05/01/2012 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines: A hero's welcome home

but questions over the support given to soldiers suffering from

post-traumatic stress. There are others that have actually

died and don't go home to their families but sometimes you think,

maybe I would have been better off. Also in the programme tonight:

Severe winds tear the roof Blues from the National Library of Wales

as the country is battered by gale- force winds.

They'll get the chance to vote for commissioners to oversee our police

forces and an MP throws his hat in the ring.

Be prepared for a royal visit. The Duchess of Cambridge becomes a

volunteer for the Scouts Association and promises to get

stuck in. I will never be one of those women

who stays silent and pretty on the arm of her husband.

And the Welsh actors playing the young Margaret Thatcher in a movie

charting the life of the Iron Lady. To be sharing a character with

Meryl Streep, one of the most amazing actresses of our generation,

Good evening. The issue of how veterans are treated after their

time in battle is to be raised in the Assembly next week. It follows

the death of Lance Sergeant Dan Collins from Pembrokeshire. The

Welsh Guardsman, who led served in Afghanistan, took his own life on

New year's Day. Darren Millar has told Wales Today he wants to know

how much progress has been made after a report was published a year

ago. That report called for more co-ordination between the military

and the health service. In recent years, appreciation for

the work of the armed forces has been clear to see across Wales.

Questions continue to be raised about how veterans are cared for

once they have left behind life on the front line. The family of Lance

Sergeant Dan Collins career took his life on New year's Day say the

Welsh Guardsman could not cope with the post-traumatic stress disorder,

or PTSD, he suffered after serving in Afghanistan. It is a situation

that's familiar for some of the Berlin. The former soldier almost

died while serving in Iraq. Despite recovering physically, she hopes to

compete in this year's Paralympic in volleyball, the mental scars

have been harder to heal. For instance, with a door slamming

or a car engine backfiring, it can make you think you are in Iraq and

you can click and you can't kick out of it until reality comes back

and you think, God, I'm not actually there.

Charities like Healing the Wounds offer help to service personnel

suffering from mental health issues such as PTSD. Their founder

suffered from the conditions after serving in Northern Ireland. He

says veterans often need help not available through the NHS.

We have had cases, some of our sufferers, who have been to the NHS

and other charities and it didn't work. They come to us gasping it

can we help them and we do. The Assembly health committee

called for better co-ordination between the military and health

service a year rigours of treatment can be targeted more effectively.

The Conservative health spokesman says he has written to the health

minister to find out what progress has been made.

We found services to rout Wales are inconsistent. That was a huge

problem in terms of being able to access the services. I'm looking

forward to a comprehensive response next week and I very much hope that

the government have fulfilled all of the promises they made.

The Welsh government has told us they are working with the MoD and

the UK Department of Health to improve the transfer of military

records to GPs. In April, they received a review into the health

service provision for active personnel, Veterans and families.

It's being completed by the Health Inspectorate Wales. The family of

Lance Sergeant Dan Collins, dealing with the loss of their loved one,

say they hope any more needless deaths can be prevented.

Lieutenant Colonel John Skipper, who served in the Falklands and

Iraq, is leading that review of the armed forces healthcare in Wales.

What exactly is your review trying to find out?

Good evening. It's an independent review, primarily looking at the

adequacy, availability and accessibility of healthcare

services, not just for veterans, of which I am one, but also for

serving servicemen and reserves. They will be paying a much more

active role so we will be focusing on them. What I will be doing is

talking to individuals on the ground, gathering experiences, the

ground truth, to see just how the package of care provided by the

Welsh government actually meets the needs of those people out on the

ground. From what you've seen already, is

there enough support out there? Yes, there is. The early findings

from my review of that signposting is key. There is provision out

there and we are focusing on mental health but it is a much wider issue,

physical health needs as well. As we are focusing on mental health,

the All Wales Veterans Health and well-being service, a hub based in

Cardiff, has therapists in each of the local health board. They work

closely with combat stress and the local health boards and the British

Legion. What am finding, and Simon Weston remarked on it in the

programme last night, is that it's great to have those services

available but not so good if the people who need them don't know

about them. What is it about? A lack of co-

ordination between the NHS and the military?

It is part of the problem. We have a very good framework in Wales. The

review will see where we need to test and do just that co-ordination.

Perhaps we need to set up a coherent framework of veterans

support groups, for instance, where veterans can go with they have a

problem. Again, that does require better and tighter co-ordination

with the military on discharge. Is there an added pressure to get

this right when the armed forces are making redundancies?

