04/07/2011 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines: They walked out over

changes to pensions. Now, hundreds of civil servants face being moved.

Could it spark more industrial action?

People are concerned, they are worried, they really need to know

now whether they have a job in Our other headlines tonight: Police

are given more time to question a man held on suspicion of murdering

a teenager in Llanidloes. The service ended, then they slept

overnight in the church. The congregation refusing to leave.

Hundreds of GCSE exam papers meant for marking, delivered in error to

a dentist. The head teacher lives of analysts same school as me, so I

took them over to him. And he took the men and said he would send him

back to the exam board. And, Geraint Thomas takes the white

jersey as the most promising young rider in the Tour de France.

Good evening. They're in every corner of the country offering

services and employment. Concerns have been raised tonight about the

possible closure of Welsh government offices. Four face

shutting, at Carmarthen, Caernarfon, Llandrindod Wells, and Newtown.

Ministers are trying to find ways to save money by moving staff, from

these smaller sites around the country, to larger offices. Here's

Carl Roberts. State-of-the-art offices for the 21st century, these

buildings were built for Welsh government civil servants in an

attempt to spread staff around the country and away from Cardiff. But

the Public and Commercial Services Union has seen a government report

which assesses the future of bought 63 officers. The report I have seen,

which is obviously had a lot of work, lists all of the officers of

the Welsh government across the country. And those offices which

have a long-term future are shown and declared, and others which are

not. My concern is that officers such as Carnarvon, Newtown and

Llandrindod Wells, they haven't got a long-term future according to the

report. It is understood if regional offices were closed to

save money, staff who work within the government's health, business

and education departments, will be expected to transfer. If the Welsh

government office in Llandrindod Wells shouts, the 117 staff will

face a trip to Aberystwyth to work. Staff from Newtown would have and

90 mile round trip to work in Aberystwyth. And staff in Carnarvon

would expect a 52 mile round trip. The union is concerned staff in

mid-Wales have could face difficult journeys especially in winter and

powers would be left without a regional government office.

Concerns are not limited to mid- Wales, 92 staff are employed at the

office in Caernarvon. He a town like this can ill afford losing

those people who shop and work locally in the town centre.

positions in Caernarvon in the local authorities, to be moved to

one site, it would have a detrimental effect on local

businesses. Not only a devastating effect on the small towns which

would be affected, it will lower job prospects in those areas.

the Welsh government has told us it is committed to providing a

presence across Wales but that it is currently reviewing its location

needs. Less than a week after 40,000 Welsh public workers went on

strike over pensions, the union has warned if any compulsory

redundancies are made as a result of closures, it will take

industrial action. It is understood the report is to be debated by the

Cabinet shortly and any decision will will stop radical plans for a

new Welsh super university appear unlikely to go ahead tonight, it

comes after the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff poured out of

negotiations. The proposals would have seen it

become part of a new national institution. Instead, all of the

Welsh universities have signed up to plans which will halve their

number by merging on a regional basis.

Police have been given more time to question a 20-year-old man

suspected of murdering a teenager in Powys. 18-year-old Lewis Clarke,

from Newtown, was attacked in a flat in Llanidloes on Saturday. He

was flown to hospital, but later died. Carwyn Jones reports.

There is still a police presence here today, as officers continue

their murder investigation. 18- year-old Lewis Clarke from Newtown

was found just before noon on Saturday when police were called to

this flat, following report of an assault. He was airlifted to

hospital, but later died. The community is shocked by what

happened. Very sad, very sad about it. A young life taken, and why?

is something that's never happened in this area at all. Everyone we

have spoken to is very distressed. Police have arrested a 20-year-old

man also from Newtown on suspicion of Lewis Clarke's murder. Today,

detectives were granted a further 36 hours to question him. Despite

the arrest, police are still asking members of the public who have any

information to come forward. Police have informed the family of

a missing man from Monmouthshire about the discovery of a body in

Devon. A large-scale search was launched when 24-year-old Joel

Andrews disappeared six weeks ago, after attending a rave on Dartmoor.

The body, found by a walker in woodland near a reservoir, has not

yet been formally identified. Bridgend Council has approved plans

for a multi-million pounds sports village on the site of Island Farm,

plans for the 52-acre site include three stadia and a tennis centre.

