17/08/2011 BBC Wales Today

Hello, welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's top stories: A partial

victory for parents. They win more time in the fight to stop school

closures, but is a delay really benefiting anyone? If the

consultation is relaunched in October and comes back much the

same, we'll be back out there Also tonight:

Good news at this hi-tech medical company. The workforce is doubling,

but there are fears we're being left behind by England's new

Enterprise Zones. Patients in wales are waiting too

long for treatment, and the situation is far worse than a year

ago. Not what the manager expected - the

drainage works that uncovered a medieval monument beneath his hotel.

I've been cleared by the surgeon to play, so I'm fine, good to go.

And, Dwayne Peel says he's ready to play. Wales bosses say he's not. So

who's telling the truth? Good evening. Hundreds of parents and

pupils have stepped up their fight against school closures. The latest

protest as councils try to cut down on surplus places in the classroom.

The campaigners gathered in Mold outside a special meeting of

Flintshire Council, and the parents won a partial victory after a

consultation on plans. What they wanted was the process

stopped. What they won was a delay, a breathing space, in Flintshire as

elsewhere in Wales the prospect of school closures hasn't proved

popular, with pupils among the first to leap to the defence of

their own particular institution. think it is a really good school

and I reckon I've got lots out of it so far. I think it will be a

shame to knock it down. It is a really friendly school and it is

fifth in Wales, so it will be really upsetting if it merges or it

is closed down. The issue is thes mismatch between school places and

the number of pupils to fill them. Flintshire has a series of options

ranging from amalgamations and shared sites to closures.

This High School would have merged with another under one head.

Another would have closed altogether. Elsewhere Welsh medium

and primary schools would have been introduced on one site. Now council

has decided to extend the deadline into December, opening the

possibility for other solutions. give as real opportunity to go back

to the drawing board, all options to be discussed and the suss pluses

to be discussed in a proper manner which don't include Argoed. We need

to have lengthy discussions with the group leaders involved and try

to find a way forward which will involve most of them. Haven't we

been here before? Protest after protest. The issue of surplus

school places has been cropping up across the country. The carrot for

authorities cutting places and by extension closing schools was

moirch from the Welsh Government, called 21st century schools funding.

But spending cuts mean that pot is smaller, with a warning that the

process will have to slow. Flintshire is hoping to get some of

that cash as well. A battle won by the protesters today but it is only

a battle. What the council has done is agree to delay its consultation.

The proposals haven't gone away. Why can't it be sorted more

quickly? It is very difficult. Local authorities have to follow

the rules and the rules state you have to consult. If you don't

consult properly the parents we've heard tonight can go to the courts

and ask from a judicial review. At the end of the process the local

authority doesn't make the decisions. It's the Minister for

Education, Leyton Andrews. If he believes the authority hasn't

followed the rules properly he can ask them to go back. Local

government has to do something about this issue. A-level results

are out tomorrow. How much of this ruckus over organisation is

affecting the children? It is all about education isn't it? Lots of

children and parents like their local school. But at the end of the

day local government is going to have less money to spend on

education in the next few years. The Assembly is rightly saying, we

want that money to go further. We've had a report which says that

surplus places need to be attacked. In Flintshire recommendation one

was look at your places and develop a modernisation programme.

Flintshire needs �40 million to bring it up to the schools -- bring

schools up to the standard we would all want for our children. What

should they be doing? Today's postponement doesn't help anybody.

They've got to get it right, in the eyes of the parents, the Assembly

and the authority's members. You can't postpone this any longer. It

is an issue that has to be addressed, to spend money in the

right places. In Flintshire you have secondary schools with 1,000

pupils and others with 427. One primary school has less than 30. It

Costas lot to education children in a very small school. Many would

argue that with less money we have to make sure the money goes further.

Jeff Jones, thank you. There was some disappointing news

on unemployment today, as the number of those out of work in

Wales rose unexpectedly. The figures show 122,000 people are

unemployed here, up 10,000 on the last quarterly figures. That's 8.4%

of the workforce. Since the start of last year, the figures have

ranged from a high of 9.3% in the first quarter of last year before

coming down to the 8.4% we see today. Business leaders say more

could be done to get people back to work. Welsh unemployment is also

higher than other parts of the UK. One of the things we would like to

see is the work trial scheme extended from six months to the

first day somebody signs on for jobseeker's allowance. A individual

would voluntary go into a business, maybe increase their confidence,

upscale, and the benefit to the business would be maybe business

growth adding to that business and maybe creating a permanent position

for that individual as well. Welsh un employment is higher than most

parts of the UK. 8.4% of people here are out of work, compared with

7.9% in England, 7.7% in Scotland, and only 7.3% in Northern Ireland.