Yes, there's. I mentioned before that the added focus on

participation of reserves and active service, they have

particularly special needs. Also, there will be no armed forces in

Germany from 2020. There are redundancies as part of the

strategic defence review and that will increase the problem in Wales

and the whole of the UK. A website, if you want to take part

in the review of the services, is on screen. It is available for

anyone in the armed forces. Gale-force winds have continued to

cause damage across the country. Trees have come down and the

National Library in Aberystwyth almost lost its roof. Gusts of 90

mph were recorded in Capel Curig this morning. Several flood alerts

are in force across Wales. The National Library of Wales in

Aberystwyth is one casualty of the guests this morning.

A roofing sheets the size of two tennis courts was in danger of

being ripped off. Once that part was secured, we

turned our attention to the collections below that part of the

roof. We've put some extra cellophane around his collections.

We are now looking at short term measures to seal the win.

The library was closed for a short time and staff were advised to stay

inside. Adjacent buildings were evacuated as a precaution.

The area surrounded by university buildings and a sports centre. If

infection had come off, it could have caused considerable damage.

It's important we evacuate the buildings.

Elsewhere in Wales, the Environmental Agency has issued a

flood warning for the lower Dee Valley. There are five flood alerts

on rivers across the country. Extensive areas of agricultural

land have been affected. Incidents like this have kept the

emergency services busy across the country. Luckily, he in Newport, no

one was injured when this tree came crashing down on to this part car.

Just down the road in Cardiff, Andrew Griffiths was also a

casualty of the weather. His car was stuck by a falling tree seconds

after he got out of it. Am grateful for getting out the car.

It was a strange experience to watch, like it was in slow motion

as the tree toppled over. Seconds after I got out, I had walked about

10 feet and literally, I heard the crack and the tree came down.

Another fallen tree at these services meant there was no petrol

at Cardiff West on the M4 as the power line to the pumps was damaged.

500 homes across the South Wales manage work -- valleys were without

electricity for some of the day. The adverse weather is also meeting

have a good sporting fixtures. Tomorrow's race meeting at Chepstow

has been cancelled. The winds also meant the old Severn Bridge and

Cleddau Bridge were closed to high- sided vehicles for several hours.

The worst of the wind is behind us but the weather is sh throwing up a

few surprises. Rare Mexican the turtles have been washed up in the

Vale of Glamorgan. They are an endangered species.

More hospitals across north Wales have closed wards to new patients

after an outbreak of the winter vomiting bug, norovirus. Three have

been affected at Wrexham Maelor and two at Llandudno Hospital. The

outbreak has also hit single wards at Mold and Deeside Hospitals. The

planemaker Airbus says that minor cracks discovered on the wings of

some of its A380 aircraft do NOT affect passenger safety. The wings

for the superjumbo are made at Broughton in Flintshire. The

company says any repairs will be carried out during regular

maintenance checks. The Labour MP and former policing

minister, Alun Michael, has said he wants to become the first elected

Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales. The new commissioners

will replace the existing police authorities who currently oversee a

world four police forces after elections in November.

He was the first to lead the devolved government in Wales and

now Alun Michael wants to become one of his first police

commissioners. If it's going to make things better

rather than being an obstacle to greater community safety and

reduction in crime, then it needs the right people who understand

policing, who will work with the police and understand the context

of crime and disorder in our local communities.

That decision causes another election, a by-election in Cardiff

South and Penarth, a seat that could be under threat with changes

to constituency boundaries. There will be, obviously, MPs of

the same party who will be pitched against each other. You've got, in

Cardiff, someone like Kevin Brennan, up and coming. Alun Michael has

been very long time and he may be thinking about standing down anyway.

This is a convenient job for him to go into if he gets elected.

Creating elected commissioners is a UK government policy. What will

they do? The commission will they do? The commission will

appoint a chief Constable's and told them to account. They will set

the annual falls budget and the police share of the local council

police share of the local council tax. They were determined local

policing priorities as well. They will be paid from �65,000 in Dyfed-

Powys to �85,000 in South Wales. Assembly Members voted against the

idea. Welsh chief Constable's a post it to. Those who fought the

principles say that it must be made to work.