Some opponents to the development said it would lead to a build-up of

traffic on nearby roads. The plans will now go before the Welsh

Government for final approval. A man accused of raping a teenage

girl walked free from court today after successfully arguing he

suffered from a sleep condition called sexsomnia. A jury at Swansea

Crown Court found Stephen Lee Davies, 43, from Pembroke Dock, not

guilty. The trial heard evidence from a sleep consultant who

confirmed that people who suffered from the condition are not

conscious at the time. A leading solicitor says cuts to

the legal aid budget, being debated in Parliament, could "clog up" the

court system in Wales, as we depend more heavily on legal aid here than

in the rest of Britain. But the Ministry of Justice says there's an

urgent need to simplify the system and save money. They aim to reduce

the �2 billion legal aid bill by �350 million by 2015.

The court room is a daunting place for most people. And for those that

find themselves embroiled in a legal battle that's not a criminal

matter often need the help of a solicitor or barrister. For those

with no money, legal aid has been available. But, under new plans to

cut the spiralling legal aid bill, the Governments want to end free

representation for certain types of cases. This includes: Divorce and

custody battles. Clinical negligence claims. Employment and

education law. Debt, housing and benefit issues. The changes should

result in half a million fewer civil cases, saving up to �350

million a year by 2015. However, here in Wales, we have a

significantly higher proportion of legal aid cases compared to the UK

average. Those running our Citizens Advice Bureaux believe the changes

will result in thousands of people being denied access to justice.

Last year we saw 114,000 people in Citizens Advice Bureau. 11,000 of

those were legal problems, people wanting legal help. People like Zoe

Stanislaw, from Barry, who's currently pursuing a legal aid

funded case. With the help of a free solicitor, she's challenging a

decision not to award a disability living allowance for her 11-year-

old son Lewis who suffers from ADHD. If I had to pay for the solicitors,

I probably wouldn't be able to pursue this case because I wouldn't

be able to afford the solicitor. It would mean my son would lose out a

lot of benefits that he needs and deserves. There are also warnings

that the changes could result in more and more people representing

themselves, something which the legal profession believe will clog

up the courts. Here, people are represented by lawyers, that may

take 10 minutes. If you have somebody representing themselves

who have no idea of what is going on, cases which should take tenants

may take three hours. The Ministry Parishioners in Rhondda Cynon Taf

are sleeping in their church, in protest at its planned closure.

They stayed on, after the final service at All Saints in Maerdy

yesterday, and still haven't left. Our reporter Jenny Rees is there

this evening. The church was first opened in 1885,

the year of a mining disaster here in Maerdy. And a memorial garden

still lies to the side of the church. So the community is

concerned that that too would be lost, along with the church

building. Of course, All Saints Church isn't the only church to

close in Wales. Dwindling numbers and spiralling repair costs mean

others have faced a similar fate. 93 churches in the last ten years,

in fact. 12 since July. But parishioners here in Maerdy are not

going without a fight. Not your typical church scene but

parishioners are getting comfortable 4 in long protest. They

are agreed that yesterday's Sunday service was the last ever, the

Church is now closed. They are refusing to leave. We have gathered

names, people have been overwhelming with their support. We

will not be moved up from here. People have been in this church

since birth and their in their 90s now. The decision by the Church to

close this, in a matter of four weeks, is not appropriate.

Parishioners need more than that. For many, All Saints is steeped in

personal family history. My mother before me was the first to be

married here in white. Then I was married. Then my daughter was

married here. Now, my granddaughter. She was hoping to get married here

on August 13th. All the invitations had gone out. But the closure has

stopped that. The Church in Wells insists the decision was not taken

lightly. But if �400,000 repair bill was too much. In one sense, it

is the community that has made this decision. The local parochial

church council, nothing to do with the central Church of Dougherty,

positioned me as the Bishop to close this building. That came out

of the blue, the letter. But I knew that in some ways this was a

decision which would have to be made at some point because, 10

years ago, we were speaking about the need for repairing this

building. A new venue for the Church has been found at the

community centre. Since news spread, the 20 regular churchgoers have

gained support from the community who are willing to start fund-

raising. We have moved back inside the

church where the beds are up from last night and ready for tonight

when there will be more people staying. One of them is Sarah, why

do you feel so strongly? We have already lost too many of our

historic buildings in Maerdy, our infant school has been closed, one

of the halls has been demolished. This is the oldest building. We

need to fight to keep it and keep the village looking as pretty as it

does, we need all the buildings and to keep our history. One of those

people, a key figure in the committee, is the churchwarden,

former church warden. Peter. The Church in Wales would say this is

something which has been on the cards foreign number of years and

you have known this was coming. Is This has come as a big shock.

was one of the councils which has cut members with the community on

board that was then floated for the Church to close. There was no

opposition to that. Politics can be in for Neil game. -- a funny old

game. The council is made of five members from Tyler stone and five

from Mardi. We lost the vote by 10 votes. Read into that what you may.

