29/06/2011 BBC Wales Today

cattle mart. Wales gears up for a day of public

sector strikes tomorrow. 1,000 schools will be affected.

Modern warfare on the frontline - we'll meet the men who control the

unmanned spy planes saving lives in Afghanistan.

And Neath are in Norway preparing for their biggest game in their

Radical new measures to improve standards in schools will come into

force within months. The Education Minister, Leighton Andrews, says

two major reforms will be rolled out nationwide from September as

schools continue to "underperform". Pupils will sit a national reading

test every year from age six to fourteen. And a new grading system

will be introduced, with schools being placed in different "bands"

based on their performance. Our education correspondent, Ciaran

Jenkins, reports. Would you like to start reading to

me? From September, six-year-old will sit new national reading tests.

It is part of the Welsh government's plan to drive up

standards in our schools. Returning to testing is a bold move. Our it -

- our teachers ready for what is to come? I do welcome having something

but we are finishing in a three weeks for a long summer break. I

think they need to get their act together and get something out as

quickly as possible. Every pupil aged six to 14 will take the new

assessment each year, and a similar test formats will follow in 2012.

We asked your parents in Carmarthen what they thought. It has become a

competition between the children. It is not about the enjoyment from

what they are learning. They can't read it. The teacher still read

books to them up. Fair enough in a secondary school, or maybe even

nine or 10, but a star so early is asking a bit much. Reading test is

just one of 20 areas for immediate action set up by the Education

Minister in February. Today, an update on the process -- progress

has been made in far-reaching reform. Perhaps the most

controversial measure, a new system which, from the autumn, will give

every single school A grade. League tables were removed in Wales 10

years ago so is this naming and shaming underperforming schools?

Local authorities will have to identify the range of support they

will need to give to schools in whatever band they find themselves.

It is clear that we have got to do more to improve the school

standards. We have got world-class best practice in Wales but we are

not spreading that practice around sufficient schools in our country.

It could potentially be a form of league table dressed up in another

term. We are totally against that. We don't think it is the right way

forward. We do not want schools being pitted against each other.

Schools are bracing themselves for these radical changes. National

tests and a school grading are very much on the way.

Around 1,500 people have turned out in Welshpool for what's been

described as an unprecedented meeting of Powys County Council.

The council meeting was switched to the town's livestock market to

discuss windfarm developments. We're live in the small village of

Meifod in rural Montgomeryshire where many people have opposed the

planned developments. Our environment correspondent, Iolo Ap

Dafydd, is there. Good evening. Meifod is a focal

point for a lot of people who oppose windfarms and new power

lines. Earlier today, in Welshpool, it was a big day for Powys Council

and an important one for the growing protest movement in Mid

Wales. There was an important debate and

vote on the wind energy in Wales. They came in their hundreds to make

their feelings clear to their councillors as they arrived for

Powys County Council's first full meeting outside its headquarters.

But demonstrated -- demonstrators gathered to watch one

representative after another say they wanted an immediate review of

the policy. In the end, the vote was a formality. It is a clear

majority mandate. I am really relieved that we have got this, Tan

8, but it is even more important that it goes to the UK government.

What was said today in the vote was a watershed moment for Powys.

Hopefully, it will be sold to the public and what we have done can be

taken to the next step. David Jones was the man who proposed the motion.

I was hoping it would give councillors an opportunity to show

where they stood, but I am really pleased that we have unanimously

asked the Assembly Government to review Tan 8, and if they will do

that, so will be Westminster government. Barely half an hour

away, things are different in this village. These hills are home to

the first Tan 8 windfarms completed two years ago. This farmer says he

had little option but to diverse a time -- diversify to stay in the

area. The family farm was not big enough to sustain this all on the

farm and we needed to look at alternatives. We were very lucky at

the time because the wind industry in Wales has given us that

opportunity. There has been little local opposition because much of

the money his schemes generate goes straight into the community below.

You can see some new dug-outs, the post. Sports clubs, individuals

looking to retrain have all received Wyn windfalls are --

windfalls. We could not do it financially. Not without it.

the battle against windfarms goes on a. These campaigners have their

sights set on Cardiff Bay and Westminster up.

