As Wales charts its course to a net zero economy, it must consider who will own, shape and benefit from it 🪴
@naomimason.bsky.social writes for Wales Centre for Public Policy, diving into the lessons Wales can borrow from Scotland, & where it can lead the way ✒️⤵️
wcpp.org.uk/blog-posts/n...
Tonight the Brit Awards are making their debut in Manchester 🏆
Listen to our head of programmes, Victoria Bettany, speaking to @bbc5live.bsky.social about the opportunity for the local economy 📻
💡 Blog
Research by Q-Step intern, Jasmine Barry, explores tourism in Wales 🔎
Profits are leaking out. Workers face low pay & unaffordable housing. Communities are hollowed out ❌
We need a model that keeps wealth local, strengthens supply chains & creates good jobs ✅
🔗 cles.org.uk/blog/can-tou...
'Devolution will ultimately succeed or fail based on whether people see real improvements in their lives, including their health.' Katherine Merrifield, Assistant Director at the Health Foundation Tom Lloyd Goodwin, Deputy Chief Executive at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies
With our country facing deep and growing health challenges rooted in, and with consequences for, the wider economy and society, Katherine Merrifield and @clesthinkdo.bsky.social's Tom Lloyd Goodwin argue health improvement should be a core test of devolution.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/3MqZcp2
📣 Last chance to apply 📣
Looking for an exciting new role in think tank communications? You have until Monday to apply to become our new Communications Officer! ⏲️
Yesterday was a huge day in the world of community wealth building.
Scotland became the first country to legislate for it, at a national level.
This means that the committment to tackle wealth inequality is baked into how we deliver economic development, and how we operate as a country.
At 10:00 @clesthinkdo.bsky.social will be leading an exciting session on how Community Wealth Building can be integrated into both strategic thinking and day-to-day operational decisions across local authorities, partner organisations and the communities they serve.
Members of the Scottish Parliament have just voted to pass the world’s first piece of legislation on Community Wealth Building
This is a huge opportunity to ensure that when Scotland has economic growth, we use it to reduce wealth inequality and support communities to thrive
Join Sarah Longlands (Chief Executive, CLES) and Simon Grove‑White (Senior Researcher, CLES & Co‑Author of the CCIN Social Value Toolkit) as they unpack how CWB principles shape everyday decisions on procurement, employment, land and assets.
@clesthinkdo.bsky.social
"We shouldn’t simply accept that poverty, inequality and environmental degradation are worth the price of a growing economy"
@naomimason.bsky.social for @holyroodmag.bsky.social's The Huddle on the future of Scotland's economy 🖊️👇
www.holyrood.com/inside-polit...
A crackdown on profiteering in the care sector is much needed. Recent RORE research found that in just three English regions private companies took more than £250m in profit over three years from the care sector. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
As a society, we all play a role in collective caregiving. Every child deserves the best start in life, which is why we must reject caring for the most vulnerable children from being a cash cow for profiteering 👛
We are pleased that government plan to act ⤵️
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
England's children's care market is broken. Foster carers down 10%, costs spiralling, kids placed hundreds of miles from home. Can Greater Manchester's reforms fix a system in crisis?
Read my piece below for @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/20...
"What is being taken out is not just money. It is capacity. It is dignity."
Check out this blog from Truth about Local Government about our latest 'Reclaiming Our Regional Economies' research ⤵️
www.truthaboutlocalgovernment.com/post/care-as...
I’m really excited to be recruiting a Comms Officer to work closely with me on CLES’s communications 💫
2026 is going to be a fab year to join us. We’ll celebrate our 40th birthday, launch our new-look brand and website, and we’ve big ambitions to step up our news and advocacy profile 💪🏻
See here 👇🏻
🚨 We are recruiting a Communications Officer 🚨
If you are a skilled communications professional who cares about building better local economies, find out more and apply here ⤵️
cles.org.uk/jobs/were-re...
Our partners at Cast from Clay are looking for a Communications Consultant. If you’re a comms professional interested in making change happen and are ready for a new challenge, this one’s worth a look ⤵️
castfromclay.co.uk/career/consu...
2026 is special to CLES, because it's the year in which we turn 40! 🥳
@sarahlonglands.bsky.social outlines what else we can expect in local economic policy this year, for the MJ ✒️
www.themj.co.uk/powering-loc...
Five Lessons About Anchor Networks
In this blog, originally posted on the The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) website, a Delivery Partner of the LPIP Hub, Conrad Parke discusses lessons learnt at a recent London Anchor Institution Network event.
https://ow.ly/zxmS50XW7qU
A budget with a lot of positive actions, but there are a few cautionary notes as well.
If Scotland is a nation of "innovators and wealth creators" lets make sure that wealth stays here and builds for our places and communities.
Asking those with the broadest shoulders to back our shared priorities was the right call to make in today's Budget. But its delivery must shift real power and ownership to Scotland's communities 💪
@naomimason.bsky.social reacts to today's Scottish Budget from @shonarobison.bsky.social ⤵️
Want to learn the fundamentals of how local economies can be reshaped to work for people, places & our planet? 💡
Join us for our upcoming 'An Introduction to Community Wealth Building' workshop! 👷♀️
🔗 Register here: cles.org.uk/events/an-in...
📅 When: Thursday 5th March
💻 Where: Online
2026 is here and it's set to be a big year for local economies in Scotland!
@naomimason.bsky.social breaks down what's ahead for her latest policy & practice update:
🗳️ Elections
📜 Community Wealth Building legislation
🥳 CLES turns 40
🔗 cles.org.uk/blog/scottis...
Together with @thekingsfund.bsky.social, we've how English devolution can fulfil its potential to reduce health inequalities
@davidjbuck.bsky.social explains in this HSJ article, drawing on our recent essay with David, Tom Lloyd Goodwin & @lucatiratelli.bsky.social ⤵️
www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...
Just in time for the Xmas stocking! Hope you have a good one. Our in depth @thekingsfund.bsky.social @clesthinkdo.bsky.social piece this is based on is on CLES website linked in the HSJ article www.hsj.co.uk/policy-and-r...
All we want for Christmas is local economies that work for everyone 📜
So here's to building them in 2026! 👷♀️
Wishing you the happiest of holidays, from all at CLES 🎅
This afternoon, Minister @allymcgovern.bsky.social gave a statement to parliament on the provisional local government finance settlement 🗣️
We welcome the restoration of the link between council funding and deprivation 👏
Our response ⤵️
Have just had an article published with @publicsectorfocus.bsky.social for @clesthinkdo.bsky.social about how profit is being extracted from locally commissioned care services and how to build a better care system
flickread.com/edition/html...
The Devolution White Paper and the 10 year Health Plan have massively changed the landscape for two increasingly important public sector bodies - Strategic Authorities and Integrated Care Systems.
Improving health inequalities will require them to work together. Here's how they can do that 👇
