08/04/2016 BBC Wales Today


08/04/2016

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Judie Thomas owes tax and she owes wages to some of her

:00:09.:00:13.

Questions tonight over why she got thousands of pounds

:00:14.:00:16.

And the call for children who have free school meals -

:00:17.:00:20.

not to be allowed to go hungry in the holidays.

:00:21.:00:34.

Questions are being asked tonight about the Welsh Government's support

:00:35.:00:39.

for a businesswoman who's being pursued by former employees

:00:40.:00:41.

and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for unpaid

:00:42.:00:43.

Judie Thomas runs companies with links to the fashion industry.

:00:44.:00:46.

But a BBC Wales investigation has found that she was awarded funding

:00:47.:00:49.

despite leaving a trail of debt from previous business ventures.

:00:50.:00:51.

Helena was an apprentice at Project WT, a clothes factory in

:00:52.:01:07.

Helena was an apprentice at Project WD, a clothes factory in

:01:08.:01:09.

She was employed under the Welsh government's flagship

:01:10.:01:12.

skills programme for young people, Jobs Growth Wales.

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But she left the company in February as she wasn't

:01:15.:01:17.

It is an added stress that I don't need at the moment.

:01:18.:01:22.

I thought that with Project WD, it

:01:23.:01:29.

I thought it would be too good to be true.

:01:30.:01:33.

So I was left feeling confused and very, very angry.

:01:34.:01:35.

Helena is just one of a number of people who say they weren't paid

:01:36.:01:39.

properly for their time at Project WD.

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Judie Thomas is the owner of the company.

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In 2010, a BBC Wales Week In Week Out investigation revealed a

:01:46.:01:47.

trail of debt and broken promises surrounding events she promoted

:01:48.:01:50.

Three years after the programme, Judie

:01:51.:01:56.

Thomas is still involved in the world of fashion, making

:01:57.:01:58.

The Welsh government gave her ?9,000 of

:01:59.:02:02.

funding in a scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit

:02:03.:02:05.

But some of her staff are now pursuing court action

:02:06.:02:11.

Judie Thomas didn't respond to our questions so

:02:12.:02:16.

Firstly, Mrs Thomas, I'm just wondering why you haven't

:02:17.:02:20.

I'm not really willing to discuss it.

:02:21.:02:23.

Do you think the Welsh government should be giving you

:02:24.:02:32.

money, Mrs Thomas, considering your business background?

:02:33.:02:34.

But it is not only employees of Project

:02:35.:02:38.

Chris Price runs a civil engineering firm in

:02:39.:02:44.

For the past two years, he has been pursuing a debt of

:02:45.:02:53.

?33,000 from another company of which Judie Thomas was a director

:02:54.:02:56.

after his firm did a sub contracting job for them.

:02:57.:02:59.

He was shocked that she had received government funding.

:03:00.:03:01.

It doesn't take a lot of digging to find previous

:03:02.:03:03.

companies have gone through being wound up.

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I would have thought a bit more due diligence would have been

:03:06.:03:08.

The company that owed Chris money was forced into

:03:09.:03:12.

It is understood that Judie Thomas owes

:03:13.:03:20.

The Welsh government says it is investigating its involvement

:03:21.:03:28.

with Judie Thomas and cannot comment well that is ongoing.

:03:29.:03:31.

with Judie Thomas and cannot comment while that is ongoing.

:03:32.:03:33.

Although it did say that companies participating in its schemes must

:03:34.:03:36.

provide evidence of wages being paid before they receive funding.

:03:37.:03:39.

Helena says her wages have recently been

:03:40.:03:40.

An investigation has begun into a fire at a disused school

:03:41.:03:46.

in Cardiff which the fire service says was probably

:03:47.:03:48.

Emergency services were called to Glyn Derw High School at around

:03:49.:03:52.

At its peak 54 firefighters and seven engines were on site.

:03:53.:04:05.

Two RAF jets were scrambled to escort a civilian aircraft

:04:06.:04:08.

These pictures, filmed by a viewer, show the plane

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landing and the Typhoons, which were launched

:04:13.:04:13.

They were brought in as a precautionary measure when

:04:14.:04:19.

It's believed the privately-owned plane lost radio contact.

:04:20.:04:26.

During term-time many children across Wales benefit

:04:27.:04:28.

And tonight there are calls for something similar to be provided

:04:29.:04:33.

The Church in Wales says that it's too often left to the voluntary

:04:34.:04:39.

sector and the service can be patchy.

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From Wrexham, Teleri Glyn Jones reports.

