16/10/2013 BBC Wales Today

details throughout the evening. Thank you very much.

Council budgets across the country are cut. Services are on the line as

some local authorities face a reduction of nearly five per cent.

Tonight, the Welsh Government gives the strongest indication yet, that

we'll all pay the price. I am expecting council tax to go up

and I think the Public Health Wales would expect council tax to go up.

Also tonight: The Chief Medical Officer for Wales calls for an end

to the postcode lottery for cancer drugs.

Patients do trust that people are doing the best for them, that

politicians are doing the best for them and they will be treated

fairly. I now have evidence that there is no fair treatment in Wales.

Arrested and charged with piracy after trying to scale an oil rig.

The Welsh Greenpeace activist refused bail by a Russian court.

And he's our youngest ever international - why this appearance

means his grandfather can now retire.

Good evening. Councils across Wales might have to cut services to save

money. Today, local authorities have been told exactly how much funding

they'll have to run services like schools, libraries, leisure centres

and parks. Some will be hit harder than others. Denbighshire, Powys and

Ceredigion will all have 4.6 per cent less money to spend next year.

While Newport and Merthyr Tydfil face smaller cuts. Our economics

correspondent Sarah Dickins looks now at how councils are finding ways

of working differently to make their money go further.

This could be a vision of the future. Perhaps all tennis and other

services. It is run by volunteers since Swansea Council handed it

over. They have both been winners. It has saved the council ?120,000 a

year and volunteers have turned around the centre's fortunes. It

isn't something to be taken lightly but I think if the council can find

volunteers in people who are prepared to put in the hours, it

works. That kind of community role may be

something we see more of in Wales when the announced cuts take effect.

Councils have known for months that cuts are on the way and they have

discussed priorities. Now they have to make decisions. They know change

is inevitable and some have already found different ways of working.

This is the first time we have done thing like this regarding the

budget. These Monmouth residents have come together to tell their

council houses in the cost should be cut.

How can we spend limited resources putting in place what we think

people will want without knowing what they want? Today Monmouthshire

has heard it is facing one of the biggest levels of cuts- 4.4%.

Would you be prepared to see your council tax go up to cope with this

or do we need a more radical think, do you think?

In my case I think I could afford to pay the council tax but some people

can't. The services we have at the moment should be capped.

The recycling trolleys here are a practical result of consultation.

The council asked what would make things easier to recycle and the

council is now making money from what goes into the trolleys.

This scheme with the trolley box is from the idea of the residents. They

have said they wanted to be made easier and they the boxes to be

easily handled and that is what we have done. Enrich the last place in

Wales to change from weekly to fortnightly bin collections and it

has looked to other councils on advice on how to change.

I am grateful to my colleagues in other authorities that have shared

with us there experiences. We have learnt from what they have been

through. The challenge for all communities is how to cope with the

cuts. It may mean things being run

differently or by different people but some services may be cut, like

toilets in Ambridge. Cancel proposals include closing seven and

getting a private company to run 65 others. It will save the council

have ?1 million. -- half ?1 million. I think people need amenities.

I think it is disgusting because where our visitors to the town going

to go smack I think that is bad really, isn't it?

You have got to have somewhere. There are many ideas about the way

forward, from getting together to keep your club going to setting up a

literary. -- lottery. Council now know what they have to work with and

will have to start making difficult decisions. What we expect from our

councils is likely to looks different by the end of the decade.

Councils do raise much of their funds for services through the

council tax we pay. And we've heard the strongest indication so far from

the Welsh government this evening that bills could rise in the years

to come. The local government minister Lesley Griffiths has been

speaking to our political editor Nick Servini who joins me now.

What did the Minister have to say? Lesley Griffiths wrote to the local

authorities telling them to expect English style reductions.

She said tonight they were nowhere near as bad as some of the cuts in

English councils that they have had three years to prepare for this and

as a result, they need to take the public with them with any changes

that will be introduced. One of the critical point that is what they

will decide to do about council tax rises. She could cap any council tax

increases if she wants to. It will be up to the local authorities what

they decide to do. Last week we had the chief executive of the Welsh

local government Association which represents all the councils saying

it would lead to pressure on Castle tax rises and this afternoon --

Castle tax rises -- council tax rises.

I am expecting council tax to go up and I expect the public will think

so as well for top I have a figure in my head and we will see what they

come forward with. They have suggested about 3.5%.

