30/10/2013 BBC Wales Today

That is all from the BBC's news at six, so it is goodbye from me,

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines: Parents protest over a

council's plans to cut back on nursery services for

three-year-olds. 10,000 sign a petition against the move. Enough is

enough and they need to find the savings elsewhere. I think it's

shocking. In neighbouring Bridgend, they're

trying to protect nursery education, but at what cost for schools?

Also tonight: The five-year-old at the centre of a custody battle.

Members of her family jailed for refusing to reveal her whereabouts.

A new flu vaccine for two and three-year-olds. Doctors say it

could ease the pressure on the NHS this winter.

Setting fires, wrecking junk, running riot. The pioneering

playground that's now attracting interest from the States.

And rugby star Sam Warburton launches the Poppy Appeal, helping

the armed forces community and those who've lost loved ones. He was fun

loving and hard-working. Good evening. In the past hour,

angry parents have been protesting against cuts to nursery services in

Rhondda Cynon Taf. The council there wants to withdraw full-time nursery

places for three-year-olds. Instead, children would start full school

days after they turn four as in many other council areas. It comes as all

22 local authorities grapple with how to balance the books after their

budgets for next year were cut. Our political reporter Daniel Davies has

the latest. You can't avoid these cuts. Councils

are doing it too. This three-year old has a full-time place at nursery

but she were looted next April if the cuts proposed by the council

go-ahead. I am really concerned about the effect it might have on

her. With their condition, I have had to reduce my hours in work and

that was not easy. I am concerned that if they do come in I will have

to reduce my hours again, which will come easy and we are going to go the

pocket. We won't have any money for childcare. The mother is not the

only one worried. It inside us their fears and their plans to fight cuts

at meetings like this across Rhondda Cynon Taff. This is the result. A

protest outside a full council meeting tonight. At the moment these

families can send their children to nursery full-time when they are

three is old. The council cut would delay that until the September after

the turn four. The children out very limited opportunities. We are the

second most deprived area in Wales. The full-time education is the way

around that. There aren't enough provisions in yearly at the moment.

I would withhold my council tax. I would withhold his nursery fees as

well. I pay the council over ?1000 a month. If they can't go to Italy

before his five, they will get extra money off me. It would save ?4.5

million and the council is considering cuts with ?56 million in

all. Libraries would close two. Carmarthenshire Council talking

about cutting a total of ?30 million from its budget. In Powys they want

to save almost ?1 million by handing over responsibility for public

toilets. We have no choice. We have to look at all areas of spending.

Nursery education is one of those. We fulfil our statutory obligations

but where we provide over and above statutory education we have to look

at it. Rhondda Cynon Taff blames the cuts on the austerities drive. So

far councils have been shielded from the worst of it but that has

changed. In one part of Wales this is what they think about it.

Daniel joins me now. Well, that's what's happening in Rhondda Cynon

Taf, but nurseries are under the spotlight in the neighbouring county

too. What's happening there? This is Bridgend local council. It is a

Labour lead counsel. The local council of the first Minister Carwyn

Jones. Bridgend wants to say ?1.5 million from its budget for nursery

services. The level of service berries around Wales. Bridgend

thinks it can keep it as it is and it wants to take many that is set

aside for schools and spend it on nursery services. A potential

problem is that Welsh Government has said that schools funding will be

protected from all these cuts we are seeing. It is politically very

important pledge for the first Minister. Bridgend council has been

told there are a couple of risks. Teachers may not like many spent in

this way but that is a risk that the policy may not comply with Welsh

Government policy on school funding. What does Bridgend council say about

this? We've had a statement saying it is trying to keep the current

level of nursery provision in the county and they believe they have

found a way of doing that without breaching Welsh Government policy.

That is why they are organising a consultation which will go to the

public soon. The Conservatives are claiming this is a big embarrassing

the first Minister. It is happening in his backyard. Thank you very

much. The grandparents and aunty of a

five-year-old girl, missing with her mother for nearly two years after a

custody battle, were sentenced to 12 days in jail this morning for

failing to reveal their whereabouts. But the couple who live near Cardiff

and their daughter walked free after the High Court hearing because

they'd already spent the required time in prison on remand. The court

was told that their granddaughter has now been found in Russia.

