The investment is backed by £293,500 from the Welsh Government’s Business Finance Scheme which ensures JCP’s expansion goes ahead at its current Swansea headquarters, rather than opening a new office outside of Wales – which was an option under consideration.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“This project supports our drive to spread economic benefits throughout Wales and to develop the competitive edge of each region of Wales, creating better jobs, closer to home.

 

“The growth of the legal services sector in Wales is a key priority of the financial and professional services’ strategy and I am pleased Welsh Government support means this expansion will be made in Swansea and help to strengthen and broaden the legal skills base within Swansea City Region.

 

“It will not only create 50 new jobs, offering career opportunities for law graduates and young solicitors, but of equal importance, it will safeguard a further 20 legal administration jobs in the city.”

Established in 1990, JCP currently employs 210 people, with offices in Swansea, Carmarthen and throughout Pembrokeshire. 

The company’s recent merger with Glamorgan Law extended its geographical reach throughout South East Wales, absorbing offices in Caerphilly, Cardiff, Cowbridge and Pontypridd. 

To accommodate the growth of its services to clients based outside Wales – both in the UK and internationally – JCP Solicitors aims to expand into an adjacent property on Waterside Business Park in Swansea.

Hayley Davies, Director and CEO at JCP Solicitors said: 

“The past 5 years have been an exciting time for growth at JCP Solicitors, and the recent merger with Glamorgan Law further supports our Business Strategy. Our next step is expansion by organic growth, but we have deliberated for some time on the best location to do this, having outgrown our current Swansea base some time ago.

 

“This investment will support us to further develop our services through the recruitment of new team members. The appointment of specialist and supporting roles will provide the required expertise to further assist thriving businesses in the Swansea Bay region.  

 

“I am delighted that our business will be able to keep this investment and these extra jobs here in the Swansea Bay Region. Furthermore, pressing ahead with the expansion without moving means that we will be able to continue to service our existing and loyal client base without causing them or our staff any disruption.”

The number of tourism day visits made to Wales in the 12 months ending June 2017 has increased by 9% compared to the 12 months previous, while the amount spent has increased by 34%.

In the 12 months ending June 2017, there were 100.7 million tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £4,711 million. 

Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said: 

“In what is an extremely competitive market place, tourism in Wales is in a strong position.  In 2016 the total number of visits to Wales – taking into account tourism day visits, international visitors as well GB overnights visits – was 15% up.  It’s excellent news that the day trips market is performing strongly into the early summer of 2017.  Added to this, 87% of respondents in our tourism barometer survey said they were confident about how their business will perform over the summer. 

“We will continue with our campaign work to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities to attract overseas visitors and those looking to holiday at home due to the weak pound.  Visit Wales’ London marketing campaign has been targeting London and the South East over the summer to entice Londoners to Wales during the Year of Legends.  This includes a huge motion screen at Waterloo station to showcase Wales at its best with a specially edited film.”

The additional places are being created as part of a wider package of investment to develop new and improved NHS dental services across Wales.

As part of this investment, £450,000 will go to Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and £300,000 to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board to provide access to new NHS dentistry places. Cardiff has seen significant population growth and this additional funding will help meet a growing need. New access is also planned in the areas of greatest need across the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area. 

In addition, new investment is being made to strengthen specialist children’s dentistry services. This will see new consultant and specialist appointments being made to work with existing community and hospital-based services. This will help increase access to specialist paediatric dental services closer to home and ensure those children with highest treatment need have timely access to treatment. 

The new specialists will work closely with general dental practice teams to improve children’s preventive care and treatment services in NHS dental services in Wales. It’s expected up to 3,000 additional patients per year will be able to access specialist paediatric dentistry services as a result, which will reduce waiting times for hospital-based services.

Other investments as part of a wider reform of the way in which NHS dental services are delivered include:

• Funding for courses to equip all dentists in Wales with the skills and knowledge they need to lead their teams in the delivery of effective preventive treatment and care
• A clinically-led dental e-referral management system for Wales that will improve the quality of patient care and reduce waiting times for treatment
• Improving dental information to better understand variation in provision and to link the use of services by patients to improve the value of services and outcomes of care
• Widening access to training and education for communities by offering opportunities for people who want to train and work as dental care professionals. 