What will you be doing now? shall be encouraging the youth and

the community and we need community support. We need to get people in

to see what is here and keep the building open. The building is

appreciated by the community. It is full of artefact going back to 1885.

We will do our best to keep it open. The Church in Wales say they're

still a very strong presence within the Rhondda Valley. They have 23

churches and 10 priests. Much more to come before 7:00pm.

Hundreds of GCSE examination papers are sent to the home of a dentist

in a mix up over addresses. And cyclist Geraint Thomas takes

the white jersey as the most promising young rider in the Tour

Controversial plans to merge four Carmarthenshire secondary schools

into two have been given the go- ahead. Two schools in Llandovery

and Llandeilo will be replaced by a new school 15 miles from Llandeilo.

And two schools in the Gwendraeth Valley will merge into one at

Cefneithin. The project, which will cost �60 million, has met with

significant opposition since the plans were unveiled four years ago.

Changing schools is rarely a smooth process. For a pupil, it can be

emotional. For a parent, disruptive. That's why so many came out to

protest against the closure of this one in Llandovery. They say it'll

mean the death of state education in the town, and have campaigned

against its merger with another school in the county. We have not

objected to the principle of the new school but we do object to the

location of any school. The location of the new school will

create an educational desert. the moment, 300 pupils study here

at Ysgol Pantycelin in Llandovery. Under the reorganisation plans,

they'll have to travel another 15 miles to Llandeilo to study here.

At the moment, it's just a field, but by 2015 it'll contain a new

school merging Ysgol Tregib, about a mile down the road in Llandelio,

with Ysgol Pantycelin. That could mean some pupils travelling for an

hour or more each way. More than 200 letters were written to the

council, most of them objections. But they're convinced they've made

the right decision. This has been ongoing for four years. We want to

ensure that the language and the education experience of the

children will benefit as a consequence. I understand the

concerns but when they see the innovation and the new school, they

will be over the moon. What they weren't over the moon about was the

timing of today's executive board meeting. Objectors say it was

called hurriedly, leaving them no time to organise any opposition.

The council's website did state the meeting was scheduled for September,

something they acknowledged today was a "printing error". As well as

the Llandovery merger, two schools in the Gwendraeth Valley are to

merge. Initial opposition to this, over fears Welsh language provision

would be affected, has cooled. The new school will be bilingual with

most subjects being taught in Welsh. Formal objections to the plans can

be raised from September. If there are any, the final decision will

lie with the Welsh Government. While we're talking about schools,

"Must do better", that's the verdict of the head of one of

Wales' top state schools after it emerged that exam boards across

Wales and England face investigation following a series of

errors. In the latest, hundreds of completed WJEC maths papers were

delivered by mistake to the home of a dentist instead of the person who

was supposed to mark them. This is what happens when the

results coming for those who've done well. But this year, these

GCSE maths papers almost did not make it to the person who was

supposed to mark them. They were delivered instead to a dentist.

This dentist has a practice near Llandudno. It was lucky he has a

son who was doing exams this year and he knew how important they were.