Here in Meifod, the protesters have been here for quite a while and

they have focused on the wind energy policy of the Welsh

government, the Tan 8 policy, and that is why it has been a

consistent battle-cry by people here to try and look at that policy

again and amend it. That is why that, for the people in a Meifod

and other parts of want, Sher, it has become such a battle cry. --

Montgomeryshire. Last month, around 1,500 demonstrators came to Cardiff

to demand a review of the policy. They want less encouragement for

wind farms in seven specific areas of Wales. This policy is called Tan

8. Many Mid-Wales are concerned about more being built in the

county. For several years, this woman has opposed the Tan 8 policy.

I underestimated the interest that would be shown by a windfarms

developers. The policy was talked about 10 years ago and launched in

2005. The Assembly Government has unveiled seven zones where wind

farms will be built in the future. We are changing the Planning

guidance to make it clear where windfarms are appropriate. He is

now First Minister in control of smaller energy projects. Decisions

on larger developments are made in Westminster. It has refused to hand

over power to the Welsh government. Carwyn Jones has said they should

be an upper limit of windfarms being built but he has not amended

his Tan 8 policy. Tan 8 has been used as a stick to beat us but we

don't know if Tan 8 will be used as the basis to make the planning

decision. It may well be the English Planning guidance. It is an

English Commission that will be determining the advice. Tan 8

designate seven areas for windfarms development. One in North Wales, a

3 in Mid Wales, another in West Wales, and two in the heads of the

valleys. Now the wind industry as well as Powys Council are pushing

for a full review of Wales's direction on wind energy. Does it

get our vote? Know. Do we think it is likely to work without a

comprehensive review? Know. There is a lack of infrastructure. The

highway network is vitally important and people are concerned

about how you're going to get them on to the sites. The other thing is,

how do you get the electricity of the site? You are going to need

overhead cables, a massive infrastructure as far as cabling is

concerned, far exceeding what people originally believed what was

in Tan 8. The catalyst igniting local anger is his hundreds of new

windfarms are built, it will lead to the National Grid expanding its

infrastructure into Mid-Wales. Many in Powys remain unconvinced about

Carwyn Jones argument that it will be the UK government that will

impose windfarms rather than the Tan 8 policy.

Let's talk to Jonathan Wilkinson who is a farmer who lives just

outside here but also an opponent of wind farms. First of all, Powys

Council can actually decide on nine of the current windfarms in its

planning. In its own authority, they can refuse these. I believe

they can. The smaller developments are just a part of the picture.

There are many larger windfarms applications which will not be in a

Powys County Council's hands. It will not be for them to decide what

happens. One got the sense today that county councillors were saying,

it is nothing to do with us, we want the Welsh government to look

at Tan 8, but it could still do a lot by refusing the wind farms and

the applications which are on their desk in a planning offices. Yes, I

think Powys County Council have shown a commitment to do this. It

is a much bigger picture. What happened today was extremely

symbolic and sent a clear message to the lodge Assembly Government

that Powys, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire are completely not in

favour of this did element and the whole thing needs to be looked at

again. The question you will get is, if not wind energy in future when

we close our coal-fired power station, where will the energy come

from? Because we all use electricity. The extensive

windfarms development would need extensive backing. It is not an

argument to say we do away with conventional back up. We agree that

renewable energy is certainly needed. There are many other

renewable forms. Community-based renewable energy to take the

communities along with them. These certainly are not. Thank you very

much. The last government has responded and said anything under

50 megawatt is under the control of the local authority and it is not

need the authority of the Welsh government to decide on those

windfarms applications. Nine in Powys, 62 decided outside powers in

Westminster. -- 6 to be decided. David Cameron has attacked the

Welsh Government's record on the NHS. Speaking during his weekly

Prime Minister's Questions, he said under Labour more people are

waiting longer in Wales. I hope it is in order to talk about

Labour's record in Wales because that is the, what we are seeing, if

anybody wants to know what would happen to the NHS under Labour,

they can look at Wales where they are slashing the NHS budget and

they are seeing more people waiting for longer. That is what happens

when you get a Labour Party running the NHS.