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said:

“Improving NHS dental services and patients’ access to them is a priority for the Welsh Government. 

“I’m really pleased that the investment I’m announcing today will create 10,000 new NHS dental places. This will improve access to NHS dental services for people in some of the most deprived areas of Wales.

“We’re also investing in new specialist paediatric dentistry to ensure the needs of the most vulnerable children are met. The investment in specialist paediatric dentistry will help improve NHS dental treatment and care for those children who are affected by dental disease.”

The £300,000 Cymraeg 2050 Grant will fund innovative, short-term projects which aim to increase the use of Welsh. This will include funding to support groups or organisations that have new ideas to create and promote technology which supports the use of Welsh.

Embedding positive language use practices supported by formal and informal opportunities to use Welsh – whether face to face in community settings, in the workplace or through digital platforms – is a key element of the new Welsh language strategy – Cymraeg 2050: A million Welsh speakers. In particular, it will support our efforts to increase people’s daily use of the language.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said:

“We want the use of Welsh to be a routine part of everyday life so that speakers at all levels feel confident in using it in formal and informal situations. This fund seeks to broaden our horizons to pilot new ideas and work with a wide range of organisations to give everyone the opportunity to use the language.

“We are very clear that it is our responsibility as a Government to set the direction and provide leadership for growing the language. This fund is a strong starting point for our Cymraeg 2050 strategy.”

As well as the target for the number of Welsh speakers to reach 1 million by 2050, the Cymraeg 2050 strategy also includes a target to increase the the percentage of the population that speak Welsh daily, and can speak more than just a few words of Welsh, from 10% (in 2013-15) to 20% by 2050.

The fund is open to organisations from all sectors, and is not limited to current grant recipients. We particularly welcome applications from new applicants wishing to promote the Welsh language to new audiences.

The application process will be open from today (7 August) until 22 September 2017.

The Finance Secretary will meet scientists from Bangor University and representatives from the industry to hear about the progress of two cross-border projects aimed at growing both nations’ shellfish industries and assessing the effects of climate change in the Irish Sea.

The projects are part of the EU’s Ireland-Wales co-operation programme, which is strengthening economic links and collaboration between both nations. The programme is one of a range of EU territorial cooperation initiatives in which Wales currently participates.

Mark Drakeford said: 

“The Irish Sea is a vitally important shared resource between both our nations, so it’s essential we work together to address the common challenges and opportunities arising from climate and environmental changes.

“These projects are harnessing the expertise of scientists on both sides of the Irish Sea to help preserve marine life and provide ground-breaking insights to safeguard and develop the fisheries industry in Wales and Ireland. They are excellent examples of working together to provide solutions to cross-border challenges.“

As part of the Bluefish and Irish Sea Portal projects, Bangor University has teamed up with fellow Irish and Welsh universities as well as Ireland’s Marine Institute and its seafood development agency, Bord Iascaigh Mhara.

The projects are investigating the migratory movement of commercial fish, risks from new non-native species and how climate change is affecting the health of fish stocks.

Fisheries businesses are also benefiting from guidance in adapting to environmental changes in the Irish Sea and support to capitalise on new commercial opportunities to develop the industry.

Bangor University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor John G. Hughes, said: 

“Both the Bluefish and the Irish Sea Portal projects are excellent examples of international research which benefit the coastal communities of Wales and Ireland.

“By working together with universities, industry bodies and commercial partners on both sides of the Irish Sea, the world-leading expertise of Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences is having real and positive impact on the lives of those working in the marine sector.”

Mark Drakeford added: 

“Welsh businesses and universities are benefiting very significantly from a range of initiatives supporting pan-European collaboration through the European Territorial Cooperation programmes. It’s vital we retain access to these opportunities as part of any new relationship with Europe.”