Latest news with #CommunityWealthBuilding
Glasgow Times
02-08-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Vital work will be carried out in Cambuslang Park
A number of community projects in Cambuslang West have been awarded grants from the council's Local Action Fund. The work that can now be carried out include painting Cambuslang Park's railings along with the refurbishment of the Toll Pitch Pavillion. And the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group are to receive funding for their Community Wealth Building programme. Funding for the investment is a result of the administration budget passed by the council earlier this year, with an additional £50,000 allocated to each of the 20 council wards. Councillors in each ward were asked to come up with proposals for how the new Local Action Fund should be spent, with final decisions to be taken by the Executive Committee. The first proposals were unanimously agreed at a meeting of the Executive Committee. In the Cambuslang West Ward, the local councillors agreed to split the funding between several projects – the three main ones being £4000 to paint the railings at Cambuslang Park, £20,000 to refurbish the Toll Pitch Pavillion and £20,000 is to be given to the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group for its Community Wealth Building. The remaining £6000 of the ward's funding allocation is being considered for a community skips project or if that is not possible then other community projects will be considered once the final costs of the painting and refurbishment projects are confirmed. Council Leader Joe Fagan welcomed the move to support community projects. He said: 'The Local Action Fund was agreed as part of our Building Back Budget and is designed to help each community with projects that might not cost a lot of money but can have a lasting and worthwhile impact for everyone who lives there. 'Local councillors will be able to gauge from their constituents where the money could be best spent, and I am delighted that we have agreement for how the money should be spent in 13 of the 20 council wards, with the others to follow in due course. 'The projects in Cambuslang West will benefit everyone in the local community.' The elected members for Cambuslang West, Ward 13, are Councillor John Bradley, Councillor Norman Rae and Councillor Margaret B Walker.
Daily Record
28-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Park is boosted and pavilion also secures support
Major funding boost celebrated for Cambuslang Vital work will be carried out in Cambuslang Park and the Toll Pitch Pavilion will be revamped thanks to important funding being secured. A number of community projects in Cambuslang West have been awarded grants from the council's Local Action Fund. The work that can now be carried out include painting Cambuslang Park's railings along with the refurbishment of the Toll Pitch Pavilion. And the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group are to receive funding for their Community Wealth Building programme. Funding for the investment is a result of the administration budget passed by the council earlier this year, with an additional £50,000 allocated to each of the 20 council wards. Councillors in each ward were asked to come up with proposals for how the new Local Action Fund should be spent, with final decisions to be taken by the Executive Committee. The first proposals were unanimously agreed at a meeting of the Executive Committee. In the Cambuslang West Ward, the local councillors agreed to split the funding between several projects – the three main ones being £4000 to paint the railings at Cambuslang Park, £20,000 to refurbish the Toll Pitch Pavilion and £20,000 is to be given to the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group for its Community Wealth Building. The remaining £6000 of the ward's funding allocation is being considered for a community skips project or if that is not possible then other community projects will be considered once the final costs of the painting and refurbishment projects are confirmed. Council Leader Joe Fagan welcomed the move to support community projects. He said: 'The Local Action Fund was agreed as part of our Building Back Budget and is designed to help each community with projects that might not cost a lot of money but can have a lasting and worthwhile impact for everyone who lives there. 'Local councillors will be able to gauge from their constituents where the money could be best spent, and I am delighted that we have agreement for how the money should be spent in 13 of the 20 council wards, with the others to follow in due course. 'The projects in Cambuslang West will benefit everyone in the local community.' The elected members for Cambuslang West, Ward 13, are Councillor John Bradley, Councillor Norman Rae and Councillor Margaret B Walker.
