1- Community Wealth Building
Renfrewshire Council · 18 March 2025
Back to Economy and Regeneration Policy Board — 18 March 2025 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Economy and Regeneration Policy Board On: 18th March 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Community Wealth Building in Renfrewshire 1. Summary 1.1 Community Wealth Building [CWB] has been a growing economic development agenda over the last few years and there is a new Scottish Government Bill anticipated this year. 1.2 In anticipation of the Bill an introductory Community Wealth Building in Renfrewshire paper has been developed to outline the key concepts to Renfrewshire and to highlight current examples of good practice. 1.3 The paper sets out a clear set of actions to progress the CWB agenda in Renfrewshire and highlights some of the opportunities that CWB can create for local organisations, people and places to thrive and prosper. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Board members are asked to: • Note the Introduction to Community Wealth Building paper found at Appendix 1 to this report as the starting point to further joint actions across Renfrewshire. • Note that further updates on the Community Wealth Building Bill and Council actions will be reported to a future board. ___________________________________________________________________
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3. Background 3.1 Community Wealth Building [CWB] is not a new agenda, instead it continues a long history of work and initiatives under terms such as social inclusion and inclusive growth, that is largely focused on equalities, tackling disadvantage, local people and places. At its core, CWB aims to ensure that every public pound spent has the potential to drive economic growth and realise fairness and prosperity. 3.2 Over the past 4 years, CWB has gained more prominence and is now considered by the Scottish Government to be a key means by which to deliver wellbeing economy objectives. It was a key feature of the Renfrewshire Economy Conference in June 2024. 3.3 To support the implementation of this growing agenda, Renfrewshire Council appointed a CWB Coordinator to develop and progress the Council’s CWB policy position and action plan. The CWB Coordinator represents the Council at strategic meetings including the recently formed national CWB Practitioners Network. 3.4 Current policy areas that have already been linked to, and reference, CWB include the Renfrewshire Council Plan, Council Procurement Strategy, National Planning Framework (NPF 4) and the Community Learning and Development Plan (2024-2027). 3.5 CWB focused workstreams are already being delivered through a number of routes, including the Renfrewshire Community Benefits Forum, partnership working between economic development and procurement staff and an anchor partnership with NHS GG&C and UWS to encourage more local businesses to bid for public sector contracts. Further steering groups will be formed to embed and align CWB principles and objectives across more of the Council workstreams once the Bill is announced. 3.6 The Introduction to Community Wealth Building paper (see Appendix 1 to this report) has been developed to facilitate further discussion and to promote involvement from other Council departments, public sector partners, local organisations and community groups on what is meant by CWB and how it can be supported across all areas of work. ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Introduction to Community Wealth Building Paper 4.1 The paper sets out the aims and principles of the approach at a national level and focuses on what this will mean at a local level. 4.2 It aims to promote a shared understanding of Community Wealth Building across Renfrewshire, demonstrating through examples of current activity how organisations and communities can participate in, and benefit from, local economic activity. The paper aims to encourage action that stimulates new opportunities for local businesses, communities and people. 4.3 The paper outlines the principles of Community Wealth Building and how they act as a framework for activity across five interlinked pillars:
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- Inclusive Ownership- Developing more local enterprises which generate community wealth, including social enterprises, employee-owned firms and co-ops. - Finance- Ensuring that flows of investments and funding and financial institutions work for local people, communities and businesses. - Workforce- Increasing fair work practices and developing inclusive local labour markets that support the wellbeing of local people and communities. - Spending- Maximising community benefits through local procurement and commissioning. Developing good enterprises, fair work and shorter supply chains. - Land and Property- Growing the social, ecological, financial and economic value that local communities gain from land and property assets. 4.4 The pillars aim to provide practical levers for anchor agencies and local organisations to strategically and intentionally maximise their economic potential as employers, purchasers, asset owners, investors and wealth creators. ___________________________________________________________________ 5. Next Steps and action plan 5.1 The Community Wealth Building Bill is anticipated in June 2025 and a further paper will be brought to Board to assess the implications of its content, once known. 5.2 Structured discussions with local partners and organisations will take place to establish a Community Wealth Building network for Renfrewshire. The network will work to identify a range of measurable indicators and targets to progress key areas of work under the themes of CWB. 5.3 A Community Wealth Building Conference is planned to be held in autumn 2025 to bring together partners contributing to CWB in Renfrewshire. The conference will provide opportunity to discuss the key themes and agendas of CWB on a national and local level and will encourage greater networking and collaboration to promote local partnership working. 5.4 Further reports will be brought to board as this agenda develops further. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – There are no implications 2. HR & Organisational Development – There are no implications