Well, the Welsh Government says the figures show how volatile the

economy is. So, how will politicians tackle the jobless

figures? The Welsh Government is being urged to decide quickly on

new Enterprise Zone amid fears we could be left behind by England.

Today the UK announced its full list of English enterprise zones,

four of which lie just across the border. The zones are designed to

breathe new life into economic black spots by offering incentsives

to businesses. Flintshire, Barry and Cardiff would all like to said

up new zones, but so far no decisions have been made here. More

from James Williams. It may not look like much now but Flintshire

Council believe this is land could unlock the economic potential of

forth Wales, creating 5 ,000 jobs. Councillors want it to be

designated an enterprise zone. �10 million has been set aside for

the scheme. A scheme is set up in the Wirral, so it is important we

make decisions. We know the Welsh Government are not necessarily

against the idea. But let's go forward, let's make decisions and

get those jobs for people. This site is within a stone's throw from

England. Developments across the border are creating a sense of

urgenty in this part of Wales, as the Westminster Government

announced this year it would be establishing an enterprise zone in

the Wirral, new Liverpool. The site, with 20 others in England, would

benefit from superfast broadband, lower taxes, to encourage growth.

It has led to fears it could attract businesses away from Wales

unless the Government acts soon. haven't had an announcement by the

Welsh Government yet and knowing the lack of rapidity of decision

making by the Welsh Civil Service it is going to be unlikely if a

decision is made before Christmas that these be in by this time next

year. That will mean that the English region will have had 12

months to contact and develop their links with companies and attract

investment. Enterprise zones were introduced to Wales by the Thatcher

Government in materialy 1980s. In 1981 Swansea was the first site in

the UK, followed by sites in Pembroke shire and Delyn. Now

Flintshire and Glamorgan councils want to reintroduce the policy in

their patches. Not everyone is convinced. A leading London think-

tank questions their worth. Up to 80% of zones created in the 1980s

were moved from within the same town or city and across the country.

Because you are concentrating in a small area of land and creating an

unlevel playing field for businesses in that area there's a

danger that rather than creating jobs you are moving them around.

The Welsh Government says they are currently looking at options for

Enterprise Zone. Flintshire Council must hope that decisions are made

before businesses direct their attention elsewhere.

How to encourage enterprise in Wales is becoming a significant

debate. The Welsh Government says it is keen to trumpet innovation.

One firm in east Wales has doubled its workforce this year. It has

created a new device which monitors blood clovements it allows patients

to work out the correct -- blood clots. It allows patients to work

out the correct dose they need. The company is about to export to

America. Everyone knows that chips can be bad for your health but

these could have the opposite effect. Cick ro visk is using --

microvisc. To monitor coagulation correctly you should be taking

results on a weekly basis. The Food and Drug Administration in the US

advises tow do it weekly. You are not going to go to your doctor

weekly, so the user can simply and quickly take their coagulation time

at home in exactly the way as a diabetic would take their glucose.

A drop of blood is added to a strip containing a microsensor. That's

inserted into a hand-held monitor which gives people an idea of their

clotting levels. This disk contains enough sensors to make more than

2,000 strips. They are nanosensors. The chips move up and down and work

out how long it takes for the blood to thicken. This is Joe. He had a

stroke eight years ago and takes warfarin, a blood-thinning drug

used by 8 million people in the western world to lower the chance

of further clots. I get a reading, if I get a reading which is 1.5 and

I know should be between 2 and 3, I can increase the dose myself and

test it within a couple of days or a week, whatever they tell you to

do with this machine, and take it from there. The company has doubled

its workforce from 20 to 30. Next year they will begin full-scale

manufacturing with the hope that patients will have the means to

diagnose themselves at the touch of Still ahead tonight: He's lined up

for his team photo with Sale. Dwayne Peel says he is ready to

play, but Wales bosses say he is still injured and can't be

considered for selection. The NHS in Wales is still missing

its target of treating 95% of hospital patients within six months

have been referred by a GP. And the situation is far worse now than a

year ago. 18 months ago, in January last year, only 1.5% of patients

were waiting more than six months for treatment. In June last year,

the figure was 3.5%. And the latest figures to be released show the

figure is now more than 7%. Arwyn Jones is at the Senedd.

