WAG could have been cross subsidising Ventura's English operations. - Randerson

3.40.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 17th Jun 2008

Jenny Randerson is concenred about the number of job losses in Cardiff

Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Cardiff Central, Jenny Randerson AM today raised the possibility that Ventura, the company that recently announced it is making 600 job cuts at its site in Splott, Cardiff, may have been using Welsh Assembly money to cross subsidise branches outside of Wales.

Jenny Randerson raised the issue during an urgent statement by the Minister for the Economy and Transport on the job losses and asked the Minister if he had any guarantees that the money that WAG provided as an RSA Grant to Ventura last year had not been used to cross-subsidise other branches in England.

Jenny Randerson said: "I am deeply concerned that Welsh money provided through the RSA Grant may have been used by the company to cross-subsidise branches outside of Wales. The Minister only gave a commitment to try and get back as much of the grant as possible.

"One of the reasons given for the closure was the fact that only 10 months remained on the lease. It begs the question of whether the Government should be so willing to spend money on businesses with such a short leasehold commitment.

"If this company have been spending Welsh money on other branches while planning to close their Welsh operations then it would be nothing short of scandalous."

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