Tag Archives: Welsh Government

The new business will be based at  a new contact centre in Newport where it plans to create 300 jobs with Welsh Government support.

The  FCA-regulated organisation, currently employs 250 people in Swindon, and is opening the new branch at Cleppa Park, Duffryn.  A location in Teeside was under consideration for this project but funding support from the Welsh Government secured the investment for Wales.

The centre opens in June and the business is actively recruiting 24 employees at all levels for its launch date, rising to 60 by end of the year and 300 by 2022.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“This is Carpeo’s first investment in Wales and I am delighted the company is joining a growing and vibrant sector that employs more than 30,000 people in over 200 centres in Wales. 

“Carpeo has ambitious growth plans with the potential for further future investment in Wales and I welcome their plan to open this new business in Newport that will create a range of jobs and training opportunities for local people.”

Carpeo Estate Planning’s Chief Executive Officer Mike Minahan said: 

“Having sat on the board of the Welsh Contact Centre Forum for the past 15 years, I know that Wales has a range of competitive advantages to offer contact centre businesses.  The quality of people available and their experience of working in a regulated services market is a huge pull.  On the softer side, the Welsh accent is sympathetic and consoling, particularly important in our market.

“We’re hugely proud to be bringing these well-paid roles and good employment opportunities to Newport.”

For a small monthly fee, members of the new subscription-based Carpeo Estate Planning service have access to affordable wills and funeral planning products.  Members can also access a discount portal enabling them to save thousands a year on key household purchases, including at supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda. 

Innovative software that has been tried and tested will be utilised to identify those people whom these products and services are particularly relevant and who would have had recent experience of the difficulties of executing an intestate estate.  A potential market of 3 million people has been identified.

Sandra Busby, Managing Director, Welsh Contact Centre Forum, said: 

“This announcement is further evidence of the attraction of Wales as a home for some of the most Innovative contact centre businesses around.  Over the past two decades our role has been to build up 

Wales as the destination of choice for organisations that want to run a successful contact centre.”

Carpeo’s turnover grew to £9.4M this financial year with plans to rapidly increase to £20M over the next four years, by expanding into Wales and potentially other areas of the UK. 

Carpeo Estate Planning has partnered with Hugh James, the UK’s largest provider of will writing Services; Golden Leaves, the market leader in the provision of funeral plans, and professional advisory firm Broomfield & Alexander.

The Welsh Government will amend its Trade Union Bill, at Stage 2 of the Bill’s passage through the National Assembly, to ensure current arrangements remain in place with regards to devolved public services.

The Trade Union (Wales) Bill will, when enacted, reverse the effect of certain provisions in the UK Government’s Trade Union Act 2016, in order to protect and promote the successful Welsh model of social partnership. 

The decision to introduce an amendment to the Bill follows a UK Government consultation on revoking the current legal position where employers are unable to use temporary workers to provide cover when staff take industrial action.

This would apply to industrial action taken by workers in all sectors, including workers employed in the public sector in Wales.

The Welsh Government has since consulted on whether the current position should be maintained in devolved public services and has subsequently decided to amend the Trade Union Bill to prevent the UK Government from legislating in this area.

Speaking ahead of today’s Stage 1 Debate on the Trade Union Bill, the Cabinet Secretary said:

“We have long said that the UK Government’s position is counterproductive -leading to prolonged, protracted disputes, greater confrontation and more disruption to some of the most vulnerable users of our vital public services. 

“Although the UK Government has yet to enact legislation on agency workers, we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that, if they choose to do so, devolved public services would remain unaffected and that the current legal position would remain the same. We are acting to retain the status quo.

“Our Bill and the amendment we are introducing both have the very clear backing of the Assembly’s Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, with strong support for the proud tradition of constructive social partnership we have here in Wales. We are not prepared for this to be partnership to be jeopardised.”

The Group was established to explore the recommendations of the Marsden Report into the future of Wales’ designated landscapes, which provided 69 recommendations, the range and scope of which were considerable.

The report says designated landscapes should be the leaders of the sustainable management of natural resources in their areas and emphasises the importance of joint-working to achieve this.

It recommends the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and all designated landscapes provide assistance and support to other landscape managers across Wales, including landowners, farmers and the wider rural community, on issues such as biodiversity, access and protection, in order for the whole society to benefit fully from our landscapes.

The report acknowledges the challenges the UK’s exit from the EU poses, with so much of Wales’ environmental legislation tied into EU laws and the uncertainty over future funding for agriculture, at a time when action is needed to build the resilience of our eco-systems. It concludes that genuine partnership is needed to ensure the best outcome for Wales.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas said:

“From the start the main feature of the working group was partnership, including everyone from national park authorities and areas of outstanding natural beauty, from agricultural and tourism businesses, voluntary organisations and trusts contributing equally to the discussions.

“The basic principle guiding our work is seeing and understanding the role of designated landscapes not as separate excluded areas, but as a distinctive part which could contribute to good practise for the rest of our country’s landscape.”

The Welsh Government will now look at whether legislation needs to be changed to support the recommendations of the report. This includes looking at whether greater weight should be given to the importance of these areas and their ecosystems in decision making and whether governance arrangements should evolve to reflect local circumstances, rather than the current one-size-fits-all system.  

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:

“Wales’ landscape is a huge part of our identity and an important national asset. It attracts tourism, outdoor recreation and local employment. It delivers benefits to our health and well-being and has been identified as having huge potential for developing greener energy solutions.

“This is why it is so important we are making the most of our iconic landscape. There is much we can learn from each other as we navigate our way towards a future outside of the EU.

“I thank the group for their work on this report. The next step is to deliver against the ambition, not in isolation, but together as part of the collaborative approach.”

The Act aims to improve prevention, protection and support for people affected by violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Since the legislation came into force, achievements include the appointment of the first National Adviser for Violence against Women, Gender-based Violence, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence and the publication of a National strategy. The anniversary coincides with the re-launch of the Welsh Government’s Cross the Line campaign which tackles the subject of emotional abuse from a partner.

Carl Sargeant said he wants to continue to work collectively with organisations to protect and support victims.

Carl Sargeant said:

“We continue to make progress in implementing measures to prevent Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. As well as appointing the first National Adviser and the National Strategy we have published the National Training Framework which will help professionals to deal with disclosures of abuse and ensure consistent training is available for specialist professionals.  

“A pilot of “Ask and Act” – which requires professionals like Health visitors and Housing Officers to identify symptoms of abuse and to ask clients if they are being abused – has also launched in two early adopter sites with a view to further rollout later this year. In addition to these initiatives, some of the work we have done has focused on children and young people to ensure they know how to recognise the symptoms of unhealthy relationships.

“We recognise there are still areas to progress and we will continue to build on the foundations which have already been made to create a stronger, more resilient sector to support individuals and families who are either at risk, or are struggling with the consequences of violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.”