What is Community Wealth Building?
East Lothian Community Wealth Building is launching a digital campaign, aimed at explaining Community Wealth Building (CWB) in bite-sized chunks.
The campaign will run from 10 November for two weeks. Look out for posts on Facebook and Instagram.
CWB will be explained with a deeper delve into the pillars – Progressive Procurement, Fair Work, Land and Assets, Financial Power and, in East Lothian, Climate Change.
The campaign is the culmination of the East Lothian CWB anchor organisations working together – the council, NHS Lothian, Queen Margaret University and Volunteer Centre East Lothian (VCEL).
Engaging with residents
The social media campaign follows on from various activities to engage residents since the East Lothian Partnership launch of Community Wealth Building.
It will culminate in a short video, which will be worked into a project with local young people, through the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, on what Community Wealth Building means for them.
The campaign materials will be posted by VCEL and shared on partner channels so you can see them on any of the partners’ Facebook & Instagram news feeds as well as the council’s, of course.
More information on CWB is on our website.
You can also contact our Community Wealth Building Officer Angela Lamont at cwb@eastlothian.gov.uk
East Lothian Partnership working to make a difference
The East Lothian Partnership has been working over the last year to co-produce a new Local Outcome Improvement Plan with communities, partners and using available data. This seeks to address the areas where our communities identify they are facing issues, and work across the Partnership, and with communities, to identify themes, priorities and actions that can improve outcomes for the people who need it the most.
The Plan aims to address poverty and inequality, working in a preventative approach.
Community Planning Partnerships (CPP) are a statutory requirement under the Community Empowerment Act and involve a range of key partners including, but not limited to, our council, ELHSCP, NHS Lothian, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Edinburgh College, Police Scotland, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland and VCEL.
Our CPP in East Lothian is the East Lothian Partnership and it is required to produce a Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) every 10 years. You can find out more about community planning here.
Engagement Report
The East Lothian Partnership Engagement Report was produced in August 2025 and identified three key areas for communities; Health, Safety and Poverty. The report represented voices from over 25,000 local people. Read the report.
Key Themes and Priorities for Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2026-2036
Officers across the Partnership have been working to reframe the language and reflect this back to communities and partners, firstly for the three themes:
Secondly, it has also reframed the key priority areas under each of these themes:
The Partnership will continue the work on the Local Outcome Improvement Plan with a draft of the final plan being presented in December to the Governance Group.
You can keep up to date on the work of the East Lothian Partnership online and follow the Plan's progress through monthly updates.
Previous updates and further information are on the Community Planning pages.
Review of current Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2017-2027
Our current Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2017-2027 will conclude shortly, and an Annual Review 2024-2025 and End of Plan Indicator report have been produced. Both documents are available online.
Further information
Please contact Emma Brown or Lucy Higginson, Connected Communities, if you would like any further information.
Developing an East Lothian Equally Safe Strategy
On 25 November, to coincide with the launch of the international awareness campaign, “16 Days of Activism to eliminate Violence against Women and Girls”, we will launch our campaign to develop a locally focused Equally Safe Strategy.
Equally Safe, is a Scottish Government initiative that aims to create a strong and flourishing Scotland where all individuals can feel equally safe and respected, and where women and girls live free from all forms of violence, abuse and exploitation — and the attitudes that help perpetuate it.
Men and boys also experience abuse and exploitation.
The Equally Safe strategy aims to protect all genders, of all ages.
If you are need of support, please click this link
Violence against women and children happens in East Lothian
Developing the Strategy
Tackling gender-based violence is everyone’s business. East Lothian Council is committed to ensuring that all women, children and young people across our communities live their lives free from violence and abuse and are supported to achieve the best possible outcomes.
In developing the Equally Safe Strategy, East Lothian Council is committed to identifying opportunities to embed outcomes and actions across relevant community planning policy and service areas.
Get involved!
You can get directly involved in the development of the East Lothian Equally Safe Strategy:
We can all take action!
Across each of East Lothian Council’s services, departments and teams we can collectively challenge and transform the attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate, excuse and seek to minimise gender-based violence.
Find out more: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/equally-safe