I thought, I will put them in the garage and what for them to pick

them up. It was only when I read the front that I realised what it

was. It could have happened before and would anybody know? He took the

papers to the head of the High School in Colwyn Bay and there now

with the right person. The headmaster said he would have been

outraged if this had happened to papers completed by pupils and his

school. The procedures should be there. The children in this school

worked extremely hard to ensure that they performed as well on the

day as they could. The Welsh based exam board seems to put the fault

at the door of the couriers. The papers in question were wrongly

delivered despite having the correct house number and street

name on the label. But this may not be the only mistake involving the

WJEC. Pupils have complained about differences between an A-level

maths paper in large print and the standard paper. Other boards have

had problems too. The OCR exam board producer maths question that

was impossible to answer. There was also a paper with a question from a

previous exam printed in the middle of it. The exam red later in

England has launched an investigation and says it is

working with the Welsh government here. Children are sitting down and

are facing exam papers that are impossible to answer. That is not

acceptable. The exam boards need to re-establish the conference and the

system and that will require investment. This transcends the

debate about whether exams are getting easier or not. If there is

not confidence and the system, some might say the standard hardly

matters. Cyclist Geraint Thomas has produced

another superb performance on the third stage of the Tour de France

to retain the white jersey worn by the leading young rider. Thomas is

still fourth in the overall race after finishing today's 200

kilometre stage in the leading group. Here's our sports reporter,

Ashleigh Crowter. Another historic day for Wales' top

cyclist. Ceiron Thomas donned a white chivvy -- jersey again. It

was fitting that the Welshman should do so well in this stage as

the race swept up the Atlantic coast in the Brittany with the

ancient Celtic language to cretonne he still spoken by some locals. He

started the day in 4th place. The 25-year-old from Cardiff had

planned to play a supporting role but so far, Ceiron Thomas looks

like the strong man of Team Sky and today he even threatened to win the

closing sprint. In the end, he finished 15th but it was enough to

him -- for him to retain 4th place in the overall standings. Back in

his home city, cycling enthusiasts are following his progress closely.

Last year, he got the white jersey on the 4th stage of the Fifth stage.

He is now showing he has the best young rider in the tour at the

moment. For his challenge now is to see whether he can turn the white

jersey yellow before the week is out.

Wales have lost their first match at the World Netball Championships

in Singapore. They were narrowly beaten 51-48 by Trinidad & Tobago.

Their next match is tomorrow against the world's best side, New

Zealand. A teenager from Builth Wells will

make a speech at the closing ceremony of the Special Olympics in

Athens tonight. 18-year-old Shain Lewis was chosen from more than

7,000 athletes to thank their hosts, Greece, on behalf of all the

competitors. Shain has already made his mark on the Games by performing

songs at an athletes reception, as well as representing Great Britain

in tennis. Our taste of summer is about to end

abruptly. Here's Sue, making the most of the sunshine.

One of the best places to be today is on the beach. Great news for one

beach under the club. What I'm on in the Gower has been voted the

best in Britain. -- poured I'm on. Port Eynon has been one of the

warmest places in Wales today. 23 warmest places in Wales today. 23

degrees on the Gower peninsula. Fincher was the hot spot today. --

Flintshire. High pressure has been building over the last few days,

keeping settled conditions and light winds. That high pressure

that has been in control is receding toured Scandinavia.

Conditions will be changeable over the next few days. Tonight, it

starts off dry but cloud will thicken from the West. A band of

rain arrives and amateur and Ceredigion overnight. A mild night

to come because the cloud holds up the temperatures. Tomorrow morning,

a cloudy start. The band of rain moving eastwards. As it clears

tomorrow afternoon, it leaves behind a mixture of sunny spells

and showers. Noticeably cooler than today. Temperatures around 17

degrees in Pembrokeshire. By Wednesday, low-pressure very much

in control. A mix of sunshine and showers. The showers were slightly

on the south-west facing coast. Make the most of any evening

sunshine today because it is going to turn more unsettled through the

to turn more unsettled through the week.

The main news again from the BBC: The parents of murdered schoolgirl

Millie Dowler have been told by police that the News of the World

intercepted their daughter's phone in the days after she disappeared.

Police are investigating claims that Glen Mulcaire, a private

investigator working for the paper, listened to messages left by

desperate friends and family. There's been no comment from News

Group Newspapers, publishers of the News of the World.

For government offices could close. Ministers say they are committed to

having offices across Wales but are trying to find ways to become more

efficient. Police have been given more time to

question a 20-year-old man suspected of murdering a teenager

in Powys. 18-year-old Lewis Clarke from Newtown was attacked in a flat

in Llanidloes on Saturday. He was flown to hospital by air ambulance

but later died. X-Ray's coming up in half an hour.

Here's Lucy and Rhodri. Tonight, we are looking at a Llanelli

businessman has made a fortune from companies. Why won't he refunded

customers? We continue our investigation into a Swansea-based

company. We'll have an update for you here