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3. Community/Council Planning – CWB is mentioned across the current council plan, procurement strategy and community learning and development plan. 4. Legal- There are no immediate implications however, the Scottish Government’s programme for 2024/2025 indicates that a Community Wealth Building Bill will be introduced to parliament in the coming year (anticipated June 2025). 5. Property/Assets- There are no new implications however, land and assets are a key theme of CWB with a particular focus on community asset transfer and the inclusion of a CWB provision within the National Planning Framework (NPF4) published in 2024. 6. Information Technology – There are no implications 7. Equality & Human Rights- There are no implications 8. Health & Safety- There are no implications 9. Procurement - There are no new implications however, procurement and the tracking of the public pound and local spend are a key focus of the spending pillar of CWB. 10. Risk- There are no implications 11. Privacy Impact- There are no implications 12. Climate Risk - There are no implications 13. Children’s Rights - There are no implications 14. COSLA Policy Position- COSLA strongly supports the concept of Community Wealth Building (CWB), advocating for its implementation across Scotland through legislation and collaborative efforts with local authorities, businesses, third sector organisations, and communities to ensure wealth generated within communities is redistributed and benefits local residents; essentially seeing local government as a key "anchor institution" to drive CWB initiatives. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers none ___________________________________________________________________ RC/MD 20/02/2025 Author: Morag Doig, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, Renfrewshire Council email: morag.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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An Introduction to Community Wealth Building 2025/26 Appendix 1
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Contents 2 Foreword 3 What is Community Wealth Building 4 Pillars of Community Wealth Building- Our Shared Priorities 5 Local Ownership 6 Local Finance and Investment 7 Local Employment 8 Local Purchasing 9 Local Land and Property 10 How to get involved in delivering Community Wealth Building 11 Delivering Community Wealth Building Together in Renfrewshire- Next Steps
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Foreword Community Wealth Building is about working with communities and businesses to build a strong and resilient local economy. At its core, CWB seeks to rebalance wealth inequality by focusing on practical actions that can be taken across five key priority areas: local ownership, local finance and investment, local employment, local purchasing and locally owned land and assets. As outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation [NSET], the local and national economic context has changed considerably in recent years. In response to the new economic challenges that we face, CWB brings forward new ways to deepen our wellbeing economy aspirations and to continue to develop a people-centred approach to our local economy that will support stronger outcomes for all local people. The purpose of this Community Wealth Building document is to promote a shared understanding of CWB that sets out how we can all utilise our different organisational activity to maximise the social and economic impact in local areas and support more participation in the local economy. Seeing what we do through a Community Wealth Building lens will be critical to retaining greater local wealth and maximising opportunities to add value and create benefit to Renfrewshire communities. This document will take you through the aims of each of the five priority areas and will set out some of the practical actions you can take to achieve these. A range of case studies have been provided which illustrate examples of work that local organisations are doing to help people and improve the outcomes of communities, and businesses in Renfrewshire and will provide examples of what community wealth building looks like in action. Community Wealth Building [CWB] is a growing agenda in Scotland and already key to economic development action and practice across the work of communities, businesses, enterprise agencies, local authorities, and other key anchor organisations. 2
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What is Community Wealth Building? Community Wealth Building is a people-based approach to local economic development that aims to add more economic benefit and added value at a local level. At its core, Community Wealth Building promotes the collective power of communities, businesses and organisations across all sectors working together to build a strong, resilient, and sustainable local economy that works for all. CWB is focused on growing the influence communities have on the economy. By applying a CWB way of thinking to existing ways of operating our local economy can deliver: The Scottish Government is committed to adopting a Community Wealth Building approach across Scotland and will be bringing forward new Community Wealth Building Legislation during 2025. Outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation [NSET], CWB aims to be a key practical means by which we can achieve our wellbeing economy objectives : “An economy that celebrates success in terms of economic growth, environmental sustainability, quality of life and equality of opportunity and reward.”- NSET Added social value for communities Added economic benefit for local areas Improved wellbeing and better outcomes Greater local participation in the economy More opportunities and fairer access for all 3