The Welsh Government has hit back tonight, claiming the Prime

Minister is wrong. In a statement, they say, with the exception of

orthopaedics, waiting lists here have been on target for every month

since October 2009. Two friends of the 16-year-old boy

accused of murdering the teenager Rebecca Aylward have been giving

evidence at his trial. 15-year-old Rebecca was found dead in woods in

Aberkenfig, near Bridgend, in October last year. The pair told

the court the defendant, who can't be named for legal reasons, was

responsible for the killing. But the defence claimed it was

orchestrated and carried out by them.

The three chairmen of the regional boards set-up to tackle TB in

cattle have resigned. They say they've been by-passed and badly

misled by the Welsh Government. It comes after the Environment

Minister decided to put the planned Around 20,000 civil servants are

expected to go on strike around Wales tomorrow. The latest figures

show at least 800 schools could be hit and other public buildings. Our

business correspondent his out the DVLA in Swansea. What can we

expect? That us start with the civil service side. I am outside

the DVLA. Around 5,000 people work here. Around 3,500 are members of

the same union which would be striking tomorrow. The PCS Union

also has members among coastguards, Jobcentres and even the National

Museum. Places like that will also be affected. This action is all

about proposals to change pensions. A notoriously complex subject when

it comes to industrial negotiations. The PCS union estimates that around

20,000 civil servants will take industrial action tomorrow. Among

the proposals they are fighting is that the UK government wants to

increase contributions to their pensions by 2%. From Twenty20, the

pensioned retirement age were raised to 66 from 60. Despite these

walkouts, the impact on the general public and the way they go about

their daily business tomorrow will be fairly limited. The biggest

impact will be the strike by Across Wales, around half hour

schools will be affected in one way or another. Some like this one will

be closed completely to pupils. In other schools, they're asking some

children in some classes to stay away. A couple of teaching unions,

the NUT and the ATL are taking part in the strike. Other teaching

unions will not be involved. The UK's Education Secretary has warned

the strikes may damage the reputation of the teaching

profession. The strikes will cause headaches for many working parents

what to make alternative arrangements. If in doubt, contact

your school or your local authority. We will have a reaction to those

strikes in tomorrow's programme. We will also assess the impact it has

had on schools and public services. Still to come: the ice in the sky.

We will be talking to Welsh soldiers using spy planes to help

save lives in Afghanistan. S4C has had a turbulent year. That

is according to the new chairman. The annual report shows few were

people watched S4C during peak hours last year. S4C says it is

confident of meeting the challenges ahead.

There has been plenty of drama on S4C over the past year. Almost as

much going on behind the scenes to. The chief executive lost her job

last summer. The director of programmes at chairman also left.

In October, the UK component and asked the funding would be kept and

it would be financed by the BBC from 2013. Today's report also

shows audiences falling. For a channel trying to win back the West

with less money, it is the perfect storm. At the same time, we're able

to demonstrate that has been an increase in the breached figure for

the year. The number of people tuning in at some point during each

week has increased by something like 12%. The new chairman said for

legal reasons he could not comment whether the former Chase -- chief

executive had been paid off. accounts are full and complete in

respect of all relevant details. Friday, S4C is expected to announce

changes to its Schedule. The channel says it is confident it can

meet the challenges ahead. Cars to Japan. Tidemark Deeside plant will

start exporting engines to the homeland. European cars are in

fashion in Japan. The UK government wants more young people to take a

hands-on approach to manufacturing. These teachers and careers advisers

were taking a tour around Toyota today. This is a great year there

were people can develop skills which are practical and there is a

range of choices. We try to make sure we inform people in each

locality about what is available. Visitors today have been learning

that the automotive industry is a rich and rewarding place to work.

