18/04/2016 BBC Wales Today

We're in Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire.

The first stop on our two week tour of Wales.

What are the issues that matter to people here ahead

They've been protesting about closing sixth

The council wants to send A level students to Pembrokeshire college.

sixth form gives you the opportunity to become a well rounded individual

among people of all ages. One of the key benefits of learners coming to a

further education college is the wide variety of learning

opportunities we offer. You've also been telling us

the other big election issue here is local hospital

services being cut. Also tonight: A ballistics

expert tells the inquest into Cheryl James's death it's

"likely" she was holding a rifle And a deal to secure Chris Coleman's

future as Wales manager is getting closer, according the boss of

the Football Association of Wales. Welcome to Haverfordwest

in the heart of Pembrokeshire, on the first day of our

Tour of Wales. It's a glorious evening here,

we're just a few miles away from spectacular coastline

and the Pembrokshire This castle has stared out on many

chapters of history in Pembrokeshire and most recently, the oil industry

has been the big story. In my childhood, it was the big employer.

It is in decline now. The other big change taking place in Pembrokeshire

is all about services, schools and hospitals. And those two issues will

be the big stories of the forthcoming election and a couple of

weeks. We will talk more about hospitals a little later, but we

will begin tonight with the hugely controversial changes proposed for

secondary schools in Pembrokeshire. Musical talent is where a sixth form

can give added benefit and why It's not just about exam results

on a sheet and I think you have to look at the person behind it

and I think that the sixth form gives you the opportunity to become

a well-rounded individual among Ben's at Tasker Millward,

one of two secondary schools in Haverfordwest

that the council wants to close and replace with an 11 to 16 school

with A level students going to a new sixth form

centre at Pembroke College. These 15-year-olds in Saint Davids

will also be affected. Plaid Cymru, Labour

and the Conservatives have called But collaboration with the college

has been welcomed here. Currently, as I said,

it is a small sixth form although our outcomes

But perhaps we're not providing for our

Neath Council are not the only ones looking at moving

sixth-form provision into the further education sector.

In fact, here in Neath it has been standard

practice for a number of years, so I have come to the college

The majority of 16-year-olds here will

Pass rates are impressive, so too is the choice.

I think one of the key benefits for those coming to study

here is the wide variety of learning opportunities that we offer.

We offer over 40 different A-level subjects here.

Reports do show that further education colleges perform

But there's also a financial motive here in the face of funding cuts

The pressure is on the further education

sector, on financial pressures across Wales.

There are small sixth forms in many areas, so many people

are thinking it would be a good thing to take some

and put them in the further education sector, which helps the

sector in question in financial terms.

Ukip supports a move towards

The Lib Dems say both and then there's to be

healthy competition between schools and colleges, but the council says

It is not a good position at the moment.

Feelings in Haverfordwest are running high.

protests are calling for the choice of both college and school.

Our Education Correspondent Bethan Lewis is here.

education is obviously a hugely important issue

It comes down to finances, doesn't it? It affects most policy issues.

And if we look at schools in particular, we have... You have the

Welsh Government's perspective which says it is protecting spending on

schools despite the squeeze on the Welsh Government's Budget and says

that have led to an investment of about ?100 million extra over the

past five years and is promising something similar in the next five

years. Then you have other parties saying there is a decade of

underfunding in Welsh education compared suing gun. The teaching

unions are talking about the squeeze on school budgets and about teacher

redundancies. None of the other parties are promising huge

investment or extra money and funding. Because there but it said

it would redirect the money to the classroom, and Ukip talk about this

massive underspend on classroom, and Ukip talk about this

Lib Dems say they will protect the education Budget. And what about the

Labour candidate to suggested there could be a cut to a student funding?