The Herald Scotland
28-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Government must make a binding commitment to 'love local'
As a case in point, take the new study by the Centre of Local Economic Strategies (CLES), commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and published last week. This finds, sadly if not entirely unexpectedly, that the publicly available data can't tell us how much local authorities are actually spending with local or small firms. Read more: The problem isn't that councils don't have the raw data. They'll know who they've paid and for what. Rather, the issue is all the gaps and inconsistencies in the way they record their spending. Some are, for example, shakier on how big a supplier is or whether or not they're 'local'. Reporting is also insufficiently transparent and accessible. Matters aren't helped by non-standardised reporting requirements across Scotland, as well as some local authorities not disclosing contract spend under a certain amount (even after being subject to a Freedom of Information request). All of this matters because placing more contracts with local, smaller businesses is good for local jobs, revenues and overall economic activity. Money spent local, stays local. Read more: Indeed, previous research by CLES highlights the 'significant amplifier effect' that small businesses have in local economies, generating greater community benefits than the equivalent spend with large corporations. So, it's a good thing and we want more. But, if you don't know how much you're spending in the first place, how can you plan to increase it? This isn't a new issue, but the need to address it is has taken on an added urgency because the coming months present us with a once-in-a-decade opportunity to reform public procurement. A key plank of the Community Wealth Building Bill, many years in the making and now introduced to Holyrood, is the progressive procurement of goods and services – i.e. prioritising spend with local firms, so that as much of the benefit as possible is retained in the local economy. Read more: The experts at CLES are clear that Community Wealth Building can deliver benefits for small businesses. But crucially, they warn that this won't happen without accurate and consistent reporting of local spending; without knowing where we're starting from; without making sure we're comparing like with like. So how do we amend the bill to get the information we need to address the slow, stalled progress on increasing local community spend? We've argued for years that the answer is to set public bodies binding targets for how much they spend with small businesses each year, backed up by statutory reporting requirements. There's evidence this approach works. Local authorities like Clackmannanshire, which took part in Community Wealth Building pilot schemes, ended up exceeding the target they set themselves. But, because not everyone will be as forward-thinking as Clackmannanshire, it's now time to make targets – and consistent, transparent annual reporting against them – a legal requirement. And that needs primary legislation. Read more: Of course, these targets must be meaningful. There's no point in pulling a number out of thin air – or imposing blanket requirements across the board (which wouldn't exactly mirror the core principles of community wealth building). Rather, targets need to be agreed for each area, reflecting the local economy. Finally, targets won't be hit unless local businesses have the ability to bid for them. And, sadly, the report highlights a disconnect between the aspirations within local authorities to increase procurement spend with small firms and the experience of local firms on the ground. The latter continue to find procurement practices complex, with 'procurement language and processes… felt to be unduly burdensome on small businesses'. Any law change must therefore go hand-in-hand with smart procurement strategies and practical support to get more local firms bid-ready. There's a huge amount of extra economic and social value out there to be unlocked from taxpayers' money that's being spent anyway. The key is sitting in front of us. Colin Borland is director of devolved nations for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
Daily Record
24-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Cambuslang community projects awarded South Lanarkshire Council's Local Action Fund grants
Work that can now be carried out includes painting Cambuslang Park's railings along with the refurbishment of the Toll Pitch Pavillion. A number of community projects in Cambuslang West have been awarded grants from South Lanarkshire Council's Local Action Fund. The work that can now be carried out includes painting Cambuslang Park's railings along with the refurbishment of the Toll Pitch Pavillion. And the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group are to receive funding for their Community Wealth Building programme. Download the Lanarkshire Live app today The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7. The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you. Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Funding for the investment is a result of the administration budget passed by the local authority earlier this year, with an additional £50,000 allocated to each of the 20 council wards. Councillors in each ward were asked to come up with proposals for how the new Local Action Fund should be spent, with final decisions to be taken by the executive committee. The first proposals were then unanimously agreed at a meeting of the executive committee. In the Cambuslang West Ward, councillors agreed to split the funding between several projects - the three main ones being £4000 to paint the railings at Cambuslang Park, £20,000 to refurbish the Toll Pitch Pavillion and £20,000 for the Women's Wellbeing Collective community group. The remaining £6000 of the ward's funding allocation is being considered for a community skips project, or if that is not possible then other community projects will be considered once the final costs of the painting and refurbishment projects are confirmed. Council leader Joe Fagan said: 'The Local Action Fund was agreed as part of our Building Back Budget and is designed to help each community with projects that might not cost a lot of money but can have a lasting and worthwhile impact for everyone who lives there. "Local councillors will be able to gauge from their constituents where the money could be best spent, and I am delighted that we have agreement for how the money should be spent in 13 of the 20 council wards, with the others to follow in due course. "The projects in Cambuslang West will benefit everyone in the local community."