Caroline Evans reports. Missing for nearly two years.

49-year-old Jacqueline Davies and her daughter Alice, said today to be

in Russia. The little girl is said to be safe and well with her mother

and the two are expected back in the UK next week. Outside the High Court

in London her father said he was now looking forward to seeing his

daughter at last. The relief is phenomenal. We can start working

towards becoming a family again. But this is a family saga which has seen

the grandparents both jailed for contempt of court. The judge said

they had lied when asked for information about the whereabouts of

the little girl. The couple were sentenced to 12 days in prison but

released immediately cause of the time spent behind bars waiting for

today's hearing. I am glad they never sent the grandparents down. I

don't think it deserved that. You can't go to the courts of justice

and lie and get away with it. It's not clear how or why their daughter

and granddaughter ended up in Russia. It's understood they were

found as the result of publicity about the case on the Internet. But

a family lawyer says it's rare for a judge to use his powers to jail in

this way. It is very much a last resort because the courts give the

mother every opportunity to respond. She has family in this country, she

must have been aware of what was going on. She must have been aware

of the implications. But because it is not frequently used, she probably

thought that parents would not be committed to prison. So far this

evening the Davies family have not returned back to their home and

little is known locally of the couple. People say they keep

themselves to themselves. A judge has already ruled that Alice should

have contact with her father. Her mother is now expected to appear

before the High Court in Birmingham next Tuesday.

A new plan to help improve diagnosis of neurological conditions like

Parkinson's disease and epilepsy has been published by the Welsh

Government. More than half a million people here are affected. The plan

highlights six areas that need to be addressed, including raising

awareness of conditions and targeting research.

The Welsh Ambulance Service has missed its target response time for

the most urgent cases for the 16th month in a row, despite

improvements. 63% of ambulances arrived on time in September, up one

percent on August but short of the 65% target. The Ambulance Service

says it's introduced changes to improve responses.

An inspection has found a shortage of trained custody officers in the

Dyfed-Powys Police area is putting people in cells at risk. A joint

report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons and Inspector of

Constabulary said that just three inspectors oversee custody and they

were often distracted from that by other responsibilities. The force

says it's already making improvements.

The British Medical Association in Wales says a new flu vaccine for

children as young as two and three could help the strain on the NHS

over the winter. All children up to 16 could soon be vaccinated every

year as part of a new strategy by Public Health Wales. Until now,

people only 65 and over or with an underlying condition are offered the

vaccine on the NHS. Paul Heaney has more.

This is the new way of delivering the flu vaccine. For the first

time, two and three roles are getting routine protection against

the flu. -- two and three-year-olds. It's important to

protect the community as a whole. I'm at an age where I can have a flu

jab and it's important in people have it as well. The aim is to get

all children vaccinated every year. The BMA say that could help the NHS

during a busy winter. This is one of the biggest causes of access to

hospital in the winter time. Individuals will benefit by not

getting sick but also the NHS does benefit and obviously that benefits

us all. Different strains like swine flu are amongst the most dangerous

but all flu viruses can spread easily. One in ten children get it

every year. Each winter 50 healthy children die in the UK. The nasal

spray is cheaper than the old-fashioned jab so it's no

cost-effective for more children to have it. We are vaccinating children

and we are not only protecting them from flu, but also it has a wider

benefit on their family and other children at school. Children aged 11

and 12 are also included in this pilot Roger and they will get the

vaccine in school. -- this pilot project. It is always easier to add

something onto it and doing something from scratch. That exists

already in young children and we have an active programme and

increasingly we are offering more in the musician through school health

services. -- more immunisation. Public Health Wales says it

understands concerns about more vaccines being given to children but

says immunisation is not harmful while flu can be deadly.

Still to come in the programme: It's a symbol of courage and sacrifice.

The Poppy Appeal is launched with the help of Wales rugby star Sam

Warburton. And it's a popular Olympic sport in

Europe. Handball is causing yet another Swansea Cardiff rivalry.

A pioneering playground made out of junk in Wrexham could inspire

identical schemes across America. The Land, on the Plas Madoc estate,

allows youngsters to create or destroy the environment around them

with minimal adult interference. It's attracted the attention of

specialists in the States who want to copy the idea.

