Beyond the Bill: Community Wealth Building
On the 17th of March, we attended the EDAS event "Beyond the Bill: What Happens Next for Community Wealth Building?"
Below are our key takeaways and links to the documents.
- The Community Wealth Building Bill has passed the Scottish Parliament.
- Scotland’s new legislation has been passed; now comes delivery and the transformation ahead.
The session was facilitated by Neil McInroy, Chair of EDAS, and included a detailed presentation by Stephen White, Head of the Community Wealth Building Unit at the Scottish Government.
The Community Wealth Building Bill has passed the Scottish Parliament. But legislation is only the starting point.
The objective is an economy that is greener, fairer, resilient and more dynamic. This is no longer optional; it is now a shared national vision.
Stephen White
- You can read the Bill here.
- The Bill was passed unanimously by all parties and all MSPs.
- The Bill is a structure for Community Wealth Building in Scotland.
- It is a strategic framework for Scotland, but there is flexibility under this.
- The legislation is meant to be light-touch and enabling.
- You can view Stephen’s presentation here:
CWB - Legislation - CWB (Scotland) Bill Slides - EDAS - March 17 2026.pdf
- See slide 8: the 'Must' in the statement element is strong.
- The link to the UN Sustainable Development Goals is an important link to higher-order power/global aspirations. Telling about Scotland in the global context.
- A core group have been chosen because they are deemed to have the most economic agency.
- We need to demonstrate a strong link in working together.
- In Stephen’s opinion, you need a decade to see things change.
- However, no one should stop and wait – a structure has been created, but people need to get on with it.
- Lots of thought needs to go into how we measure outcomes.
There was a lot of talk about the Five Pillars of Community Wealth Building. Read more here: Five Pillars.
Call to action:
Stephen White, Head of the Community Wealth Building Unit and Tracy Jackson, Community Wealth Building Policy Manager, would love to hear about your success and learning. Why not invite them out to see your work in action?