This is a debate about the ?5,000 also that the Welsh Government gives

to students from Wales towards their fees. All the other part apart,

Labour said they would scrap it and replace it with another system,

because it is too expensive. Labour said they would keep its for now and

wait until the student Finance review report is back. The other

parties saying they are not being upfront with the electorate about

this. But the deputy skills Minister Julie James said today it is the

first time we heard this from Labour that it could also be only lead to a

put in what students get. But they are still saying it will mean a

Welsh Tudors get better support than English students. In terms of what

the other parties are saying, the Lib Dems and Conservatives say they

would get more help to living costs, Plaid Cymru said they would write

off some of the debt on students who come back to Wales and

off some of the debt on students who would give more help to students

studying science and maths. The Welsh Conservatives have

launched their Assembly Election manifesto, promising to spend more

every year on the NHS. The extra funding would come

from a cut in the Welsh Government's Our political correspondent

Daniel Davies reports from Wrexham. Good morning, everyone. Hoping to

take a chunk out of Labour, the Welsh Conservatives launched their

manifesto at a company that makes play equipment. A couple of things

strike me about the launch of this manifesto, first the location in

Wrexham, the Tory think there are key seats in north-east Wales I will

decide the outcome of this election, and secondly, there are promises in

this manifesto to good income tax. Those powers are on their way to the

Assembly. Cutting income tax and increasing spending on the NHS, and

of well, not that will, for free. This is what is inside. Health

spending would rise every year under the five-year term of a Welsh Tory

Government. That will be partly funded by cutting the Budget for

students who would get a rent rebate instead of having their Jewish and

fees subsidised. The Tories would really judge 's prescription charges

for people who can afford to pay, including those on the higher rate

of income tax. The Conservatives say they would offer money to councils

to freeze council tax and they have outlined what they call an

aspiration to cut income tax when the Assembly gets the power after

five years. How much money are you going to cut to fund this manifesto?

It is not about cutting, but re-prioritising. The Welsh

Government 's Budget is ultimately a fixed amount of money, about 15

billion a year. It is a fixed amount and we would re-prioritise that to

protect the NHS in real terms increase over the five years so

commissioners can recommission service, we would get rid of

Labour's cap on learning. Recently, events in Westminster have not

helped the Tories. The Cabinet resignation over disability

benefits, the crisis in the steel industry, questions about the Prime

Minister's tax affairs. Mr Davies hopes that voters will not be swayed

by that when they are in the polling booth next month.

Our Health Correspondent Owain Clarke is here.

Owain, the Tories have wanted to see the health

Budget protected here as it is in England,

Health really matters to people, doesn't it? You only need to talk to

people in this town about their fears for the local hospital to

understand that precisely. But when you talk about health finances, you

talk about big numbers very, very quickly. The local health board here

in West Wales spends almost ?2000 per person on caring for people.

Independent analysis has shown us in the early years, the health Budget

in Wales was cut, it went up in England, even though social care was

not protected here. What we saw was performance dip during that time,

even though millions were later pumped back in. The Tories are

saying with this pledge that a if elected would not let that happen.

The problem for them is all the parties in the race this time are

pledging millions more for the NHS. And if you are not a health

economist and just coming to this wondering how to vote and make sense

of it, the big question is do the add up? 46% of the entire money

spent in Wales, the Welsh Budget is spent, but we know demand is

increasing all the time. The question is, how much higher than at

go before things like economic development, jobs, education,

leisure, sport get endangered? The very services which are supposed to

keep us healthy in the first place. Thank you.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail today,

the Welsh Liberal Democrats have been in Swansea,

launching a package of policies designed to improving the lives

The policies include better education in schools on issues

Plaid Cymru visited a brewery in Caerphilly and have outlined

a plan to cut the Welsh deficit and close the economic gap between

It includes measures such as investing in infrastructure.

Nick Servini, our political editor, is also here now.

This part of Wales is very important in this election campaign, isn't it?

It is. I think one reason is it is the most westerly constituency in

Wales and a lot of people feel very remote. One of the big points of

devolution was to bring politics closer to people and yet one of the

criticisms we hear time and time again is that Cardiff Bay at time as

fields as remote as Westminster ever did. So connected to that, one of

the Billy big issues that I always get whenever I to cover story is

transport, partly a feature of the rural economy, how important tourism

is for this part of whalers and politically, this is now Tory

territory. -- this part of Wales. We have thought about how the

Conservatives will fare here. It is a mixed bag at the moment, not

necessarily the best start for them, partly because of features outside

their control, but on the flip side, they have the opportunity to really

call upon a local story which is what is going at in terms of

reorganisation to some of the services in the local hospital and

we will have more on that later. Thank you. Well, our tent is for

tonight and the BBC tent has been for all day. There was a lively

debate among some candidates on radio Wales at lunchtime, tensions

were running high as local is use were debated. We will have much more

from Pembrokeshire later in the programme. Lucy has spent today

asking you what you want from the politicians. Thank you. Hundreds of

you have been in search with your My Manifesto 2016 ideas. The is use

that you want these people, the party leaders to take on board. I've

been speaking to people who are fighting for the hospital services.

