01/04/2014 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Our top story: The GCSE row - the class of

2014 learns there will be no re-mark of English exams which received poor

grades. Tonight the credibility of the exam

board the WJEC and the Welsh Government is being tested yet again

- we'll be asking the Education Minister what's going on.

I think a regrading exercise here would be a retreat, essentially,

from the agenda around rigour we have promised to parents, to

learners, to employers and to universities in terms of the worth

of a Welsh GCSE. A mother and baby monitored by

social services may have been dead for three weeks before their bodies

were discovered, an inquest has heard.

The ready meals company Creative Foods announce 150 jobs could go at

their Flintshire base. And the new strategy's paying

dividends - the record 20,000 girls who are playing football. I enjoyed

it loads. It's really fun. It doesn't matter if you score a goal,

it's all about the taking part. Good evening. You might be

disappointed with your poor GCSE English exam results but there will

be NO regrading. That's the blunt message from the Education Minister

tonight. Some teachers had complained about unexpectedly low

grades. But a review by the Welsh Government has said, "no one single

factor" contributed to the results. In a moment we'll be hearing from

the Education Minister Huw Lewis, first here's our correspondent Arwyn

Jones. These year ten pupils input Talbot

will set their GCSE exams next year so the outcome of today's report

will affect them directly. Following the regrading fiasco in 2012, eight

unique exam was offered only two pupils in Wales. This year was the

first time they were able to sit there is exams. In March the results

were released and teachers voiced concerns about unexpectedly low

grades. The Welsh government launched a review. As the Welsh

government releases more and more verifications unique to Wales, it is

crucial they are respected across the UK and beyond so what went wrong

with these results and making sure it doesn't happen again is seen as

very important. Schools said the recreating? Grading of papers -- the

grading of papers was unduly harsh. They added training was poor and

unhelpful but no complaints were made at the time. The report found

teachers had been too generous in predict the grades.

I lead an experienced department for 15 years and we are good at judging

our students and where we expect them to be. These results are in no

way in keeping with what we would expect them to be and the papers

don't add up. It doesn't make sense to me were the marks are being

awarded. The report said the exam board should do more in future to

provide online papers so that teachers know what is needed in

exams. It said the deadline for deciding if

he pulls want to resit in the summer should be extended to the end of

April. It said it is fermenting changes but that is not much comfort

for the teaching unions. There are a number of

recommendations that should give us some cause for comfort for the

future, we still have the immediate issue of hundreds of students

throughout Wales who have grades that do not match their abilities.

As the matter was debated in the chamber, opposition parties turned

to the exam regulator. I was staggered when I read the

comment about data vigilance by the WJ EEC and the Welsh government were

not aware of what was going on and were not aware of the standards the

students would be achieving. The Welsh government has made it

clear it expects GCSE results to be similar to last year but also be

more rigorous. Exams will be tougher in future so these pupils have to be

prepared. Earlier Arwyn spoke to the Education

Minister Huw Lewis. He started by asking how disappointed he was that

schools ignored his advice and put additional pupils for the January

GCSE exams. There is a disappointment for me within what

has happened here and some sense of the world are meant. We have had a

26% uplift in early entries in January and it has been identified

as something that may have had an impact on the results we saw. Some

of those young people were in the year ten, which means they had not

been studying the subject for more than a few weeks. But you could have

been regrading them. I have dismissed the idea of regrading and

regardless of if we had found out a week earlier, I don't think that

would change things. I think a regrading exercise would be a

retreat from the agenda around rigour we have promised to parents,

employers, students and universities in terms of the worth of a Welsh

GCSE. Is it realistic for you to expect you can have more rigour in

the exam and subject areas that you say you want without having fewer

pupils getting the top grades and as a consequence of that, more pupils

have to be disappointed. It doesn't necessarily follow. We know already

from this set of January results that even with a tougher set of

specifications, at least 30 of our schools have actually raised their

results over and above the 2013 results. But 26% are down so you

should be expecting to see fewer IBO is getting the top grades. But we

are seeing it is possible. -- fewer students getting the top grades. The

schools I am referring to, you couldn't point to them and say they

are in more prosperous areas or they are historically high performing

schools. That is not the case. There are schools of every type within the

group that have either held their ground or even better, they have

raised their game. The two things could and should go together. As for

the rest of the day's news. A mother and her baby daughter who were found

dead at their house could have been there for three weeks, an inquest

has heard. Joanne Thomas was found in bed alongside four-month-old

Harper at their home in Troedyrhiw, last July. The coroner recorded an

open verdict, after hearing that, the cause of their deaths could not

be found. Matthew Murray was in court.