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Pillars of Community Wealth Building- Our Shared Priorities The five Pillars of Community Wealth Building recognised by the Scottish Government form the principal ways in which we can ensure we utilise our spend, assets, employment, and financial powers for local good. Linked together the pillars can help us to identify ways in which we can bring more local added value in what we do to create more benefits for our local area. Community Wealth Building is a practical approach to local economic development that supports the delivery of a wellbeing economy for Scotland. It delivers actions that give the people of Scotland a greater stake in our economy and wealth, making it work for us and our planet. The sections below explain the key themes of each pillar in more detail, including actions to consider and case study examples of the pillar in practice. The key themes of each pillar: • Local Ownership • Local Finance and Investment • Local Employment • Local Purchasing • Local Land and Property Inclusive Ownership Finance Workforce Spending Land and Property Developing more local enterprises which generate community wealth, including social enterprises, employee owned firms and co-ops. Ensuring that flows of investments and funding and financial institutions work for local people, communities and businesses. Increasing fair work practices and developing inclusive local labour markets that support the wellbeing of local people and communities. Maximising community benefits through local procurement and commissioning. Developing good enterprises, fair work and shorter supply chains. Growing the social, ecological, financial and economic value that local communities gain from land and property assets. 4
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Local Ownership AIM: Developing and growing small enterprises, community organisations , employee-owned businesses and co-operatives will enable local communities to generate and retain wealth within their local area. Locally owned and socially minded enterprises are more likely to employ, buy and invest locally, locking wealth into place. Being deeply rooted in their local communities, they can provide a better response to local needs, fill gaps in existing services, develop their communities by giving opportunities to disadvantaged groups and use social innovation to improve their communities. ACTIONS TO DEVELOP SHARED OWNERSHIP IN RENFREWSHIRE: • Provide opportunities and support for cooperatives, social enterprises and supported businesses to start-up and grow through knowledge sharing, funding, and training and development. • Encourage sustainable enterprises through business support, mentoring and expert advice. • Consider social enterprises, cooperatives, supported businesses and third sector organisations as suppliers and delivery partners to support the social economy to be more financially generative. • Work with Social Enterprises and Third Sector organisations to facilitate good community engagement to understand community needs when developing local services. Case Study: Engage Renfrewshire Case Study: KLAS Care Engage Renfrewshire is a third sector interface which provides advice and support to local community focussed groups including social enterprises, community development trusts and charitable groups. Through RenSen (Renfrewshire Social Enterprise Network) Engage supports over 88 social enterprises to start up or grow further through knowledge sharing activity, capacity building, business modelling and signposting to funding and investment opportunities. Through adopting a social enterprise business model, KLAS Care have been able to attract social investment funding and match funding to provide a service that meets the local need for affordable childcare supporting more parents to work. With social value at its heart, KLAS Care provide additional social benefit by reinvesting profits, giving opportunities to local people through accredited training for volunteers and subsidising fees for low-income families. 5
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Local Finance and Investment AIM: Attract funding and investment to support a sustainable local economy. By prioritising local spending, saving, and investment, we aim to ensure that the flow of local finance directly benefits local people, communities, and businesses. This will help generate and retain wealth within the community, maximising the impact of money already circulating locally. Encouraging people and companies to choose to spend, save and invest their money in the local economy can have a significant and long-term impact on the community’s ability to utilise and retain wealth. ACTIONS TO DEVELOP LOCAL FINANCE MODELS IN RENFREWSHIRE: • Choosing to purchase local goods and services to help develop a strong local business base which supports a greener economy. • Supporting long term investment in Renfrewshire to ensure future jobs, prosperity, and economic growth. • Invest locally by choosing community finance services such as credit unions whose members pool their savings to provide credit at a low interest rate. • Work with others to help to widen access to good