Does that seem about right to you? I would say net is probably about

right but into each authority comes up with a figure, I would rather not

pass comment. If we look at an increase of about

3.5% on an average property that would be an increase next year of

more than ?40 so just under ?4 a month.

There has been some criticism of Rhondda Cynon Taf council.

They describe the cat as Armageddon style -- cuts as Armageddon style. A

Labour run local authority leaving the conservative coalition and as it

did so, it announced plans to close more than half of its libraries and

day centres. It was interesting that a Labour minister at the Assembly,

Lesley Griffiths, in effect slapped them down for this from what she

said was an over the top use of language. The cancel tonight said

the cuts are even worse than they envisaged -- the cancel tonight. One

of the questions is who is going to be blamed for these cuts? Rhondda

Cynon Taf council want the blame to lie with the Conservatives but

others will place the blame closer to home. You can find the details of

each council's budget on our website.

The Chief Medical Officer for Wales is warning tonight that access to

cancer drugs in Wales needs to be more consistent. Ruth Hussey's

comments following a BBC investigation which found that the

type of cancer drug you're given depends on where you live. Helen

Callahan has been speaking to two patients in neighbouring health

boards who have had very different experiences.

These friends were diagnosed with the same advanced ovarian cancer but

their NHS experience here in Wales couldn't have been more different.

Gene from Neath was given a drug that Annie from Cardiff was not.

I feel I am lucky being this health authority because they are finding

it for us that when I see a friend of mine who can't get it, I feel

quite cross about that. I feel it is a postcode lottery. When I was

diagnosed with cancer, I didn't understand all of this and patients

do trust that people are doing the best for them, that politicians are

doing the best for them and they will be treated fairly.

This drug is not normally available on the NHS because it is judged to

be too expensive but patients can get this and other drugs like it by

making an individual patient funding request.

They have to convince a panel in their health board area that their

case is exceptional. All seven panels in Wales follow the same

guidelines but some panels are more likely to say no than others.

Our exclusive figures show that there is indeed a huge variation

when it comes to giving out other and approved cancer drugs. -- and

approved. The Chief Medical Officer for Wales now acknowledges there are

feelings. This policy was introduced as an all

Wales policy and we have looked at is this year and seen that we need

to make some improvement and this confirms that from a patient

perspectives work is underway to do that and we must continue to develop

a fair and transparent approach. These friends and others like them

across Wales say a system review can't come soon enough.

You can see more on this story on The Wales Report, here on BBC One

Wales at 10:35pm tonight with Huw Edwards.

A British solider killed while on patrol in Afghanistan has been named

as Lance Corporal James Brynin of the 14th Signal Regiment, which is

based in Pembrokeshire. The 22-year-old from West Sussex was on

his second tour to Afghanistan as an intelligence analyst when he died in

Helmand Province on Tuesday. The First Minister has warned that

major road projects, like the M4 relief road, could be delayed by the

UK government's delay in granting the Welsh Government borrowing

powers. Carwyn Jones was speaking in Downing Street after meeting David

Cameron and UK Cabinet ministers, who rejected his claim.

Some of the major road projects will not go ahead unless we have the same

powers as every other government elsewhere in the UK. The same goes

if we are borrowing and it is difficult to see how we will pay for

it. I would gently point out actually

that it is the responsibility of the Welsh government to upgrade roads

and it has been for the last 13 years. Frankly, the condition of the

M4, which he is primarily concerned about, is a consequence of lack of

maintenance of the last 13 years which was the responsibility of the

Welsh government to carry out. A Welsh Greenpeace activist who's

being held in Russia on piracy charges has been denied bail.

Anthony Perrett from Newport was arrested at gunpoint along with 30

other campaigners after a protest near an Arctic oil rig. Jordan

Davies has more. Anthony Perrett peering behind bars

in a Russian court. He and five other Britons have now spent nearly

a month in this jail Russia all charged with piracy which in Russia

carries a 15 year sentence. Today the judge denied him bail.

I have been in Anthony's position and I was arrested in a similar

position. He will be missing his family and his friends. He will know

that Greenpeace are trying to get him out of there but he will be

extremely concerned by the fact that he could be facing charges of up to

15 years in jail for this sort of ludicrous charge of piracy.