Joanne and Harper Thomas' family were looking for answers into this

tragedy but they left the coroner's court today with many more

questions. We still haven't got any closure and

we don't know why they died. It is a tragedy, how my mother is going to

get over this I just don't know. I don't know how any of us are going

to get over it. It must leave so many more questions. More questions

than answers, and fortunately. -- unfortunately. Joanne was found in

her bed alongside four-month-old Harper at their terraced home in

Troedyrhiw, near Merthyr Tydfil, last July. The bodies could have

been there for up to three weeks and had to be formally identified via

dental records and DNA testing. The inquest heard how Harper had been on

the "at risk register" due to a relationship of Miss Thomas's but by

the end of May she was removed from that list and placed on a lesser

voluntary scheme. It was said the mother and daughter had moved to

Troedyrhiw to start a fresh and had only been living there a few months.

The inquest heard how concerns had been raised weeks before when Joanne

fails to take the baby for injections. Social services had

called at the property three times but there had been no answer. Today

the family said social services should have done more but the

coroner said they had acted accordingly. Today the inquest ruled

out foul play as well as discounting the possibility of carbon monoxide

poisoning. Joanne Thomas had a history of depression but the

coroner also said there was no evidence to suggest she had taken

her own life. At school Joanne achieved 12 straight As at GCSE and

her family believed she was turning her life around before this tragedy.

Police have arrested a man in connection with an assault following

an incident outside a school in Cardigan. Officers launched an

investigation after reports of a child screaming in the back of a car

yesterday. The police have confirmed the investigation no longer involves

a child. Former shadow Welsh secretary, Nigel

Evans, has accused the prosecution in his trial for rape and sex

offences of portraying him as a cross between Alan Clark, Oscar

Wilde and Benny Hill. The Swansea born MP appeared in the witness box

at Preston Crown Court for a third day, being cross-examined about nine

allegations against seven men. Mr Evans denies all the charges against

him. 149 staff at a factory in Flintshire

which makes frozen ready meals could lose their jobs. A proposal has been

put forward to close Creative Foods on the Aber Industrial Estate. The

company says, the business may not be viable following an extensive

review. Our reporter Roger Pinney is there. Roger, what more can you tell

us? Jamie, this company's parent company

blames the market, saying there is a long-term decline in the wholesale

frozen ready meals business and as a result this plant may no longer be

viable. The consultation ends in May but redundancy notices have been

issued. This plant employs a number of agency staff and contract

workers. I spoke to them earlier and they said they are planning to move

to other parts of the UK to look for work but a lock of local workers

will have transferred from another frozen foods plant which closed down

locally a few years ago. This is what they had to say earlier.

What can you do? We have been sold and that is it. That is their

decision. It will be hard for a lot of people working here because there

are husbands and wives. I have been on holiday and I just

found out this morning. Not good. Second time this has happened to me

in this town. How big a blow would the job losses

be to the area? Naturally, it is a blow. They're in

mind this area does have one of the lowest rates of unemployment in

Wales and they have been very good here at absorbing job losses in

recent years. Nonetheless, Alex Aldridge, the local county council,

told me he is concerned that some of the workers may not have the

necessary skills to transfer to other local businesses easily.

It will be a huge blow. 150 jobs of the kind of race skills that are

here are often not transferable. Fincher has got a very buoyant

economy at the challenge would be relocating the individuals into

areas where we can accommodate them so this is a significant blow to the

local economy. Nobody from the company was

available to be interviewed today but political pressure is beginning

to build both at Westminster and in Cardiff Bay and there are calls for

the company to think again. One option would be a kind of sell-off

but I think that is a long shop. -- long shot.