We need to see resent -- retention of the current system or devolution

into a Welsh context. What we will see in budgetary terms is severe

cuts to the police force in the next few years and the police

commissioners will have to manage Labour say they will field

candidates in all police force areas. The Welsh Liberal Democrats

say they oppose the idea and would offer a national funding for

candidates. Plaid Cymru oppose the principle but will contest the

elections or support non-party candidates who share their views on

criminal justice. The Welsh Conservatives say it's too early to

name potential candidates. Anyone living in a force area can stand

but they will need a �5,000 deposit and a determination to persuade

voters this election and these Still to come in the programme. The

historic town giving hi-tech help to tourists. I do not use computers

and things like that very much but it sounds wonderful. I guess it

should be very successful. Duchess of Cambridge has decided to

volunteer with the Scouting Association in North Wales. She

will be getting involved in a range of activities with members of the

Beavers and Cubs, aged between six and 10, near her home on Anglesey.

The announcement coincides with the news that she is to become patron

of four charities. It's a rite of passage for many

youngsters, learning skills from baking, to camping and climbing or

qualities such as teamwork, social responsibility and good manners.

But whereas most Beavers, Cubs and Scouts rely on parents or friends

to run activities, some in North Wales will get royal treatment from

the former Miss Middleton. The Duchess of Cambridge has expressed

a wish to volunteer privately with groups near the home she shares

with her husband who is based at RAF Valley. There is no one in the

world busier. But if I have learned anything, all volunteers are busy

people and that is part of the magic. If she can volunteer, so can

we. We have up 33,000 kids in this country on a waiting list for the

Scouts and a mission is to encourage more adult volunteers to

get involved will stop -- involved at. The Duke and Duchess of

Cambridge have been highly visible since moving to Anglesey and

today's announcement could be seen as another endorsement of island

life. But the Scouts association says Kate won't simply be looking

on at a distance, she'll be rolling up her sleeves to get involved.

will be at the coalface. She will be getting her hands dirty and

mixing pastry, face painting with youngsters, really hands-on. She

can go camping or go up a mountain. We can do warmer. -- all that.

Duchess is also entering a new phase of royal life as she becomes

patron of four charities based across the UK. Like any good Scout

she's pledging to do her best to help others.

A fish farm on Anglesey has been sold, securing 32 jobs. The

previous owners, Selonda, had suffered from cash-flow problems,

despite previously receiving millions of pounds in grants from

the Welsh Government and the European Union. The farm was

established a decade ago and produced a thousand tonnes of sea

bass annually. A group of pupils at a special

needs school in Penarth are proving they're budding entrepreneurs by

turning an empty stock room, into a thriving cafe. It's been so

successful, they've already paid off 20% of the loan they took out

to set it up. Lucy Rogers reports. The lunchtime rush at the school

near Cardiff. Gill is one of a group of pupils running of the cafe

on side. He has autism and just a few months ago, he could not deal

with being in a busy room. Now he like many others is fully trained,

serving coffee and fooled. -- food for Alsop. I work under pressure

and I tend to shut down. I was not knowing what I was doing. Not a lot

of people like me get the chance to work in an environment like this.

It gives me a good head start in two when I leave college in a

couple of years' time. The students were put through a rigorous

application and interview process to work here. They do everything

from stop checks to dealing with suppliers. The profits go back into

school funds. Many of the pupils have dreamt of having a job but

never had the confidence. Something that has changed according to one

mother. She is a different child, confidence wise. She will get up

and do things, which she would not have done before. She would have

waited for someone to do it. But now she is off and away, it is

lovely. It is the first school of its kind in Wales to offer the

Welsh Baccalaureate. Working in a cafe helps the children achieve

equivocation. They now believe they have a future. We actually believe

they can fulfil a job, not just for Phillip but do it well. It means

the transferable skills from the coffee shop became much easier.

When they went on with experience, they found it was a breeze. With

plans already under way to expand, it is hoped the cafe will be open

for business for many years to come. It's a world first, a project

helping visitors to Monmouth access information about the town, simply

by scanning a barcode with their phone. If you wander around the

town's landmarks in the next few months, you'll spot the barcodes

which link directly to the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. It's

hoped that Monmouthpedia will help boost tourism. Nicola Smith has

been finding out more. Monmouth, a town rich with history.

It appears in the Domesday Book in 1086. One millennium later

information about its buildings, monuments and people, is being

recorded in a very different way. Let's say I'd like more information

about the Shire Hall, with this new project, all I'll need is a smart

phone and a special barcode or QR code as it's known. I don't know

what it is. Do you know? Well, someone who does is John Cummings.

He runs the Monmouthpedia website, so I'll let him explain. We use

this free piece of software to scan at the bar code. It has found the

website and we can find out all the history. It's just one example of

many hundreds of barcodes that'll soon be appearing across the town.

The museums are getting involved. Here in the Shire Hall, information

on the courtroom, the judge's room, will be just a click away. People

can find out information, they can click on the cold and find out.