All 30 activists were detained by armed officers when they tried to

tie themselves to a Russian Arctic oil rig. Greenpeace says drilling in

Arctic seas is a disaster waiting to happen. Something the owners of the

platform deny. The activist... Plight has been

raised through demonstrations throughout the world. Anthony

Perrett, a tree surgeon, joined after a stint as a town councillor

in cold cart. His case has been raised by the Foreign Secretary and

Welsh MPs. Today his girlfriend met officials in London. A full trial

will need to take place before any sentence is passed but concern is

growing for the activist now approaching their second month

behind bars. Coming up on the programme - we

reflect on Wales' final World Cup qualifier. After the excellent draw

in Belgium - will Wales move forward with manager Chris Coleman?

And following in the footsteps of royalty - a new project in Snowdonia

traces the lives of Wales' medieval kings How many politicians should

there be in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay? How many politicians should

there be in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay? Well, according to a report

published today, the 60 Assembly Members there now are over-stretched

so the number should be increased to 100 at a cost of ?10 million a year.

But opponents say there's little public appetite for more

politicians. Our political reporter James Williams has been crunching

the numbers. It was a close thing in 1997 but

Wales voted yes to an Assembly with 60 members. This compares with 129

politicians in the Scottish Parliament, 108 in Northern Ireland

while Cardiff Council has 75 representatives. The original plan

was for the Assembly to have 80 members but this number was reduced

to 60 but with the Welsh Assembly having seen it powers increase since

then, some say this number should be expanded to 100. When you look at

the workload facing Assembly Members, they are clearly struggling

to hold the Welsh government to account effectively.

The Welsh government controls ?15 billion a year and is responsible

for aspects of daily life in Wales and we need a strong legislature

holding them to account and it looks like 60 is not enough. What does it

entail? When they are not attending to

constituency business, they spend around 30 weeks a year in the

Assembly and pick up ?53,000 a year unless they join any other

committees. I am a member of a couple of committees and I sit on

enemies. I sit on three committees. I speak

on to committees. The report argues that as every

members are overstretched. Plaid Cymru and the Liberal

Democrats agree more Assembly Members are needed but Labour says

it is premature to speculate. Conservatives disagree. What the

public are telling me is they want politics to come cheaper and what

they want is good governance. We need to make sure that we connect

with the electorate and we stand up to the issues that concern our

communities and ultimately deliver improvements in Wales. At a cost of

?10 million a year, this may be something the public does not wish

to answer at this time of austerity but if devolution is a process, it

is a question which may need answering in the years to come.

So Wales ended their World Cup campaign on a high out in Belgium.

But where now for manager Chris Coleman? Ashleigh's here with

tonight's sport. Chris Coleman says he won't rush

into a decision about his future despite last night's excellent draw

against Belgium - a team who tipped to do well at next year's World Cup.

Aaron Ramsey's late equaliser has certainly helped Coleman's cause and

tonight, one former international told me that the FAW "would be mad"

not to offer him a new deal. The clock is ticking on Chris

Coleman's Wales contract as it runs at next month. He had asked his

bosses not to judge him on the final two games but as it happens, they

went rather well. Last night's draw in Belgium meant the campaign

finished more strongly than it started. He says he is undecided

about carrying on but others argue continuity is vital. They would be

mad not to offer Chris is a new deal.

Whether Chris accepts that, it is down to Chris Coleman. I think the

last two games have been very encouraging. They have shown me that

the players want to play for Chris. We have had some frustrating results

and inconsistent performances and I think that goes because we haven't

had our best payers playing all the time. It is debatable whether fifth

place in the group represents progress.

The football Association Wales will now have to decide whether to offer

Chris Coleman another campaign. There is a better chance of us

qualifying now. We have to give him another go.

I think Wales should have patience with him because we have not had the

easiest group. I don't think there is anyone else for the job so it is

a tricky one. The World Cup campaign has had it

moments but maybe too few as injuries hit the squad. That is

something no international manager can control.

Coleman also made a bit of history last night, sending on Liverpool

winger Harry Wilson, aged 16 years and 207 days, to become our youngest

full international - taking the record off a certain Gareth Bale. Of

course, it was a special evening for Harry's family, but especially his

granddad, who now says he can retire after collecting the winnings from a

?50 bet he'd placed on his grandson when he was just a toddler. Matt

Murray's been to meet him. Peter Edwards is a proud

grandfather. He always knew his grandson would be good enough to pay

professionally and he placed a bet that in the year 2000 when he was

just a toddler. Peter walked into the bookmakers and wondered what he

could get unhappy one day playing for Wales.

What odds will you give me for a pet and I thought to myself, if I could

get 1000 /1 I would take it. They offered me 2500/1 and I took it.