financial education for local people to reduce financial exclusion and help tackle poverty and inequality. Encouraging people to spend locally helps to recirculate wealth back into the local economy. The Renfrewshire spend local campaign encourages people to use the Renfrewshire gift card to spend in local independent businesses, supermarkets and Braehead shopping centre reducing carbon footprint, supporting local entrepreneurs, developing future talent, and helping local villages and towns to thrive and regenerate. Case Study: Spend Local Campaign Case Study: Right Way Credit Union Right Way Credit Union in partnership with Invest in Renfrewshire provide interest free business restart loans to local small and start-up businesses and self-employed people. By partnering with a local credit union, Invest in Renfrewshire can help local businesses gain access to affordable finance, reducing financial exclusion and promoting responsible lending and investment that prioritise community value. 6
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Local Employment AIM: Creating more opportunities to develop local people's skills and experience to enter and / or progress within the labour market is paramount in building a resilient, skilled, and sustainable future workforce. Ensuring that no one is left behind and supporting those most disadvantaged with priority issues to find good quality employment opportunities with help to create a more inclusive and fairer place to live and work for all people and will promote healthier communities. ACTIONS TO DEVELOP LOCAL EMPLOYMENT IN RENFREWSHIRE: • Widening access to good quality employment opportunities for local people and ensuring that recruitment processes are accessible to those most disadvantaged and facing barriers to employment. • Ensuring that there are job pathways or upskilling opportunities for all employees. • Becoming a living wage employer, offering stable contracts, and closing the pay gap providing workers with a better standard of living. • Developing fair work practices which supports the wellbeing of people and communities by giving people effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment, and respect. Renfrewshire’s Local Employability Partnership (LEP) has the aim of supporting those furthest from the labour market into work. Around 2,000 local residents are supported each year with a focus on priority groups such as: unemployed or low income parents; young people, including those who are care experienced; people with disabilities, those with long term conditions, and/or health issues; people involved with the justice system; minority ethnic groups including refugees. Moving into employment and reducing the dependency on benefits is key to reducing child poverty and reducing economic inactivity. As one of the largest employers in the area Renfrewshire Council recognises the role it can play to support people getting back into work. Over the past 10 years the Council has provided over 1000 paid traineeship and internship roles for local unemployed people to gain skills and work experience across council services. Trainees are paid the Scottish Local Government Living Wage and gain up to 26 weeks of experience within service areas with regular vacancies and entry level job roles. As well as completing a range of training courses and qualifications, the trainees are supported with job search, cv preparation and interview practise. Case Study: Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership Case Study: Invest in Renfrewshire 7
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Local Purchasing AIM: Through developing a more inclusive procurement and commissioning model and considering all ways of contracting goods and services more money stays in the local area, creating more jobs, and developing a more diverse local supply chain. Anchor organisations within Renfrewshire such as the Council, NHS, Police, University, College, and large businesses, both collectively and individually provide considerable buying power, and as such can have a significant impact on the local economy. ACTIONS TO DEVELOP LOCAL PURCHASING IN RENFREWSHIRE: • Maximising the social and economic value of community benefits through procurement and commissioning so local communities and good causes can receive additional social value from spending. • Increasing spend with local suppliers by promoting tender opportunities, providing feedback on bids, identifying contracts accessible to SMEs, and providing business support to help local SMEs to understand tender requirements. • Developing good enterprises by choosing suppliers who demonstrate the values of fair work and sustainability. • Consider making all ways of contracting more accessible to local businesses including the use of frameworks and quick quotes. Where appropriate, local organisations will have a fair chance to bid for work. Community benefits are the method by which local communities and good causes can receive additional social value from public spending. Renfrewshire Council mandates Community Benefits on regulated procurements above the threshold of £50k and has a forum of local delivery partners in place to help suppliers to meet their community benefit requirements. In Financial Year 2024-25, approximately 375 benefits have been committed to be delivered across 93 council projects. Along with anchor partners NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, University of the West of Scotland and Scotland Excel, Renfrewshire Council deliver an annual supply chain development event which supports local businesses to understand tender requirements and to develop their business as a supplier. Public sector contracts in Scotland are worth around £16bn per year and this approach helps many more local businesses to bid for some of this work. Case Study: Community Benefits Case Study: Supply Chain Development 8
