A Welsh Assembly Minister has pledged to back a major campaign to encourage businesses to look locally for professional services.
Lesley Griffiths, the AM for Wrexham and the Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills, believes firms in Wrexham have the skills, talent and abilities to provide top professional services.
She spoke out after being invited to meet members of Wrexham Business Group who have launched a ‘Keep It Local’ campaign.
Their aim is to persuade public and private sector organisations to look closer to home when awarding contracts and commissioning services.
Peter McVeigh, a Director of Coxeys Chartered Accountants in Wrexham, is a founder member of the Group which started in 2009.
He told the AM: “We formed the group in response to what seemed to be the seeping away of business to firms in Chester, Liverpool and Manchester which professional people in this town were quite capable of doing.
“We wanted to raise the profile of professional people in the town to demonstrate that we could provide a service that was at least as good if not better than that available across the border and that it would be cheaper and more accessible too.
“It seems to have snowballed and now we are looking to the Welsh Assembly to ensure that Welsh business is handled by companies in Wales.”
Peter Butler, of law firm GHP Legal, said: “Wrexham is not just a market town, it is a major commercial centre for North Wales and it needs to be made clear that we have the skills here.
“We’re fully supportive of Wrexham’s bid for city status which we believe will also raise the profile of the professional businesses in the area.”
Peter McVeigh added that the Group was itself working hard to raise the profile of the town’s professionals.
They are organising a series of events to show businesses the range of services they could provide.
Fellow Coxeys director Anthony Lewis added: “We have a few examples of work going over the border to English firms due to procurement decisions or policies.
“Once work leaves Wales then the skills go out as well and once they leave it’s challenging to get them back and that’s why it’s important to keep it local.”
Lesley Griffiths said that as a member of the Welsh Assembly Government she was very keen to have an infrastructure available within Wales to support businesses.
She added: “It’s really important that these services remain in Wrexham and we need to raise awareness of the skills available and that we have solicitors and accountants and other businesses who are perfectly able to carry out the work required by businesses and by local residents.
“The Business Group have raised major concerns about the procurement of work that could have been done in Wrexham and this is something I will raise with the relevant minister.
“The Welsh Assembly need to look at how we can help companies tender for this work and I am sure we are doing this.
“It is great to see these people coming together. They are a large group and very influential and this campaign is something I would like to take forward.”