What is the explanation? Why are waiting times going up? Well, if

you speak to the Welsh government, they will say it is because we are

an ageing population. More specifically, the additional

pressures that puts on orthopaedic services. If you look at the

statistics, you will see it is because orthopaedic services are

dragging down the rest of the NHS. The reason for that is because

there is an ageing population with greater demand for things like hip

surgery, for example, any replacement surgery. And with that,

greater demand so an increase in the chances of the waiting list

going up. But the opposition in the assembly don't accept that, do

they? No, they placed the blame firmly at the door of the Welsh

government. They say it is because the policy of reducing the role of

the private sector in the NHS in Wales, and that in turn reduces

capacity. Then the result is more people waiting longer for their

services. They say that the Welsh government is put in politics ahead

of the needs of patients. They refer not any to the fact that more

people are waiting six months, but also the number of people waiting

over nine months for their treatment has rocketed over the

last 18 months. What is the Welsh government saying it is going to do

about it? Well, they have already announced that there will be an

extra �65 million made available over the next few years for

orthopaedic services, and they are confident that will get to grips

with the issue. So much so, that they have said by the end of 20th

March 12 they will be hitting their targets. So, once referred by their

GP, 95% of patients in Wales will then receive fair treatment within

that six-month bracket. A father and two children overcome by fumes

in their tent whilst camping have been discharged from hospital. That

children's mother died in the incident. It is believed the fumes

were caused by a barbecue in or near the tent.

An inquest has heard how a man found in a park in Bangor during

the cold weather last December died of hypothermia. Patrick Cleary, 48,

was discovered close to the city's Cathedral a week before Christmas.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded. The new Vice Chancellor

of Aberystwyth University says she is prepared to look at the

possibility of working more closely with Bangor University. The Welsh

government has backed plans that would see many higher education

institutions merge. But in her first interview since arriving from

Edinburgh, Professor April McMahon told us she hopes Aberystwyth is

given an opportunity to show what it can offer on its own first.

This -- there is no shortage of good luck cards at Professor

McMahon's new offers. And the Vice Chancellor knows it is an uncertain

time for the university. The education minister has told our

higher education institutions to adapt or die. Leighton Andrews

supports plans to reduce the number of Welsh universities from 10-6,

but that would mean asking some of them to merge. I believe that it is

right to say that they have been too many small institutions in

Wales. If you are asking me if Aberystwyth there is one of those,

then clearly I have a strong view that we can be a had -- healthy and

sustainable University. So a merger with Bangor is not on the cards

just yet? We have been asked to look at it over the longer term. It

would only be reasonable to look at all the possibilities, but I would

like to see us given the opportunity to show what we can

deliver while maintaining two very important and quite different

brands through the Universities of Bangor and Aberystwyth. In May,

Aberystwyth became the first Welsh university to announce it will be

increasing tuition fees to �9,000 next September. And, even though

she had not started her new job then, Professor Mike Ma'am was part

of the decision-making process. -- Professor McMahon. The previous

funding regime for higher education, given the numbers that now come

into the system, I'm afraid that it just was not sustainable. April

McMahon's appointment was controversial because at the time

she was not a Welsh speaker. Seven months on, she has made significant

progress learning the language. But, barely a fortnight into her new job,

she already realises even greater challenges lie ahead.

Aberystwyth University is already full for next year, the only Welsh

university not offering any places through clearing to students. They

will get their A-level results tomorrow morning, and most of our

universities are expecting a rush of calls. His our education

correspondent. This is the clearing centre here at

the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, where, tomorrow A-level

results day, these phones will be ringing pretty much non-stop. It is

going to be incredibly competitive yet again this year as applications

are up, but unfortunately thousands of students will miss out on a

university place. There will be celebrations, too, and we will

bring those scenes do you from across the country. Join us

tomorrow night on a Wales Today from 6:30pm.

If you're waiting for those important exam results, have a look

at the BBC News website where there is a full list of phone lines and

Web links to Welsh universities for students still looking for a

university place. Now, when one hotel manager in

Conwy started drainage work on his grounds, he didn't expect to

uncover three medieval walls. They are believed to be from Maenan

Abbey near Llanrwst and are thought to be nearly 700 years old. Kate

Morgan reports. They may not look like much, but

these are the stones of one of the original medieval walls of men and

Abbey. They are nearly 700 years old, and one of three 13th century

walls found at this hotel recently. We started some work on the hotel's

drainage system a few weeks ago, and we started within -- with one

change. Within an hour of digging the came across one medieval war.

The abbey was built here in 1283, but was destroyed in the 16th

century when Henry eighth shut down the monasteries, and there has been

no trace of it until now. From what we can gather, the Abbey was a very

impressive building, which would have been something totally amazing

in this area. Experts have already covered two of the walls with

Tarmac to protect them from damage, but the hotel manager says he wants

to find a way to uncover them safely and make them are a feature

of the grounds. Rugby, and a row has broken out over the decision

not to include scrum half Dwayne Peel in Wales's pre-World Cup squad.