Because we have put that information in place, people living

in Mexico can also find it out. They can also contribute towards

the project. And the codes work in many languages too. It takes you to

the article in your own language. It is really for as many languages

as we can do. This project relies on information from the community,

so what do they think should be included? We have some interesting

cemeteries. And a couple of other interesting people in the area.

That might be of interest. Behind the Lloyds Bank, there was a

historic garden. I do not think many people know about that. It's

being jointly funded by the organisation behind Wikipedia and

Monmouthshire Council. By April, they hope to have one thousand

codes around Monmouth, all adding to the experience of people living

in, or visiting this historic town. And if you want to scan some of

those Monmouth barcodes for yourself, you can find them on our

Facebook and Twitter pages. Just follow these links and keep your

smart phone handy. The Welsh Rugby Union is

questioning the inclusion of a Welsh-born player in Scotland's Six

Nations Squad. London Irish centre Steve Shingler has played 14 times

for Wales Under 20s but now says he wants to represent Scotland, where

his mother was born. But the WRU say the former Llanelli star is

only eligible to play for Wales under international rugby rules.

She's divided political opinion in Wales for decades. Now a young

actress from Ammanford is playing Margaret Thatcher on the big screen.

Alexandra Roach was at the European premiere in London last night,

where a blue, not red carpet was rolled out, as Rhodri Lewis reports.

He knows very well we had no choice but to close the school. She's

revered by some, hated by others. The new film about Margaret

Thatcher looks back at her life as The Iron Lady. Though it's Meryl

Streep who plays the Prime Minister at the height of her powers, a

young actress from Ammanford has a leading role as the younger

Margaret. I will never be one of those women who stays silent and

pity on the arm of her husband. -- pretty. Alexandra Roach from

Ammanford started out on Pobol y Cwm, but has now been catapulted

into the big time starring alongside oscar winning colleagues.

I knew this would be a big project. It was exciting turning up and

sharing a table with these actors. It was really exciting. And sharing

a character with Meryl Streep. mining industry in her home town,

Ammanford, declined after the year long strike while Margaret Thatcher

was in charge. Though Alexandra has strong links with the industry, she

says her first priority was to play the role well. My grandfather was

underground since he was 12. My father was a policeman during the

strike. It was a big moment in the family. But I had to put all of

those judgments to one side. It is not my job as an actor has to judge

Margaret Thatcher. Critics have given the film mixed reviews so far,

but one said Alexandra Roach's performance stood out, a taste of

things to come from this young Here's Derek with the weather.

Some good news. I think the worst is over. A lot of people are fed up

with the wind and rain and the worst is over. The wind is easing

and the next few days are looking calmer. Of course, it was anything

but calm last night. At Capel Curig in Snowdonia a gust of 88 mph was

recorded. 63 at Mumbles Head in Swansea. The wind strong enough to

bring down a few trees. A tree blown down in Coed y Brenin. While

Ron Kyte took this picture near Llanymynech in Powys, where the

river bursts its banks. River levels are generally falling but

there is still one flood warning in force at the moment in the Lower

Dee Valley from Llangollen to Chester. Plus four flood alerts.

The reason for the stormy weather a deep area of low pressure which is

now over Sweden. So tonight a few showers, mainly in the north and

Montgomeryshire. Otherwise dry. Some clear skies. The wind easing

as well and a colder night than recently. Temperatures inland

falling as low as 2 Celsius with some ground frost by end of the

night. There is also a risk of icy patches on untreated roads in

Denbighshire, Conwy, Flintshire and Wrexham. So a chilly start tomorrow

but dry and much calmer than today. Bright for a time with some hazy

sunshine but it won't last. Cloud will invade the sky. Temperatures

in Aberystwyth 6 Celsius with just a light to moderate breeze. During

the day cloud will thicken and lower bringing a little rain and

drizzle. Most of it light and patchy. The wind lighter than today

as well. Tomorrow night cloudy and damp for a time. Brisk winds with

temperatures staying well above freezing. As for the weekend,

Saturday the best day. Becoming dry, bright and breezy. A little

sunshine. Sunday cloudy and turning damp. Breezy at times, but not as

windy as it has been. I know some of you would like snow. There's no

sign of any yet but there is hint that it may turn colder during the

Hopefully you will get a better night's sleep tonight. The

headlines. A 46-year-old male nurse has been arrested on suspicion of

tampering with medical records at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport,

at the same hospital where four elderly patience died in

unexplained circumstances last year. -- patience. The Conservatives'

health spokesperson says he will raise the issue of treating post-

traumatic stress disorder in the Assembly. We'll have an update for