18/10/2012 BBC Wales Today

Good evening. Welcome to Wales Today. This race equality charity

received millions in public money before being abolished in a funding

scandal. Now a report finds government officials ignored

several warnings. It is important small bodies have the proper

governments and relationship to make sure that the public purse is

protected and money is spent properly. This is the 19th time

they have criticised the way the Catherine Going is missing, feared

murdered. Her sister flies in from Ireland to appeal for help in

finding her. Please look, please search. Please help me find my

peaceful sister. -- beautiful sister. The Welsh bees that may

hold the key to tackling a deadly superbug. Also tonight - why it

could cost you more to watch non- league Newport than the Premier

League Champions. And we're at one of the biggest nights for new music,

as the winner of the Welsh Music Prize is announced. You may not

have heard of them yet. Good evening. A highly critical report

has found evidence of multiple failures by the Welsh Government to

manage public money given to the collapsed race equality

organisation, AWEMA. The Wales Audit Office says the government

failed to act on several warnings before AWEMA was brought down by a

Here is our correspondent at Senedd. There is very little good news for

this report today, the 19th, auditors point out, where they have

criticised the government in the way it deals with grant funding. It

said that when the scandal broke for the final time last year, the

government did act swiftly and robustly, but over many years, they

had failed to manage the way many millions of pounds were being spent.

More than 11 years elapsed where millions of pounds were given to

AWEMA. AWEMA has come under sustained and fierce attack from

some of the communities it is meant to represent. It is nine years

since BBC Wales started to raise serious questions about the way

AWEMA was run. In February this year it was finally wound up. The

audit office next clear its concerns today that failure to heed

warnings over many years has caused this. There were significant

failings at the time. Things were not always followed up as they

should have been. When reviews did take place, either they were too

narrowly focused, or were not well informed by why intelligence that

should have been available, or when recommendations were made, this is

no evidence it was followed up. this man was an active member of

the Labour Party at the time. Today's report has not found

evidence of inappropriate ministerial influence on party

political or other lines in the Welsh government decisions about

AWEMA's funding, but it criticises the management and the �7 million

given to the charity. It points to failures in communication and

warnings and opportunities to act missed. They fear that is speaking

out as being seen as fear of discrimination. Some of the funding

decisions have not been cleared. This GP in Swansea was an assembly

member and said he raised concerns with ministers many times but that

the money continued slowing. A one of the benefits of being -- flowing.

One of the benefits is that you are taken seriously and your

recommendations are acted upon and the recommendations you have made

have been thoroughly investigated. That did not seem to be the case

here. A late last year, realising the debt of the crisis, there were

frantic attempts by the government to stop payment of half a million

pounds to AWEMA but they failed. The auditors found had officials

acted on information given earlier, they could have stopped the money

from probably being lost for good. They were departments not talking

to each other and be all not talking to people in the same

department. All sorts of issues called the catalogue of errors I

have referred to it. We had at least eight opportunities for the

government to intervene and take this by the horns and deal with the

problems once and for all. It a statement, the government said it

is already acting on the lessons contained in the report and that

work is underway to improve the future management of grants

programmes. For those that still support people from ethnic minority

backgrounds, people are afraid that thanks to AWEMA, the result will be

too much scrutiny. Do not consider every organisation will be like

that. They could be over reaction is because of this, particularly on

the part of the Welsh government. There is no need for that. There is

every need for scrutiny. There is report might be about one body, but

the biggest concern is that it raises wider questions about how

the government hands out public money and what we get in return.

The former boss was not speaking to BBC Wales today. We would have

liked to put questions to Welsh government ministers but they are

not talking either. But I am joined by a representative from the Audit

Office. You seem to be like an organisation that has had enough.

You have rarely been so vocal in your criticism, is that right?

relation to Grant Management, we have had reports in the past five

or six years which have highlighted weaknesses. It is fair to say the

government has taken some actions to improve due diligence process

and general management of grants. But these issues predate these

initiatives and it is too early to say it they will have an impact.