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Every morning during the school holidays, these volunteers prepare

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This food is delivered to children in some of the most

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This team at St Marks Church provides food

:04:56.:05:00.

for three playschemes during the school holiday.

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Now, that doesn't come cheap and although much of this

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food is donated, it costs around ?350 per week.

:05:09.:05:13.

That's money that comes straight from the Church in

:05:14.:05:15.

The Church in Wales say that because there is no

:05:16.:05:20.

place to support children during the holidays,

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feeding the most needy in

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our society has been left to the voluntary sector

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The provision is there during school term time and then suddenly

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there is a gap and while it is perhaps not so bad during half term,

:05:35.:05:37.

when it comes to the long school summer holidays, some children can

:05:38.:05:40.

seriously lose food over a long period of time.

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I certainly think that they should be doing some more

:05:45.:05:46.

if they have the resources and are able to do it because it is

:05:47.:05:50.

certainly true that for some families, their budgets are so

:05:51.:05:52.

The relationship between eating well and doing well at school

:05:53.:05:59.

is well established but research by Bangor University suggests not

:06:00.:06:01.

having enough food during the holidays can

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Teachers noticed that the children aren't performing as well,

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not learning as well and it takes a month or longer for them

:06:12.:06:15.

to actually catch up with where they were before

:06:16.:06:17.

There is an argument that this will be a logical

:06:18.:06:21.

step for the government to step in because we already have three school

:06:22.:06:27.

to be provided when children are on holiday.

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This children's centre is one of the schemes that benefits

:06:32.:06:33.

Gareth, one of the play leaders here, says the food

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A lot of these kids spend hours down here.

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We are open eight hours during the

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So they spend a lot of time down here, obviously, burning

:06:48.:06:51.

up a lot of energy doing what they are doing.

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They are getting engrossed in things and they forget

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they have not had a butty or something like that so giving our

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It is back to school next week for these

:07:00.:07:03.

The situation here and across Wales will no doubt give

:07:04.:07:06.

The disused Grade II listed Coal Exchange building

:07:07.:07:09.

in Cardiff Bay is to be converted into a luxury 200-suite hotel.

:07:10.:07:13.

The developer says the ?40 million project will create 100 construction

:07:14.:07:16.

jobs and employ 60 staff members once it's open.

:07:17.:07:21.

There have been several failed attempts to regenerate the building

:07:22.:07:24.

where the first ever million pound cheque was signed.

:07:25.:07:26.

One campaign group has raised concerns over

:07:27.:07:28.

Golf and Ian Woosnam says he's played his final Masters,

:07:29.:07:37.

25 years after winning the Green Jacket,

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After finishing 19 over par he said it would be his last go

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at Augusta because he was in pain all the way round.

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He's the only Welshman to win one of golf's major championships.

:07:49.:07:51.

Time for the weekend weather forecast now with Derek.

:07:52.:08:03.

A variety of spring weather this weekend. Gardeners, look out for

:08:04.:08:10.

some frost and wind on Sunday. Tonight we have a band of rain

:08:11.:08:14.

moving eastwards, clearing and followed by dry weather overnight.

:08:15.:08:18.

Showers reaching the south-west later on and by the end of the

:08:19.:08:22.

night, cold enough inland for a touch of frost.

:08:23.:08:25.

The northeast dry and sunny for a time.

:08:26.:08:27.

Elsewhere showers heavy in places with hail and sleet.

:08:28.:08:29.

You may even hear a rumble of thunder!

:08:30.:08:32.

So it's a case of dodging the showers tomorrow.

:08:33.:08:36.

But in between the showers some blue sky and sunshine with fewer showers

:08:37.:08:42.

Only six to nine Celsius with a light to moderate breeze.

:08:43.:08:54.

The temperature dropping sharply during a shower.

:08:55.:08:58.

If you're heading into the hills and mountains, the thermals

:08:59.:09:01.

Freezing on Pen y Fan with a mixture of sunshine,

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Tomorrow evening one or two showers otherwise a dry night.

:09:07.:09:10.

Some frost, especially in mid and north Wales.

:09:11.:09:14.

Low-pressure centre to the south of the British Isles so a breezy day on

:09:15.:09:28.

Sunday with the strongest winds in the south-west. A couple of showers

:09:29.:09:33.

but otherwise a lot of dry weather. The best of the sunshine in the

:09:34.:09:35.

North. However, some rain may reach south

:09:36.:09:38.

later in the afternoon. So a mixed bag this weekend

:09:39.:09:40.

but not a total write-off. Next week, changeable

:09:41.:09:43.

and turning a bit warmer. We're back with our next update at 6

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o'clock tomorrow evening.

:09:46.:09:49.

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