More from them later in the programme, but first, the rest of

today's news. An inquest into the death of Welsh

soldier, Cheryl James, has been told it's

"likely" she was holding a rifle to her head before

she died at Deepcut Barracks A ballistics expert said

the 18-year-old from Llangollen had injuries consistent with a gunshot

fired from close range. Paul Heaney reports

from Woking Coroner's Court. The army quickly concluded she had

died by suicide. But new evidence about the circumstances of Cheryl

James's death has led to this new inquest. Now in its final week. The

focus today is on scientific evidence about the rifle which lay

here close to where Private James's body was found, about that bullet

the rifle fired and the fatal injury it caused. David Pryor, a ballistics

expert with four decades of experience, but in 2002, he was

asked to consider statements on photographs given to him by police.

It is his strong opinion that Private James held the gun to her

own head, but he could not completely rule out third-party

involvement. This woman is a weapons expert and after Cheryl's body was

exhumed doublet fragments recovered, she concluded it was likely the

gunshot was self-inflicted, pointing to injuries on Private James's

hands. She told the court the injuries were indistinguishable from

her hand been on the muzzle of the gun when it was fired. In my

opinion, she said, the muzzle was at contact or near contact to Mr

James's phase at the time of discharge. After two and a half

months, the coroner has now heard some of the strongest scientific

evidence yet that Private James may have shot herself. In the opinion of

two experts here today, the gunshot wound that killed her was

self-inflicted. But this is a complicated case. Whilst we've heard

a lot about scientific probabilities and possibilities today, the coroner

will also have to consider in his verdict or conclusion next month

about the kind of environment Cheryl James found herself in in the Army

more than 20 years ago. The inquest continues.

The sister of a businessman from Wrexham who's been missing

in Peru for 11 days says it's "out of character" for him

Harry Greaves was last seen on the 7th of April

after telling friends he was going to trek up

A helicopter has been looking for him and his mother and cousin

Harry is a person who everybody knows

thinks of him as one of the

most compassionate and thoughtful people we know.

We have one sighting, hearing of how he left, heading for

the region he said he was heading for.

We have no sightings after that, so at the moment,

If anyone knows how that search can be

narrowed, then please let somebody know.

The Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns visited steelworkers

He told them the UK and Welsh governments were making every effort

to secure the future of the steel industry there and at the Tata

plants at Port Talbot, Trostre and Llanwern.

Tata put their UK operations up for sale last week,

putting thousands of jobs under threat.

An investigation's underway after three prisoners climbed

The incident started yesterday morning and lasted

The Prison Service says the men have now been segregated and have

Ministry of Justice officials denied the protest had been linked

The chief executive of the Football Association of Wales

says he hopes they're closer to agreeing a new deal

Jonathan Ford was speaking at the launch of a new grassroots

scheme aimed at getting 30,000 young people to play

Chris Coleman's contract ends after the European Championships.

He's absolutely always been part of our plans,

see Chris leading our team on the course to the World Cup

campaign, which starts early in September.

On the second day of Glamorgan's opening

Championship match of the season, Leicesteshire have reached

That's in response to Glamorgan's first innings total of 348.

I'll be back with our updates at 8pm and after the BBC News at Ten.

But let's get back to Haverfordwest now, the first stop on our two-week

tour of Wales, where we can join Lucy.

We've been asking you what you would do

if you were First Minister, as party of My Manifesto 2016.

People here tonight have lots of ideas.

There will be lots of these cards going in this book. One issue that

keeps raising its head time and time again for people I've spoken to is

the loss of some services at the hospital and at the weekend,

campaigners from this area once again took their protest to Cardiff

Bay. When it comes to standing up for

what they want, people from Pembrokeshire are not afraid of

speaking out. Save our services! Hundreds of protesters have turned

up here. They want 24-hour children's care, and other number,

children admitted overnight at this hospital are sent elsewhere and

these protesters want to change. Mark amid the journey to Cardiff

with his children. If I was First Minister for whalers, one of the

things I would do is definitely return for essential services

things I would do is definitely to this hospital. One night seven

years ago, Mark's eldest daughter was hospitalised following a serious

seizure. If that was to happen today, where paediatric care is a

part-time, and I dread to think what would happen to my little girl if

I'm honest. If they could serve this hospital I'll be really happy.

