds of the community wealth building partners invested locally and regionally,

(f) the growth of local financial institutions, including co-operative financial institutions,

(g) such other indicators as the community wealth building partnership considers appropriate.

(11) In preparing a community wealth building action plan, a community wealth building partnership must consider how the use or disposal of common good land and assets would further the aims of this Act.

(12) In contributing to the preparation of a community wealth building action plan, a local authority must consult—

(a) such persons as it considers likely to be directly affected by the community wealth building action plan,

(b) such persons as it considers representative of the interests of—

(i) the community,

(ii) businesses,

(iii) third sector bodies (as defined by section 37(1) of the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016),

(iv) social enterprises,

within the area of the local authority, and

(c) such other persons as it considers appropriate.

(13) As soon as reasonably practicable after complying with subsection (2), the local authority must prepare and publish, in such manner as it considers appropriate, a report setting out—

(a) the consultation process undertaken in order to comply with subsection (12), and

(b) the ways in which, in contributing to the preparation of the community wealth building action plan, it has taken account of views expressed in the course of that process.

(14) In preparing a community wealth building action plan, a community wealth building partnership must have due regard to guidance issued under section 10(1)(a).

(15) In this section and in section 8, “public contract” means a contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between one or more economic operators and one or more community wealth building partners and having as its object the execution of works, the supply of products or the provision of services.

(16) In this section and in sections 6 and 10, “relevant public bodies” in relation to a local authority are—

(a) the board of management of a regional college designated by order under section 7A of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 which is situated wholly or partly in the area of the local authority,

(b) a regional strategic body specified in schedule 2A of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 which is situated wholly or partly in the area of the local authority,

(c) a Health Board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 whose area includes, or is the same as, the area of the local authority,

(d) Scottish Enterprise,

(e) South of Scotland Enterprise where all or part of the area of the local authority is within the South of Scotland as defined by section 21 of the South of Scotland Enterprise Act 2019,

(f) Highlands and Islands Enterprise where the area within which, or in relation to which, it exercises functions in accordance with section 21(1) of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990 includes the whole or part of the area of the local authority,

(g) the Skills Development Scotland Co. Limited,

(h) a regional Transport Partnership established by virtue of section 1(1)(b) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 whose region includes, or is the same as, the area of the local authority.

(17) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify the list in subsection (16) so as to—

(a) add a person or description of person,

(b) remove an entry listed in it,

(c) amend an entry listed in it.

(18) Regulations under subsection (17) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 5 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 14(2)