His grandfather was watching in a caravan when Harry made his debut.

He came onto the pitch as the youngest player in Welsh history,

beating Gareth Bale I100 eight days. -- 108 days.

I intend to work another year. I will be 63 this Christmas. I was

going to finish at 64 but because of that, I finished this morning. What

are we talking? ?100,000?

More. ?150,000? The figure is around

?125,000. Today his family are just proud. Tell me what it is like? He

used to play football in here with me.

He would kick a ball until he was about two years old when he broke

the lights. They were shattered. My husband was working and I had to get

somebody in to fix it temporarily until he came home. We allowed him

to have a balloon after that is a safer option.

How many times did you replace the lights? Three times.

The youngster had been at football since he was eight.

Last night's appearance means Harry will not be able to play for England

in future if they show an interest. His grandparents will now be

watching him every step of the way that he will be driving two games

now in a new Jaguar. Independent auditors say they can't

rule out fraud after examining the accounts of the Welsh amateur boxing

Association. The firm say they cannot account for her 30% of the

income over a three year period was spent. They described the

organisation is not fit for purpose and recommend it changes before they

can receive any more public money. Last year they receive grants of up

to ?200,000 for. And this rugby club is only just getting back on its

feet after a fire destroyed part of its clubhouse but now these have

broken in and stolen rugby shirts donated by Rob Howley.

It is the third robbery at the club in three days.

That is to night's sport. Visitors to Snowdonia are being

encouraged to follow in the footsteps of royalty. The Princes of

Gwynedd project has linked 30 sites which played a significant role in

the lives of Wales' medieval monarchy. From Conwy to Criccieth

walkers and cyclists can follow the rise and fall of the dynasty which

shaped the nation. Their names may not be as familiar

as they once were, but Llywelyn the Great united more of Wales than

anyone had before. His grandson Llywelyn the Last came to a sticky

end near Builth Wells resisting Edward First's army in 1282. To keep

their legacy alive for the 21st century Conwy and Gwynedd council

together with Cadw the historic monuments body put their thinking

caps on. It is our heritage and it mustn't be

forgotten and unless we do this sort of project a couple of generations

down the line, the heritage will be dilutive even further so it is

important to keep it alive and explain it and that people

understand where we have come from. They've created routes linking 30

locations across Snowdonia which played big parts in the lives of the

Princes of Gwynedd and the legends which surround them.

It is not doing it in an academic or overly sadistic way. A lot of sexes

can engage with it. That is the point. If you are looking for a week

of following the story -- a knot of sectors can engage with it.

As well as bringing in an extra 12,000 visitors to Snowdonia over

the next year, the project should refresh an often neglected part of

our past. Quite a few schools go back as far

as the Tudors and the Romans and there is nothing in between but it

is an important part in Welsh history because it is the formation

of Wales and where are legend originate.

The groups behind this project hope that this will become a well trodden

path as we learn more about these princes. Way markers and

interpretation boards are dotted throughout incredible scenery to

paint a vivid picture of the princes and the principality they left

behind. Well, I think you may need your wet

weather gear if you're thinking of heading to any of those sites over

the next few days. Quite a bit of rain about, Benny?

We are expecting heavy rain for the weekend and Friday but this evening

is not bad. The milder night compared to the last few nights. A

few showers to deal with and quite a bit of cloud around. Quite breezy

but not as windy as it was today. A mild night temperatures in double

figures. High-pressure just about taking charge through tomorrow just

for the day, taking things fairly quietly but low pressure is not far

away with wet and windy conditions as we go in to Friday. First in

tomorrow morning it is easy but at least we have some brightness to

look forward to. A few showers batted around that many of us

getting away with a Friday and feeling pleasant with highs of 17

Celsius in Cardiff. As we go into tomorrow evening, the showers will

fizzle out and we will see low-level cloud with mist and fog into early

hours of Friday morning. Temperatures should remain in double

figures and then into Friday morning, that rain will push its way

in from the south-west and Anthony the cloud and rain it won't feel as

pleasant. -- Anthony cloud and rain. It will be slow to clear. A

miserable day on Friday but over the weekend a mixture of sunshine and

showers and breezy at times. Councils across Wales might have to

cut services to save money. Local authorities have beans told how much

funding they will have to run services like schools, libraries and

leisure centres. Some will get 4% less from the Welsh government next

year. We'll have an update at 8:00pm, more

news at 10:25pm. For now though from all of us on the programme, thanks

for watching. Have a good evening.