:00:00. > :00:10.Welcome to Wales Today. Our top story: The last bus to Aberystwyth.
:00:10. > :00:20.Passengers in one of the most remote parts of Wales face being cut off as
:00:20. > :00:22.Arriva slashes services. I catch it to work and back so it is very good
:00:22. > :00:40.but if they scrap it, we are stuck. Our other headlines: The performance
:00:40. > :00:45.of the NHS in Wales compared to England. Tonight, the First Minister
:00:45. > :00:49.fights back. Welcome to the world of work. A
:00:49. > :00:53.taste of the nine to five for teenagers who might miss out on
:00:53. > :00:57.education or training. Wasting police time. The callers
:00:57. > :01:10.phoning 999 for help for things like moving the sofa.
:01:10. > :01:20.And the race against time to rescue hundreds of ducks covered in oil.
:01:20. > :01:26.Good evening. Bus passengers in West Wales have been left reeling after
:01:26. > :01:31.learning that a large section of the bus network around Aberystwyth is to
:01:31. > :01:34.be scrapped. Arriva announced today that it would pull six major
:01:34. > :01:45.services, including one in North Wales, before Christmas. 46 jobs are
:01:45. > :01:49.under threat. Abigail Neal has more. We've seen the number of bus
:01:49. > :01:52.services go down and the prices go up. Now, West Wales' biggest
:01:52. > :01:57.provider is saying it can't afford to service one of its largest towns.
:01:57. > :02:01.Six routes in total are being withdrawn from December 21st. The
:02:01. > :02:07.number 20, 40 and 40C between Cardiff and Aberystwyth via Swansea
:02:07. > :02:12.and Carmarthen. X94 Traws Cambria between Wrexham and Barmouth. The
:02:12. > :02:22.number 50 connecting New Quay to Aberystwyth via Aberaeron. And the
:02:22. > :02:29.585 to Lampeter. I can't see how they can cut it. They will be no
:02:29. > :02:33.buses from Newquay then. I catch it to work and back. At the moment it
:02:33. > :02:37.is very good but if they decide to scrap it, I'll be stuck. As a
:02:37. > :02:43.university city, the buses are vital to the student population. Prices
:02:43. > :02:50.are going up and the cost of living is going up and most students cannot
:02:50. > :03:01.afford cars. The buses were a lifeline. It will have a major
:03:01. > :03:05.affect on how students live. Kerry council says it is disappointed with
:03:06. > :03:09.the decision which has been made without consultation. They told us
:03:09. > :03:13.the best case scenario is that local bus companies can now step in and
:03:13. > :03:16.take over the routes that are being lost. Arriva blame uncertainty over
:03:16. > :03:19.public funding for free bus passes and the spiralling cost of fuel for
:03:19. > :03:28.the decision. A number of bus depots will also close, with 46 job losses
:03:29. > :03:33.expected. It is a complete shock to everybody to hear that Arriva and
:03:33. > :03:41.now withdrawing completely from all of their bus services in Ceredigion
:03:41. > :03:44.and beyond. There has been no opportunity for a seamless
:03:44. > :03:48.transition to other operators and for the government to a plan that
:03:48. > :03:52.appropriately. They have given the minimum amount of warning on this. I
:03:52. > :03:56.use these bus services themselves and they are well used. Pressure
:03:56. > :04:00.will now fall on the Welsh Government and local councils to try
:04:00. > :04:03.and fill the gap to ensure that bus passengers in West Wales aren't left
:04:03. > :04:06.cut off come Christmas. Margaret Everson is from Bus Users
:04:06. > :04:14.UK Cymru, which represents bus passengers in Wales. What do you
:04:14. > :04:19.make of these proposed cuts? We were stunned. They had been rumblings
:04:19. > :04:24.over the last few years but we were quite appalled to hear that the
:04:24. > :04:33.level of cuts taking place in December. But you cannot live in a
:04:33. > :04:37.rural area without a car. It is impossible. These are very related
:04:37. > :04:44.areas. If you look at a map of the areas affected, it is going through
:04:44. > :04:48.from Wrexham to Barmouth. There is not much alternative to a bus if you
:04:48. > :04:58.don't have a car. If you want to get to hospital to Wrexham -- in
:04:58. > :05:04.Wrexham, how are you going to do it? These are very isolated communities.