But we are critical of the government's handling of these

issues. How can it be 19 report? Surely you would have expected

things to get better? Why did it have to come to this? We have got

the whole issue of the lack of communication and co-ordination

that existed in Welsh government and the way it manages grants. That

is where it must improve. Without that we will see individual

departments and individual sections operating independently without

providing overviews. The day we are talking about �7 million but over

the years we could be talking about tens of millions. He is impossible

to say. We cannot extrapolate everything. But given the

weaknesses we have identified in previous reports, there is a lot of

money involved and Wales get a lot more grant funding than the rest of

the UK and that is something the Government must address. He said

they are doing something but it is difficult to tell it that is enough

and if it is working. How concerned should the public be? This is their

money. I am confident that the commitment the Welsh government has

given in terms of their desire to improve and to provide better value

for money, it remains to be seen how effective that will be. It will

not be easy and will take some time. That is the AWEMA story for today.

But I did not think it is done and The sister of a vet, who's missing

and feared murdered, has appealed for help in trying to find her.

Catherine Going, who's 37 and originally from Ireland, was last

seen at a supermarket in Flintshire last Friday. Emma Going said she

was the light of her life and pleaded for help to find her

"beautiful sister". A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

This report contains flash photography. Over from Ireland to

find her missing sister. Emma Gowing and her husband had just one

message for people in Wales. Please look, please search. Please help us

find My beautiful sister. Catherine is a kind, sensitive and beautiful

person. She is passionate and devoted to my family. She is my

best friend. She is the light of my life. She is the might of my

parent's life. -- the light of my parents's lives. On Monday,

Catherine Gowing did not show up for work. Police are searching her

home in the village of New Brighton. They say they are looking at other

areas as well. Today, they confirmed an important development.

Catherine Gowing was last seen at this supermarket last Friday

evening at about 8:30pm. She arrived with a brown shoulder bag

and left with a bag of shopping and a Peter. Police are trying to trace

her car, which has Irish registration plates. It has not

been seen since last Friday. What we are urging the public to do is

to keep their eyes open for at vehicle. Look at car parks and

driveways and waste ground, anywhere where at vehicle might be

concealed. The these appeals were echoed by the family of Catherine

Gowing. Tonight, police continue to question a 46-year-old man who has

been arrested on suspicion of A judge has told a mother who went

missing with her four children, she may face jail after appearing to

have "flagrantly breached" High Court orders. 46 year-old Jennifer

Jones was arrested yesterday after disappearing with her children,

aged between eight and 14, from Llanelli on Friday. They were all

found safe and well in the Blackwood area. Cwmcarn High School,

which was closed last week after airbourne asbestos was found there,

is to reopen to all pupils after half term. Caerphilly Council said

today tests show the health risk from potential asbestos exposure to

pupils and staff is low. The authority added when it closed the

school it was acting on advice from a specialist contractor, which also

advised the council to consider demolition because of the costs of

managing the building. Small reserves of flu vaccines are being

made available to help areas where stocks are dwindling. It comes

after a company in the Netherlands, which supplies 10% of the UK's flu

vaccines, said it has suspended all supplies after a small number of

Could the honey produced by bees hold the key to tackling a deadly

superbug? That's what scientists at Cardiff University are trying to

work out. They've found that honey collected by a beekeeper in Gwynedd

can kill bacteria found in MRSA. They are now looking for more

samples of similar honey to establish which plants are

producing the nectar. These bees are creating quite a buzz. Chris

Hickman has been keeping the insects in his back garden in Tywyn

for three years. Now it has emerged that their honey could hold the key

in the battle against one of our most dangerous superbugs. Bands

these shares were the honey has killed the MRSA it. -- this

indicates where the honey has killed the MRSA. Scientists at

Cardiff University have discovered Chris' honey has properties that

can combat MRSA. The infection, commonly found in hospitals,

contributed to the death of 364 people in England and Wales last

year. Even though that was fewer than in 2010, traditional

antibiotics are becoming less effective. We are now seeing the

emergence of bacteria which is resistant to the antibiotics. That

will cause considerable problems. It will take us back to the pre-

antibiotic era in the 1930s when we could not treat fresh diseases. It

would be good if we could identify a plant in Wales which could help

asked what MRSA. -- help us with. And that's the next step. Professor

Baillie and his team are working alongside researchers at the

National Botanic Garden of Wales who have a DNA database of Welsh

plants. They are trying to work out what's in the honey that makes it

so special. But of course there's nothing new about using honey to

treat people. It has been around for thousands of years and it has

been a natural remedy. Ancient Egyptians used it. It had been used

in wound dressings. It had been used for flu. A bit of whisky and

honey. Even if it does not cure the disease it makes you feel better.

When he isn't tending to his bees, Chris works as a charge nurse in

the local community hospital. They already use honey on the ward.

do use honey for dressing wounds and treating infections and have

done successfully. It was interesting to find that it is

produced from Wales and it does seem to have some property that is

beneficial. Researchers are now looking for other samples of Welsh

honey that have the same qualities as the honey produced by Chris so

they can crack the DNA code and work out which plants are producing

the nectar used by the bees to create the honey. Using the newest

technology, they are hoping to rediscover one of our oldest

You're watching Wales Today. Coming up before seven o'clock: the Welsh

Music Prize has been announced. will be is a hint of the winners in

a few minutes. Can you afford to watch your local

football team? If you're a Newport County fan, the cheapest season

ticket is more expensive than at Premier League champions,

Manchester City. That's one of the findings of a BBC Survey into the

Price of Football. Our sports reporter Ashleigh Crowter has been

looking at how much fans of Welsh clubs are now having to fork out.

There aren't many spare seat says Swansea City for Premier League

matches. Season tickets sold out in April. The cheaper season tickets

at Swansea costs �429, that is a snare compared with Arsenal. But it

is more than the price at Wigan. The cheapest match-day ticket is

�35, the fifth most expensive. Swansea do serve the cheapest tea

in the top flight. For one person it is not too bad but if you are

thinking of the family, probably expensive. It is reasonably priced.

The proper fans who used to go to the better it day-in day-out are

forced out to go unseeded team they support. For the cheaper season

ticket to what Cardiff City is about �100 less than solicitors.

Prices in the championship range from two led to a �49 to �485. It

is a long way down the league until you reach Newport. The price of a

season ticket is �300. You could watch Manchester City for �25 last.

Wrexham fans only have to pay �200 for their cheaper season ticket,

that is one that best value in the conference. It is too big a stand

for some people. Not for Conference football, that is dear. I am a

Leeds fan and you can buy a ticket for �35. When I went, when I was

about 12, it was about �15. I don't understand where they don't open it

to the pensioners. The children particularly. Many football fans

are prepared to pay the current prices. Club loyalty is a very

strong. In these difficult economic times that they will be some who

feel they are being priced out of the game.

It was a chapel that played a central role in the Welsh religious

revival at the beginning of the 20th century. But Pisgah chapel

near Swansea is now under threat of demolition. The building's owners,

the Presbytyrian Church of Wales, say it's too costly to maintain but

supporters say its historic value is priceless. Our Swansea reporter,

James Williams has more. It is difficult to imagine now but his

former chapel played a central part in Wales's religious past. It cost

of repairs and maintenance at Pisgah Chapel in Loughor has made

its economically unviable for his owners. �70,000 of work needs to be

done. We, as the Church, has decided that we have to put the

site up for sale. This may mean that somebody, a Christian

organisation, may come along and renews the building and uses it as

a church. But his name means somebody else comes along and

demolishes the building. But at the end of the 19th century, Pisgah has

gone through many changes. A rich history that campaign is feared to

lose. Chappell's closing in Wales are a sign of the times. Many

people think this chapel's importance trumps economics. Evan

Roberts was an important figure in the revival. It was here that Evan

Roberts started his religious pilgrimage. He was one of the main

revivalists. This was the schoolhouse where the Sunday school

was held and he was one of the teachers. It is central to his

history. The rare recording of his preaching from January 1905. His

voice live on as the Welsh religious revival sold hundreds of

thousands joining. There are people to stay, this month, people from

Indonesia have been here and from America to see where he lived and

worked. We are losing a major part of an hour religious history.

There's whether the chapel does become consigned to history remains

a decision for Swansea Council and Loughor council.

The winner of the Welsh Music Prize has been announced in the last hour.