Daily Record
23-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Tranquil new garden opens at NHS Ayrshire & Arran's Kyle Chemotherapy Unit
Tranquil new garden opens at NHS Ayrshire & Arran's Kyle Chemotherapy Unit The garden space has been redeveloped through community benefit funding provided by Hewlett Packard Inc. and designed by RePollinate. The garden officially opened on July 4, 2025 Patients attending the Kyle Chemotherapy Unit at Ailsa Hospital are now enjoying the benefits of a new garden. The ward applied to the NHS Ayrshire & Arran Community Wealth Building programme for assistance in making their green plans a reality. Health chiefs have a community benefit requirement into their procurement contracts and tenders since April 1, 2023, to help deliver a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefit projects. New garden is fully accessible for the patients of Kyle Chemotherapy Unit and their families Officially opened this month, the garden space at Kyle Chemotherapy Unit has been redeveloped through community benefit funding provided by Hewlett Packard Inc. and designed by RePollinate, a conservation charity which aims to create networks of high-quality pollinator habitats through the delivery of new community garden spaces. Deputy Charge Nurse, Wendy Ruiz de Pascal, from NHS Ayrshire & Arran's Kyle Chemotherapy Unit, said: "The garden space is a truly relaxing, calming space. We are incredibly grateful to all the hard work from everyone involved. "We were keen to put some fresh life back into the garden area at the ward so patients and their loved ones could make use of the space while attending here for treatment and I think the space speaks for itself." Nicola Graham, Director of Infrastructure and Support Services for NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said: "This is the latest example of ongoing partnership work across NHS Ayrshire & Arran and how we can utilise public procurement partnerships in NHS Scotland, to achieve greater economic, social and environmental benefits for those living in Ayrshire & Arran. "We're delighted with the end results, for the funding support from Hewlett Packard Inc. and the help and support received from all organisations involved." The garden benefits from a range of low-maintenance trees, shrubs, herbs and perennials Kyle's new garden now benefits from the addition of raised beds, corten steel planters, additional paving and gravel paths, planted with a range of low-maintenance trees, shrubs, herbs and perennials all of which will increase biodiversity and attract pollinators to the garden. It also includes four colourful steel artwork panels, 'Light Through Leaves', funded by Hewlett Packard Inc. and commissioned by an artist through Impact Arts, after engaging with patients from Kyle Chemotherapy Unit who were able to add their design ideas for the creation of the panels. Nicholas Macauley, Strategic Account Manager for Hewlett Packard Inc. said: "We are delighted to support projects like this in Ayrshire. Our partnership with the Scottish Government through our framework agreements enables us to deliver meaningful and lasting sustainability projects to benefit local communities. HP Inc. is committed to delivering projects of similar significance to our communities across Scotland." Nick Trull, from RePollinate, added: "RePollinate has aimed to create a space that immerses users in the planting and, importantly, the wildlife that will share the garden, such as pollinating insects and birds. The design introduces diverse structure into the space both in terms of the tiered raised beds and the planting itself, which includes grasses, herbaceous perennials, trees and shrubs. "We hope that the garden at Kyle Chemotherapy Unit will provide a calming space for patients and their families, and will do so for many years to come." South Ayrshire Council's Criminal Justice unpaid workers shaped the garden at weekends under guidance from RePollinate to help bring about the transformation of the current outdoor garden into a new fully accessible area for the patients of Kyle Chemotherapy Unit. Councillor Hunter, Portfolio Holder for Health and Care Services for South Ayrshire Council, said: "The Community Justice Unpaid Work Team were delighted to be part of this project. It has provided a valuable opportunity for the team to develop new skills, build confidence, and make a positive contribution to the community. "The finished garden is a beautiful area for patients, families and staff to enjoy, promoting wellbeing and a sense of calm. The South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership is incredibly proud of what the team has achieved, it is a great example of how Community Payback can make a real difference." Article continues below Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter
