Consultation launched on proposed legislation to grow local economies

A consultation on proposals to help grow local economies has been launched by the Scottish Government.

Ministers are seeking the public’s views on plans to ensure funds are kept in the hands of communities as part of community wealth-building legislation.

Community wealth minister Tom Arthur said the Bill will be set out in Holyrood later in the parliamentary term, following the 12-week consultation.

The plans include placing a legal duty on public bodies to use the economic levers available to them to support the transformation of local and regional economies.

It also proposes the creation of fair work opportunities for local people and those who face barriers to employment, while ensuring land and property are used for the benefit of communities.

Mr Arthur launched the consultation at the Red Lion Inn in Culross, Fife, a community-owned pub and key local employer which aims to reinvest its profits back into the area.

He said: “We want to create an economy which delivers prosperity for all of Scotland’s people and places.

“Community wealth building is about enabling people to have a stake in the wealth that their local economy generates.

“This is central to our plans to reform Scotland’s economy for the wellbeing of current and future generations.

“While community wealth building has grown in popularity in recent years, legislation has the potential to achieve more rapid benefits for communities, helping people to earn incomes from fair work and more locally-owned businesses to bid for public sector contracts.

“Money spent locally is more likely to stay in the local economy and support local jobs.

“This public consultation will inform a Community Wealth Building Bill, which we will introduce to Parliament to achieve these aims.

“I look forward to hearing a wide range of views on how we can use this process to transform our local economies to become greener, fairer and more prosperous.”