It can be volatile. The factory here as it will cope with the

devastation of the Japanese earthquake and salami. We just

started exporting the Avensis model back to Japan. It is a real

endorsement of the quality of the product. That is encouraging to

these students who would like to work in the industry. I like taking

things apart and putting them back together. We've tried with clocks

and phones. My parents were engineers in different areas. It

runs in the family. manufacturing sector in Wales has

its ups and downs. Long-term success depends on the tools being

handed down. They had become an essential part

of modern warfare. Unmanned spy planes flew at -- being flown by

remote control are a vital resource for troops on the ground. The

Territorial Army soldiers have been operating them in Afghanistan. They

say they have helped save countless lives. A US spy plane takes to

disguise. This vehicle -- these vehicles are commonly deployed over

airspace. British forces have been using the Desert Hawk, a remote

control plane relaying information to troops on the ground before they

advance on an unknown territory. These soldiers from Newport have

been using this aerial technology in Helmand Province. They are

convinced it has saved lives. of the troops on the ground did not

like going out on the ground unless they had a fee in the air. This

will activity on certain roads, we thought it was a dodgy area and we

could advise them not to take that route. It could potentially save

lives. The Desert Hawk is just one metres long and weighs about the

same as three bags of sugar. It is guided from the ground by a laptop

computer. It is an early warning system for advancing troops.

discovered there was Taliban. We stopped our guys going in to where

they had planted a bomb. These soldiers are acutely aware of how

important it is to provide ground troops with accurate reconnaissance

from the air. They argue more lives would have been lost without the

intelligence gathered from the sky. Neath football fans are getting

ready for the biggest game in the club's history. They will be in a

European action for the first time in their Europa League qualifying

round. They will be facing Aalesund. The famous ground which is hoped to

the football ground which is now on the European stage. They gained

entry into Europe after doing so well last season. The Norwegian

opponents play and I artificial pitch. If we apply ourselves and

get a bit of luck, who knows. They seem to play a lot of counter-

attacking strategy. We will be aware of that. We have utilised all

the French it packs to get as much information as possible. Neath are

a young team. Experience for them comes from Lee Trundle. He says it

is an opportunity he is relishing. When I first came, I said this is

what they wanted to do. I wanted to get in Neath into Europe. All the

boys are excited and looking forward to the game. You have to

enjoy times like this. For some of the lads who have not sampled first,

it to be a great occasion. President of the club is Neath MP

Peter Hain. He will be busy in Westminster tomorrow but the Eagles

will not be far from his mind. will be following the game closely.

Never underestimate Neath. We may be playing in Europe for the first

time, if I were the Norwegians, I would be very worried indeed.

all eyes on Neath. The aim is to make sure the tie is still in the

balance when they play at home a week tomorrow. It should be a

cracking match. Cricket. Glamorgan start their final chukka gyp match

against Derbyshire with a lead of Football. Swansea City's Angel

Rangel has agreed to stay with the Premier League club. He rejected

interest from Fulham and Blackpool and decided to commit to the

Liberty Stadium. He has signed a new three-year deal. The Sun has

Cumulus clouds have brought showers to parts of North and South Wales.

You can see those brewing up on the satellite pictures. Most of the

country will be dry tonight. A few patches of cloud and a cool, fresh

night. Temperatures up to 11 Celsius. Parts of rural and mid-

Wales will see six Celsius by the end of the night. High pressure to

the south-west tomorrow and it will move closer towards us of the next

few days. A dry start for most of the country tomorrow. Not

everywhere, more cloud is likely in the north. A couple of showers

around Anglesey. Temperatures in Aberystwyth starting at around ten

Celsius. As we go through the day, more showers will break out. It

will be a hit and miss affair. Top temperatures tomorrow between 15

and 19 Celsius. In West Wales tomorrow, I would not rule out a

The outlook is fairly promising for Friday and the weekend. Variable

cloud and sunny spells. I would not rule out the odd light shower.

Pleasantly warm with light winds It is almost 7pm. The criminal-

justice system for Wales and England is in disarray tonight

after at a judge's ruling on bail. It means the maximum time police

have be for the can charge a suspect is 96 hours. The Education

Minister has confirmed a radical new measures to improve school

standards to come into force within months. Pupils will have to sit a