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Local Land and Property AIM: Making use of underutilised, unused, or vacant spaces can create opportunities to revitalise community spaces bringing added value and social gain for those who live there. These local spaces can be used by communities, businesses, and organisations for social, community, health and educational activities creating opportunity for greater community involvement and environmental stewardship, making our places work better for our communities. By maximising our use of space, we can create more warm spaces, local meeting places, community hubs and growing grounds. ACTIONS TO DEVELOP LOCAL LAND AND PROPERTY IN RENFREWSHIRE: • Community Asset Transfers – transferring the ownership, lease or other management rights of under- utilised public land and/ or buildings to community-controlled organisations and supporting their long- term sustainability through business support and funding advice. • Support the just transition to a greener economy by providing access to grant funding and developing more locally based projects that support sustainability and food security. • Engaging with communities and local partners to identify unused spaces which can support good community projects and recognising where external funding may be required to support this. • Consulting with communities to help address local priorities when developing local place plans and identifying housing, business, and investment opportunities. Through community asset transfer from Police Scotland, the former Johnstone Police Station now Station Seven is a brand-new, community-led health and wellbeing hub operated by local charity Active Communities. The £2.2million funded development now provides a community food pantry, events spaces, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, and business incubators for local business start-ups. In 2021, Inchinnan Development Trust acquired Taucheen Wood from private ownership through a community buy-out to deliver environmental and community- led projects within the woodland. In order to further deepen the preservation of the communities local green assets, in 2022, the trust successfully secured a Community Asset Transfer of India Tyres Playing Fields from Renfrewshire Council for local led regeneration through a 5-year development plan which will transform the site into an accessible, shared greenspace that services the local community. Case Study: Station Seven Case Study: Inchinnan Development Trust- 9
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How To Get Involved in Delivering Community Wealth Building At its heart Community Wealth Building is about ensuring that we use our individual and collective powers as employers, purchasers, suppliers, asset owners and wealth creators to encourage and support a strong local economy that works for all. By thinking about how you can add more value in what you do, we all have a huge opportunity to direct wealth into our local economy. This can be done by focusing on areas of impact and establishing a baseline for activity which is aligned to the themes of CWB, reviewing how strategic plans and operational policies support the principles of Community Wealth, and by sharing and adopting good practice. In summary, organisations of all sizes whether they are social enterprises, community groups, local businesses or anchor organisations all play a vital role in delivering good community wealth. Things you can do to support community wealth building in Renfrewshire Provide good quality jobs for local people Use as many local businesses as possible in your supply chains Work with, support, and collaborate with social enterprises and third sector partners Become a living wage employer Make sure your spend brings added value for our local people, communities, and businesses Support the journey to net zero Develop greener jobs in the future Open up our underutilised spaces for community use Get involved in spend local campaigns Engage with local communities to develop projects that are needed Ensure fair and accessible recruitment Support local projects Invest in the future of your workforce 10
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Delivering Community Wealth Building Together in Renfrewshire- Next Steps Strong partnership working is the key to progressing and delivering good Community Wealth Building. To help grow the CWB agenda across Renfrewshire, key actions have been set out below to help facilitate the process of consultation and collaboration moving forward: For further information contact: Morag Doig Community Wealth Building Coordinator Renfrewshire Council 0141 487 1445 morag.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk We will hold a Community Wealth Building Conference to raise awareness of CWB and to consult and engage with local partners, community groups and organisations on how we can progress Community Wealth in our local areas. We will develop a Renfrewshire Community Wealth Building partnership group to explore the emerging needs, and challenges of delivering good community wealth in Renfrewshire and identify opportunities to grow the CWB agenda through attracting ongoing investment and funding. We will work together with anchor partners to develop a Community Wealth Building Framework for Renfrewshire in 2025/26. This will involve partners working together to establish baselines for key areas of work, carrying out benchmarking exercises and setting targets to progress CWB themes in Renfrewshire. 11 We Will Hold A Conference We Will Establish a Partnership Group We Will Develop a Framework
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