To adults, it looks like a wasteland. But for kids, it's a

wonderland. Ellie and her friends come here whenever they can to

swing, slide or smash things up. Is it a good place to unwind? Yes. I

can't do this at home. This waste ground was turned into the Land last

year with recycled and donated materials. On one of Wales' most

economically deprived estates, it's been a big success. I think that a

lot of playful behaviour can sometimes be perceived as

anti-social behaviour and this provides a space which older can and

destroyed if they've had a bad day, they can let it out. Joan Almon and

Janice O'Donnell are champions of children's play from America. It

only has four adventure playgrounds and they want to introduce parks

like this across the states. We would love to see play valued more

in the US and by that we mean this kind of free play where it is the

children's choice, not somebody saying line-up and throw the ball.

Adventure playgrounds Dexter that kind of activity. -- dead for that

kind. With health and safety legislation now so prevalent it's

perhaps surprising that a playground like this is being seen as a model.

Not according to some. Sometimes children will take chances but in

the boundary of what they think they can do. All of these are different

kinds of way that children need to be versatile human beings.

Increasingly we see children narrowed down. They are not given

the chance to be children. The experts seem to agree to. If Janice

Ann Jones like what they see they could take the ethos and transported

from the land of Song to the land of the free.

The construction of one of Europe's biggest off-shore wind farms, eight

miles off the North Wales coast, is on target to be completed next year.

The Gwynt y Mor development will generate enough energy to power the

equivalent of around 400,000 homes. Work to install 160 wind turbines

has been speeded-up by warm weather over the summer.

A number of Welsh recipients have received honours at Buckingham

Palace, including one of Wales' richest men, the venture capitalist

Michael Moritz. Also meeting the Queen has been the conductor Tim

Rhys Evans. The music director of the choirs Only Men Aloud and Only

Boys Aloud received an MBE. Time for tonight's sport now, and a

return to the ring for our top boxer. Ashleigh's got the details.

Thanks, Lucy. Nathan Cleverly will make his comeback next month at a

new weight. The former light-heavyweight world champion

from Cefn Fforest is stepping-up to cruiserweight, to fight Australian

Daniel Ammann for the vacant Commonwealth title in London on the

30th of November. Cleverly lost his world title to Russia's Sergey

Kovalev in August. In ice-hockey, the Cardiff Devils'

managing director will also coach the club until the end of the

season. Former player Brent Pope will take over from Gerad Adams,

after he was relieved of his duties as both player and coach. He'll now

see-out the remaining six months of his contract in a development role.

The Devils are currently ninth out of ten teams in the Elite league.

It's time to brace yourself for a week of serious sporting rivalry.

Cardiff City and Swansea City meet in the Premier League for the first

time on Sunday. But the battle for bragging rights between our two

biggest cities isn't confined to just football. Take the Olympic

sport of handball, for example, where the clash between Cardiff and

Swansea is also keenly awaited every year. The strictly neutral Sachin

Krishnan went along to watch. The rivalry is friendlier, the pace

a little less frantic, but the commitment very much reflects a

sporting meeting between Swansea and Cardiff. Handball is one of the most

populous sports in mainland Europe, played from Germany to Iceland, from

Denmark to Croatia. Here it is just played by a handful of teams.

Cardiff was established in 2008 and their cosmopolitan team playing one

of the UK leagues. We rely on awful lot on volunteers. Exposure to

handball for most people comes from the Olympics every four years.

London 2012 was the inspiration for the husband and wife who formed

Swansea handball last year. We were working as a games maker in the

London Olympics. I got a text of Matthew saying I have been watching

the handball and we should set up a club. We set up a Facebook group to

find out what kind of interest they might read and we had quite a few

people who said they wanted to give it a go. In Wales, Aberystwyth and

Banda have handball teams but there is some way to go before it reaches

the level of participation enjoyed in the rest of Europe. -- Angola. --

Banda. It is the same as rugby in Germany. It is played but I

foreigners in Germany. In what is probably not a precursor to the

Premier League meeting on Sunday, this particular South Wales derby

was won by Cardiff by 31 goals to nine.

