Welsh Government Economic Action Plan

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy has announced the next stage of the Economic Action Plan (EAP) introducing the Economic Contract, Call to Action and Economic Futures Fund. The plan seeks to grow our economy and has been developed to meet the needs of today and to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Economic Contract

The Economic Contract is the framework for a new relationship with businesses looking to access finance, requiring businesses to demonstrate their commitment to growth, fair work, employee health and skills and reducing their carbon footprint, reflecting the kind of business behaviours that many successful and responsible businesses exhibit.

Call to Action

Designed to help businesses prepare for the future and adapt to the challenges they may bring. For Wales, these Calls to Action are designed to enable more inclusive economic growth by promoting regional strengths and tackling structural challenges.

  • decarbonisation
  • innovation, entrepreneurship and headquarters
  • exports and Trade
  • high quality employment, skills development and fair work
  • R&D, automation and digitalisation

Economic Futures Fund

The Welsh Government are introducing a streamlined finance package bringing together existing finance schemes into a consistent approach, simplifying the process for businesses and allowing Welsh Government to be flexible in how it uses the resources it has to meet business need, and deliver against the points highlighted in the Economic Contract and the Calls to Action.

For further information on the EAP contact the Business Wales Helpline on 03000 6 03000.
You can view the strategy on the Welsh Government website 

Town Business. Networking & Branding in Denbighshire Towns

This article is part of a series of interviews  giving examples of the range of great businesses there are in our town centres.

Trefor Jones clothes shop

Tudor Jones is the owner of Trefor Jones clothes shop in Ruthin, a well-established family-run business which has been open for 40 years.

The firm offers a range of top-quality menswear including casualwear, formalwear, footwear, wedding hire and accessories.

Mr Jones, whose father founded the business, said: “We are a well-established local brand. We work hard and we have a diverse customer base. We try and have a diverse range in the shop, you have to move on and be flexible.

Tudor Jones owener of trefor Jones

“It is important to move forward and stay relevant, we have a very busy hire department and we have moved into footwear. You have got to have different things going on, we don’t sell as many suits as we did 20 years ago. It is about diversification and still keeping quality products, being different from multi-nationals. Having knowledge and experience and being able to help our customers helps us get repeat custom. We have a reputation and we get customers from the Wirral, Cheshire and the coast.

“There is a great business community in Ruthin. Online shopping isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. People still want to try things on, they want to touch and feel a product.

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“In places like Ruthin there are nice places to eat, there is history to the town. It is a destination as well, shoppers can come to us and spend an afternoon in the town.”