The Welsh management say he is injured, but that has been

contradicted by both Dwayne Peel and his club Sale, who both say he

is fully fit and ready to play. With 79 caps and buckets of

experience with Wales and the Lions, Dwayne Peel is the player most

coaches would love to have in their team. But, five days before Warren

Gatland names his World Cup squad, the Sale scrum half looks set to be

overlooked. He had been set to return to the squad for their last

two warm-up games but was not called up. This is how the

management explained their decision on Friday. He is up and running,

doing all the fitness stuff, but he can't do any of the contact. He had

a bumper last week and as a result has become unavailable to us in

terms of preparation for this game. But that just isn't true, according

to Dwayne Peel. He says he has been in full training for several weeks.

I started the first week in June. I am fine now and have been cleared

by the surgeon to play. I am fine, good to go. He has been available

since July. As fit as a butcher's dog. The reason he has not been

picked is on their selection policy. There is no doubt that his decision

to play rugby in England has affected his international

prospects and his touch -- chances of playing in the World Cup. He

missed all of Wales's summer fitness camps. There's been a

number of occasions where he has not been available to us. He was

not available until 4th August, which hampered his opportunities.

We have been pleased with the progress Mike Phillips made in the

first two games, and the two youngsters are really put in

pressure on him. And so, for all his skill and experience, Dwayne

Peel seems to be well down the pecking order with Wales, and is

facing the prospect of watching the World Cup on television.

Football, and Cardiff City will try to extend their unbeaten run to

four matches tonight when they play Brighton in the championship. Both

teams have a perfect record in the league so far. Cardiff go into the

game of the back of a thumping 3-1 win over Bristol City on Sunday.

It is something we have talked- about and we wanted to become

reality. Major when people look at the fixed to live and see they have

got carted away they are in for a hard game. Hopefully we can build

of Sunday's performance against Bristol. Commentary of that game

will be live on BBC Radio Wales this evening.

Glamorgan are playing cricket in Colwyn Bay this week. They made a

reasonable start to their match with Leicestershire. At the close

of the first day, the Welsh county Summer seems to have disappeared

for the moment. It is looking lovely there at the moment, how

does it look for the rest of the week?

It is looking mixed, but we have got more in the way of summery

weather heading our way. It is a beautiful evening he in Cardiff Bay,

feeling warm in the sunshine. Tomorrow more in the way of cloud,

but also some sunny spells. Much of the brighter intervals tomorrow

morning will be across the north and west. More in the way of cloud

across the south-east. Tonight, for all of us brightening up nicely.

Becoming dry for all of us in the overnight period, and we will see

more in the way of cloud pushing into parts of the south-east and

into the early hours of tomorrow morning. Temperatures 9 - 13

Celsius with light winds. The pressure chart for tomorrow shows

an area of low pressure sitting across France, so that weather

front bushing in from the south- east. More in the way of cloud for

the south-east, but brighter conditions across the north and

west. Through the day, we will start to see thicker cloud making

its way in from the West, and with that comes a few showers, merging

into longer spells of rain. By the time we get into the afternoon it

will be cloudy with a few showers, but not as bad as originally

forecast. Tomorrow's top temperature 14 - 17 Celsius. Under

the cloud it will feel rather cool by the afternoon. Light winds from

As we go into tomorrow night, we would start to see the showers

clearing the way. It won't be as warm as deceiving. Clearer

conditions through the night and into the early hours of Friday

morning. Overnight temperatures dipping as low as eight Celsius, so

it will be a cooler night than tonight. That sets the scene nicely

for Friday, which is likely to be the best day of the week. Lots of

sunshine from the word go. The day to be out and about and even to

have a barbecue. Make the most of it because Saturday is looking

rather changeable. Cloudy from the word go, on and off throughout the

day. Much better on Sunday. Brighter conditions coming through

with temperatures creeping up to about 21 Celsius, the best day of

the weekend. Make the most of the The main headlines again: David

Cameron has praised the courts for handing out tough sentences to some

of those involved in last week's riots and looting in England. Some

senior Lib Dems say sentences have been disproportionate.

Unemployment in Wales rose unexpectedly today. 122,000 people

are out of work here, that is 8.4% of the work force. The UK figure

also rose in the three months to June to just under 2.5 million.

Hundreds of parents and pupils have stepped up their fight against

school closures. Flintshire council today voted to delay a consultation

on plans that could have seen some schools closed.

And just a reminder, if you have got a story you think we should be