I don't think it will be that one-sided on Sunday. And tomorrow

night, as part of our build-up to the South Wales football derby,

we'll be looking at how the rivalry between Swansea and Cardiff is

played out in politics and business, as well as on the sports field.

The Wales rugby squad say they need to beat some big southern hemisphere

teams this autumn if they're to mount a serious challenge at the

next World Cup. And they may get some inspiration from watching this

bit of classic archive footage. Because it was exactly 50 years ago

today that Newport beat the mighty All Blacks at Rodney Parade - the

tourists only defeat on their 1963 tour. John Uzzell's drop goal was

the difference, as the Black and Ambers won 3-0.

Wales captain Sam Warburton joined members of the armed forces and

families who've lost loved ones on the front line to launch this year's

poppy appeal in Wales. The Royal British Legion hopes to raise ?37

million to help veterans and serving soldiers. But this year's appeal

focuses on families too, as Carwyn Jones reports.

The crucible of war. Past and present. By land, a and sea. In all

corners of the world. Since 1921 the Royal British Legion has adopted the

poppy as a symbol of remembrance. It has become the backbone of the

charity's fundraising efforts. At the launch of this year 's poppy

appeal at the Millennium Stadium, military personnel rubbed shoulders

with the Wales rugby squad. You go through the wars on the rugby pitch

but they have actually been through it. It puts it into perspective when

you think what they have been through. 40 million remembrance

poppies added sugar did this year. The money raised helps veterans as

well as more recent theatres of war. The Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Royal British Legion spends ?1.5 million each week helping the Armed

Forces community. Even when a tour of duty comes to an end, many

service men and women still need support. Sometimes the effects of

that war only come to the fore even now. So there may be physical scars

or emotional and psychological scars. The Royal British Legion

helps the entire Armed Forces community including the families who

face life without their loved ones. In March 2009 Corporal Dean John was

killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province. His family were at the

launch of this year 's appeal. He was fun. He was a big motocross fan.

He was fun loving and hard-working. He liked anything with mechanics.

Last year 's poppy appeal raised 35mm pounds. This year the charity

hopes to raise even more. It is a tradition which began 92 years ago

in the aftermath of the First World War. As the country prepares to mark

the centenary of that conflict in 2014, the poppy remains a poignant

symbol of courage and sacrifice. Carwyn Jones reporting. Let's get

the latest weather now with Derek. There's more rain and showers on the

way. And it looks like we're in for a very blustery weekend with strong

to severe gale force winds. We've all seen some rain today spreading

eastwards across the country this afternoon. Strengthening winds as

well. At Capel Curig a gust of 63mph was recorded. Tonight the rain will

clear with a few fog patches. So this evening rain will move away.

The wind easing with a few mist and fog patches forming. Scattered

showers turning-up after midnight and not as cold as last night.

Lowest temperatures, 6C or 7C but a few spots could drop as low as 4C.

Here's the picture for 8:00am in the morning. A few mist patches. Some

places dry but not everywhere. There will be showers dotted around in

Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Gwynedd. A few places will see the sun

tomorrow but during the day showers will become more widespread. Heavy

in places and merging into longer spells of rain. Top temperatures,

11C to 13C and breezy, especially on the coast. In north east Wales

tomorrow, some dry weather. A few showers as well. 11C in Holywell and

Corwen. Tomorrow evening, further showers in the south and west. Heavy

in places. More rain later in the north. The wind easing. So for

Halloween tomorrow, it's a case of dodging the showers, although parts

of Mid Wales and the north may be dry. Friday looks wet for most of

Wales. Some heavy rain. Although parts of the south and south east

may escape the worst of it. Over the weekend, low pressure over Ireland

will move across Britain. Lots of isobars and that means strong winds

and gales. So becoming windy over the weekend. Risk of severe gales on

exposed coasts and hills. More rain and blustery showers as well. Not

ideal if you're organising a firework display. Temperatures

around average and feeling chilly in the wind.

The main news. The -- parents are protesting against cuts to nursery

services in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The council blames the UK government 's

austerity drive. The prosecution has opened its case

in the phone hacking trial. The former News International chief

executive and David Cameron's ex-spin doctor are among eight

defendants conspiring to intercept voice telephone messages.

That is it from all of us on the programme. Have a good evening.

Goodbye.