Set up by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, it celebrates the best new music in

Wales and our arts and media correspondent Huw Thomas is at the

award ceremony for us tonight. This award has become one of the

most prestigious and eyes of the Welsh music calendar. It is at the

be in terms of the award see in that it only began last year. This

second award showing it is finding its feet. Future of the Left won

the award this year. The winner of the Welsh Music Prize, 2012 is The

Plot Against Common Sense by Future of the Left.

It was The Plot Against Common Sense which won the board. Let's

take a look a some of their work now. This video does contain some

With me now is a band member and a co-founder of are the prize. What

does it mean to you to be able to receive this award? It means a lot.

It is something we were not expecting. It means that his was

just as the work of art that because more than a year to make.

12 albums on the list, you are expecting him to win. It shows that

the breadth of talent. It does foster a lot of the albums are

different. It did very a lot. A lot of people are making music for no

other reason that they like making music. You co-founded this award.

What did you make of the entries? It was outstanding for a start this

year we had a 70 records that the jurors ended up put forward. We

really admires some of them. There are probably hundreds of records

released, sent to get that far and then 12 in the short list and one

winner. Well done to them for being the Wynne Evans de from now wonder

party stars because from 7 o'clock tonight at the Swn Festival starts

off. Many thanks. From music to comedy. The award

winning TV series Gavin and Stacey is getting an American makeover.

The programme where an Essex lad and Welsh girl who fall in love is

to be re-made for a US audience. The original writers and stars,

Ruth Jones and James Corden, won't be appearing in it, but have

signed-up as executive producers. Cricket - Glamorgan have signed

veteran batsman Murray Goodwin on an initial one year contract. The

39-year-old former Zimbabwe international left Sussex at the

end of last season after 12 years. He played 19 tests for his country.

The cricket season is a distant memory but I hear it is about to

The welcome news after windy days. We are expecting high tides again.

This was Howard looked in Aberystwyth. Andrew Lewis took his

picture of the ways crashing on the prom. Four fled her alerts along

though West Coast to Anglesey. For details on the Environment Agency

at website. It will be mainly dry inland would clear spells remaining

business than fog especially in the Valleys. The wind easing and

bringing in milder air from the south so not too cold overnight. If

you mist and fog patches early tomorrow some murky start, quite

slow to clear that once they do and improving picture, drier with

bright spells on variable cloud. Highs of between 11-14 degrees

Celsius. The chart shows a brief ridge of high pressure over the UK

it is blocking these weather systems, allowing the weather to

become more settled. A misty start on Saturday, turning into a fine

day with sunny spells. It should start dry on Sunday as well with

rain spreading of from the south- east late in the day. Looking

warmer for the start of next week, not always sunny. Not really any

Indian summer but just on the mild side. More subtle, less dramatic

weather. We won't see scenes like these, clouds gathering over The

Mumbles ready to bring in some showers. Send us your pictures US

A highly critical report has found multiple failures by the Welsh

Government to manage money given to AWEMA. It is the 19th time the

Audit Office has criticised the Welsh Government in grants.

have got the whole issue of the lack of communication and co-

ordination that exists within the was government about the way it

manages grounds. That is where it needs to improve. Without that you

will continue to see individual departments and individual sections

operating independently without providing that overview. A final

word with our political correspondent. How damaging is this

to the government? It is very bad. It isn't solely bad news, the real

killer blow for the Welsh Government would have been if

auditors had found that Labour ministers were protecting AWEMA, if

you like, and spending because the boss was known to be a Labour

activist. They don't find evidence of that. In the final... We seem to

have lost our political correspondent. Have we got the

sound that? We will return to our political editor. We stopped you

mid-flow. Kenny just outlined two years, can we be sure things will

finally improved? If we had an opportunity to talk to government

ministers we could ask them that we have a bald statement saying they

are learning lessons. You also her the assistant Auditor General

making it clear, things may be changing beds are the improving? At

the making a difference when it comes to your business -- Monique?

That is the important thing. Many thanks indeed.

Tomorrow on Wales Today, Scotland will get to vote on independence

and we will be looking what it means to us.

Maybe Scotland's has a referendum but whether Scots decide to have

independence or more powers for the Scottish Parliament it will have an

impact on Wales. I am in Edinburgh to take the temperature of the