18/08/2014 BBC Wales Today

Tolls on the Severn Bridge would be scrapped

if the Liberal Democrats are in government in Westminster after

The party say commuters will be hundreds of pounds better

off year and the Welsh economy will benefit by more than ?100 million.

80,000 vehicles use these bridges on average every day. And they are all

paying for the privilege. These lorries pay just under ?20 to cross.

Cars are charged ?6 40. But the Liberal Democrats are prepared to

get the cheque-book out and cover the cost of running the bridge, some

per year, once the million pound cost of building the second Severn

Crossing is paid back. All of the money now raised goes to a private

company but from 2018, any money raised will go to the Treasury. It

costs almost ?7 to cross one of the seven bridges in a car these days

but for how long? The Liberal Democrats want to scrap the charges

by 2018 and deliver a boost to the Welsh economy. And they have put a

price on that boost. ?107 million per year saving commuters over ?1500

per year. We want to rebalance the UK economy. In the past, too much

attention and focus has been on the south-east. We want to make sure

that the economic recovery happens across the UK, the tolls represent a

tax on the Welsh economy. We want to see that tax gotten rid of. The

bridges revert to public ownership halfway through the next Parliament

and the Liberal Democrats are the first party to pledge to scrap the

tolls. But many want the tolls scrapped as soon as possible. A

recent Saint Davids Day protest against tolls on the bridges heard

from campaigners who see the -- who say the cost of crossing them hits

the economy hard. This Newport haulage company as one hit by the

costs. We welcome any reduction in cost. It would help the company

become more competitive and help us put more into the company. Our

current spend at the moment for the Severn Bridge is around about

?500,000 per annum. It is a significant cost. Last year, First

Minister said he favoured reducing the tolls and today the Welsh

Government has demanded a say on their future. When the Prince of

Wales officially opened the second crossing in 1996, it cost just ?3 84

a cart across and the debate is still under way. But it is not just

the Liberal Democrats who wanted to be free.

The former Chief Executive of a racial equality charity told

police he was having to use his own credit card for charity business.

The jury in a fraud trial at Swansea Crown Court heard

a police interview with Naz Malik, where he said he would claim

expenses back, despite his attempts to persuade AWEMA trustees to set up

The 65-year-old denies three fraud charges.

Gwent Police say they have been informed of the roots

of two proposed marches by anti-NATO campaigners.

On the day the summit starts, a march will go from the centre of

Newport to the Celtic Manor resort, where the summit being held.

Wales is sleepwalking into a storm because of problems recruiting

That is the warning from Care Forum Wales.

It says more nursing homes are closing than being opened

Jack Cater Lives at the Forge care home in Cardiff.

Just like the other 75 residents here, he needs specialised nursing.

This isn't a residential home for the elderly.

It caters the complex care needs, one of hundreds of private nursing

Day to day, Alex Kelleher is the director of nursing.

She is a trained nurse and tonight she is so short staffed, she is

Whereas in the past, we had quite a big bank of our own

nurses in the group, we have very few now and the nurses often work in

two or three different settings, so it is very difficult to find cover.

Last week we learned that two homes in Bridgend, similar to this one,

The company that owns them says it is because they cannot recruit

Now, Care Forum Wales is warning that the situation won't improve,

We either collaborate and work together or do more

of what we have done in the past and get what we always got,

confusion, money not very well spent, resources not best used and

that leads to problems down the line.

And the Royal College of Nursing believes those problems are not

With the adverse publicity of the stress of what it means to working

nursing, we are not seeing nurses staying and something

nursing, we are not seeing nurses have to be done to actually look at

the numbers that are commissioned, but more importantly, the retention

factor and what we can do to but more importantly, the retention

a profession that people want to remain in.

The Welsh Government says health boards and trusts are responsible

for identifying the workforce needs for their areas and that there is

The British Mountaineering Council is calling for action to protect it

But the National Park Authority says it is confident Snowdon can take the

strain and says it is spending money on making the mountain accessible.

We have only just finished the Commonwealth Games

but already another major sporting event is to start this week

The opening ceremony of the IPC European Athletics

Championships took place tonight at Swansea University.

The actual sport starts tomorrow and runs until Saturday,

with lots of the stars of the London Paralympics taking part.

And some of the record-breaking Commonwealth games Wales squad have

been celebrating their success at Allen Street. David Cameron

congratulated a number of athletes. It may be August but you may need to

turn on the heating this week. We are in some -- for some cold nights

with more showers on the way as well. Tonight, we have showers

spreading across the country, coming in from the Irish Sea. Heavy in

places. Temperatures in the countryside dropping as low as six

Celsius. Tomorrow, scattered showers in the morning. Having said that,

there will be some dry weather and sunshine as well. Across the rest of

the UK tomorrow, a mixture of sunny spells and showers. Scattered

showers in England and Wales. Some places will stay completely dry

tomorrow. Still quite windy and the north-east. Temperatures

disappointing. In Wales tomorrow, scattered showers for mid Wales and

the South. Heavy in places. The best of the sunshine likely in the north

and west. Temperatures no higher than 17 Celsius. If you're heading

to the Pembrokeshire County show, there is a good chance you will miss

the showers. Still a few showers to come on Wednesday but hit and miss.

A lot of dry and bright weather. More showers to come on Thursday,

they could be heavy in places. A similar story on Friday. A dry and

bright start to the bank holiday weekend but signs are to not last.

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