Overview of the Act
The Community Empowerment Act helps to empower community bodies through the ownership of land and buildings, and by strengthening their voices in the decisions that matter to them.
It improves outcomes for communities by improving the process of community planning, ensuring that local service providers work together even more closely with communities to meet the needs of the people who use them.
It also provides new rights for communities, allowing them to take over delivery of services in some circumstances and to request the transfer of land and buildings owned by public bodies, where it can be demonstrated to be in the best interest of the community. The Act applies to both communities of place and communities of interest.
The Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2015 and received Royal Assent, becoming an Act, on 24 July 2015 and becoming law in January 2017. There are 11 topics covered by the Act. The summary document gives a brief description of each topic and how they are being implemented by the Scottish Government. Each part of the Act will come into effect at different times, depending on how much preparation is needed.