Because all to lead maternity unit was also moved two years ago. I have

had both my children here, both Caesareans and both children will

not have survived if I had had to be transferred to another hospital. You

may not have been talking to me here today. I wouldn't have thought so

and I definitely wouldn't have had a six-year-old son. They say the

majority of emergency cases involving children are treated here.

And Labour say people are getting a better service. The Welsh

Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and Ukip all said they

would return a full-time paediatric and consultant led maternity care to

the hospital. But it is not just health on the agenda here in

Haverfordwest. People have been telling me about a lot of different

issues that they want included in my manifesto -- My Manifesto 2016,

including the future of this high Street. My worry is that the town is

dying, you know? The shops are closed. If I was First Minister I

would support the high Street. If I was First Minister, I would create

more jobs and promote tourism. Pembrokeshire has a long association

with the Armed Forces and on the high Street, I met Barry John who

served for 25 years. He has now set up an arts centre to help former

servicemen and women. It is important to support veterans, not

just of mental health issues, but across-the-board. If I was the First

Minister, I would create more support. People in Haverfordwest

have had their say and we want to hear from you about what you would

do if you were First Minister. We certainly do and this

is how you can be a part You can get in touch on email,

[email protected]. You can also write to us at BBC

Wales Today, Broadcasting House, We'll be passing on YOUR ideas

to whoever's in charge of the Welsh Government,

from May the 6th. Nick, talking to people today,

it's clear that feelings are running That's writes. Two things in the

term of the NHS, the whalers wide issues and strong local issues and

probably in Haverfordwest, it is arguably more passionate than

anywhere else across Wales. It can get pretty brutal for labour at

times and the regional candidate at lunchtime today took part in a radio

Wales postings, nearly got shouted down. The same thing happened in the

radio debate in Pembroke Dock in January. For the other parties, they

can tap into this anger and make a connection between the decision made

locally and it's being symptomatic of a kind of Wales- wider malaise in

the NHS. Very difficult for Labour and what has been the Welsh

Government to try and justify the decision on a medical grounds and

counterintuitively, in a way, try and persuade people that the best

thing for them is to be treated further away from where they live.

Next, thank you. Well, the sun is starting to go down here in

Haverfordwest. It has been a dry all day but it is a little bit chilly.

Behnaz is on the side of the River Cleddau

It has not been the warmest day in Haverfordwest, but it has been a dry

across much of a whalers today and high pressure is in charge of our

weather this week. And with that we can look forward to a lots of dry

weather, some sunshine turning more unsettled by the time we get to the

end of the week. Tonight, very little change and we will hang on to

the cloud and I will stop temperatures from falling too much.

Around five Celsius, and a frost free night thanks to the cloud. It

has been a breezy today, free night thanks to the cloud. It

should ease off by tomorrow morning. The pressure shot for tomorrow is

showing high pressure across much of Wales and with that, we can look

forward to a settled they and if Wales and with that, we can look

anything, it will feel warmer as we start to see more sunshine. But it

is not wall-to-wall blue sky tomorrow. We will see a bit of cloud

and by the time we go into the afternoon, some riders coming

through and it will feel a tad warmer than today with the lighter

winds. With the sunshine, it will feel pleasant and highs of 11-13dC.

Tomorrow night, that cloud clears and underneath the clear skies and

with the light winds, we will see to be just robbing it again. It will be

chilly into the early hours of Wednesday and we will see a touch of

frost forming and also the potential for some of this and fog as well. As

we head into Wednesday, which is likely to be the best day of the

week, it will feel warmer, temperatures getting up to 16

Celsius, there will be sunshine around, but yet again, not blue

skies, but certainly more sunshine in comparison with today and

tomorrow. Feeling pleasant out and about through Wednesday. By

Thursday, the pressure chart is showing a weather front to the south

of Wales and it will turn a bit more unsettled by the time we go into

Thursday. Thursday, a bright start, sunshine on and off through the day,

by the time we've each Thursday evening, that's frontal push-up from

the south bringing rain to south Wales through Thursday night and

into the early hours of Friday morning. Friday is looking unsettled

with a mixture of rain and windy conditions and then we will see the

return of the colder, more Arctic air by the time we get to the

weekend. Back to you, Lucy. It is a lovely evening here in

Haverfordwest. But we are about to hit the road, heading from here to

the discovery cafe on the coastal path.

Then onto MachynIleth, Anglesey and Wrexham

And we'll also be on the road next week.

If you live in any of these areas we would love to see you.

And that's Wales Today, live from Haverfordwest

From all of us here on the programme,