Much more to come before seven o'clock: They've closed 17 police

stations - but now a change of heart - so why are they reopening some of

them? And the record number of girls

playing football. ?6.31 - that's the minimum wage and

it's 15 years old today. But campaigners are trying to get

employers to pay the LIVING Wage - which is ?7.65. Research by the

Wales TUC shows that nearly one in four workers in Wales earns less

than that. And as our economics correspondent Sarah Dickins

explains, there are huge variations across both Wales and the UK.

At 17, Charlotte is paid the minimum wage for her power. -- for her age.

After paying rent, she has ?30 to live on.

Because the standards are set for the minimum wage, people know where

they stand. For workers over 21, the minimum

wage rises to ?6 31 and hour but campaigners want employers to pay

the living wage, ?7 65 an hour. 23% of workers in Wales are paid less

than that. There are huge variations. In some areas 40% are

paid less than that but in Cardiff North only 10% are paid less than

that. The TUC says we would all benefit if we were all paid the

living wage. It would mean that additional tax revenue coming in and

there are fewer benefits being paid.

There is evidence to suggest that minimum wage in terms of the

proportion of BT and wage -- median wage has lead to slow employment

growth. Here they are training people

developing systems for others. Two workers are paid the minimum wage,

format above that. The company wants to pay more. We don't have the money

to deliver that now but we hope over the next couple of years, when

things start to improve, we would be able to do that.

We don't want anyone here earning less than they can live on

sensibly. 15 years after it was made law,

there are still 13,000 jobs in Wales that still don't attract the minimum

wage. Two years ago, Gwent Police closed

17 police stations to save money. But today, seven of them have

re-opened. The area's Police and Crime Commissioner says it will be

paid for by cutting overstaffed units and dipping into reserves.

Paul Heaney reports. Tredegar police station in Gwent is

closed to the public. It was one of 17 across the Quentin area that

closed its front desk to save half ?1 million. Some of the stations

that closed had fewer than ten people visit them each day, which

led to the closure. You can see there were people working inside and

police officer's cars were parked round the back, which left some

people frustrated at not being able to speak to someone. Stephen wanted

to report bins being stolen and set on fire last year. He drove six

miles to speak to Gwent police in person, a journey which he says

could put people off reporting crime.

It is annoying and I think people will say it is in the trivial so I

won't bother. When police say more people contact

them online and on the phone but after feedback from the police and

fight -- peace" Commissioner, some of those stations have reopened. How

can the fourth afford it? -- the fourth afford it? We are taking

something out of our reserves until we have done our evaluation.

If it is ongoing and that is the community needs, we have to look at

making savings elsewhere. We have got units within went police that

are grossly overstaffed and the people are addressing that.

We can afford it in that respect. We have to look at another control room

and custody units so we are looking at getting staff out of these units.

There will be a feeling of relief amongst the residents of Pontypool

to feel that they can make contact with the police.

Tredegar station and nine others remain closed for now but officers

are being asked to open the door to the public if they are inside. The

Commissioner says it is up to people to make use of the reopened stations

if they are to stay open in future. The Conservative MP Guto Bebb has

accused the shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith of a U-turn over a

proposal which could give the Welsh Government more powers over income

tax. Mr Bebb says the policy contradicts a number of comments

made by Mr Smith in recent weeks in which he expressed concern about

devolving income tax. Our Political Editor Nick Servini is at the Senedd

for us tonight. This is a reaction to the Labour spring conference on

the weekend and the most significant announcement yet from Labour in

relation to devolution ahead of the general election. It would mean that

Welsh government ministers could have control of three quarters of

the basic rate of income tax. It is subject to a number of conditions,

such as getting a better funding settlement from Westminster and a

referendum but it was also gave ministers the ability to increase

the top rate of income tax. Guto Bebb has accused Mr Smith as a

change of heart, referring to an appearance in February in which he

said Labour had never sought income tax powers and warned about the

dangers of the union of introducing tax competition within the UK

Borders. Owen Smith has said it is still not a priority for Labour to

devolve income tax and says one of the reasons is to guard against a

Tory tax cut for the rich. They look after flooding, pollution

and some of our woodlands. But after its first year, which has included

tackling larch disease and the winter floods, Natural Resources

Wales is facing another battering - this time, criticism over its

conservation work. Here's our environment correspondent, Iolo ap

Dafydd. This winter saw some of the worst

storms in a century. Tidal surges caused damage to the coastline

across Wales. It gives Natural Resources Wales a huge challenge in

its first year. Taking on the work of three bodies, it has a board

range of responsibilities to maintain, enhance and use the

natural resources in Wales. With an annual budget of ?180 million, some

are questioning it dependence. We are at the adviser to government on

the environment. We are working with the government on how we think

Glasdir can improve. On promoting and advice on planning, we are

totally independent. This naturalist says that it is too

close to the government. It is not an independent body, looking at what

has happened. It is not far enough away from the

Welsh Assembly. It is under the wing of the Welsh Assembly.

, letting a disease in Larch trees was one of its first challenges. Its

longer term conservation concern some charities. Wales is one of the

only countries in the world that hasn't banned the hunting of white

fronted Greenland geese. It's responsibilities mean that

inevitably its focus will be drawn to the urgent. That is a concern.

The concern is often a convex, long-term set of issues around

conservation. The new organisation has had a

challenging year. Some have been left with the depression that

Natural Resources Wales has been given a lot of responsibilities and

few resources. If your little girl goes to a Welsh

primary school, she's more likely to play football than any other sport.

The Football Association of Wales say their strategy, to get more

girls involved is paying off. They're supporting clubs to set up

their own community projects. Our sports reporter Ashleigh Crowter's

been to Port Talbot see how the money's being spent there.

It is something you would never have seen a generation ago. A pitch

packed with girls from local primary schools playing football. Now it is

happening all over the country. 175 girls took part in this tournament

today, including two teams from one primary school.

I enjoyed it loads. It is really fun and it doesn't matter if you score,

it is about taking part. I like it when the team works together and

when we figure out what to do and stuff. How have you played today?

We have all worked hard. This is one of the curve that has received a

grant to help develop football in local schools. Chris Coleman warfare

today to see how the money is being spent, to get more girls playing

more often. It was a commitment made after West Wales hosted the under 19

is tournament. We want to see more people playing

here coming to our games. We want to provide festivals like this for the

pupils locally. The days when football was a

minority pursuit for girls are long gone. It is providing a strong

foundation for the growth of the senior game in Wales. More than

20,000 girls now play regularly at school and it is having a knock-on

effect on adult participation. The within our act up by 368 active

female coaches and 14 qualified female referees. It is good news for

the national side, with a couple of crucial qualifiers in the next

week. One of their stars can see the benefits from all sides. She is a

teacher. I think schools are important,

primary schools up to high schools. That helps them with the club links

and if they get positive experience within their lessons and school,

they are more likely to participate outside of school. Organisers have

invited the players to a football camp, in the hope they will keep on

playing for many years to come. Fog then sunshine today - but it's

all change tomorrow. Derek's got the forecast An umbrella

will come in handy tomorrow! It turned out nice today. Morning

mist and fog cleared leaving hazy sunshine. Tomorrow will be warm and

breezy but re unsettled with some rain and thundery showers. Dry this

evening but showers will drift up from the south after midnight. These

may turn heavy and thundery. Some mist and hill fog and milder than

last night. Here is the picture for 8am. Pembrokeshire may be dry at

this stage. Elsewhere some places wet with rain and showers. Heavy

downpours in places with a risk of thunder. And feeling mild. During

the day further showers. Heavy and thundery in places. Some drier,

brighter spells as well but not as nice as today. Top temperature

around 16C with an east to southeasterly breeze. Some windward

coasts noticeably cooler. Poor air quality expected tomorrow,

especially in the south-east. On the north coast tomorrow. Very mixed.

Some rain and heavy showers. Into Thursday, rain brought by a front.

Some heavy rain spreading northeast followed by drier and brighter

weather. The wind lighter and temperatures a little lower. Friday

a better day. Much drier and brightening-up. And feeling fresher

with a south-westerly breeze. The weekend changeable and breezy. Some

rain and not as warm as last weekend but some dry weather.

I will have an update for you here at eight o'clock and again after

That's Wales Today. The BBC News at 10pm. Thank you for watching. From

all of us on the programme, good evening.

All across the country, millions of families are waking up to a Britain