:05:04. > :05:09.Commercial operators will say, passengers are not using these
:05:09. > :05:16.services. They are not commercially viable. Is that true? To an extent
:05:16. > :05:20.but even if five people use a bus, those five people need to use the
:05:20. > :05:25.bus. It is essential they do. They have to get the hospital and school
:05:25. > :05:32.and work and home again. So many of these services will be affected.
:05:32. > :05:39.What happens now in so many other areas of life, there is guidance and
:05:39. > :05:45.a regulator looking out for the consumer. Who looks out for the bus
:05:45. > :05:53.passenger? We try to, obviously. The traffic commission regulates
:05:53. > :05:57.punctuality and whether the services are being operate properly. But as
:05:57. > :06:03.long as a commercial operator gives 56 days notice they can cancel the
:06:03. > :06:07.service. But on the other hand, we have until December 21 to work with
:06:07. > :06:11.local authorities and work with other operators because they still
:06:11. > :06:15.have enough notice to get fresh services in.
:06:15. > :06:19.The NHS in Wales is in the spotlight again tonight. The state of the
:06:19. > :06:21.health service dominated First Minister's questions with opposition
:06:21. > :06:26.parties accusing Carwyn Jones of being complacent and misguided over
:06:26. > :06:29.his Government's running of it. He defended his party's record and
:06:29. > :06:42.denied claims the NHS is better in England. We spend in Wales £12 per
:06:42. > :06:51.head more on cancer treatment than is the case in England, even with
:06:51. > :06:57.the cancer drugs fund. The reality is that in Wales people have better
:06:57. > :07:00.access to non-nice approved drugs and the reality is in Wales is that
:07:00. > :07:05.people with dementia and heart disease and stroke and multiple
:07:05. > :07:12.sclerosis are not denied access to drugs as they are in England. There
:07:12. > :07:16.is no specific fund for them. I say to the party opposite, you can
:07:16. > :07:21.lecture us when your government in London spends as much on cancer
:07:21. > :07:23.treatment as the Welsh Government. You are letting the people of
:07:23. > :07:26.England down. Let's talk to our political editor,
:07:26. > :07:37.Nick Servini. Where is the truth on the performance of the NHS in Wales
:07:37. > :07:43.versus England? It is a matter of intense debate as was reflected this
:07:43. > :07:47.afternoon. What we can say on some of the key targets mainly to do with
:07:47. > :07:52.referral times, the amount of time it takes somebody to be treated in
:07:52. > :07:58.hospital after they have seen their GP, Wales is falling behind England.
:07:58. > :08:03.Today the Welsh Government came under some pretty severe criticism
:08:03. > :08:07.from the opposition parties. Those opposition parties were inflamed by
:08:07. > :08:14.a suggestion by the first minister yesterday that some of those targets
:08:14. > :08:16.may even be changed. The leader of the Conservatives repeated his call
:08:16. > :08:22.for an independent enquiry into some of the problems we have seen at some
:08:22. > :08:26.of our biggest pop -- hospitals. The leader of Plaid Cymru accused the
:08:26. > :08:30.Welsh Government of not taking its responsibility fully enough. But
:08:30. > :08:40.what we saw today was a pretty robust defence from the first
:08:40. > :08:48.Minister. He took an offensive particularly on the cancer drug
:08:48. > :08:53.fund. He described it in a way as a confidence trick in England and are
:08:53. > :08:58.trying to defend the record of a more broad a fun for all sorts of
:08:58. > :09:03.conditions in Wales. They have been talking about restructuring the NHS
:09:03. > :09:07.today as well. Very simply, as things stand, all the health boards
:09:07. > :09:12.have to balance their books legally at the end of every year. In many
:09:12. > :09:17.cases it is felt that can lead to set some bad decisions and concern
:09:17. > :09:23.in some cases that operations may be postponed to try and meet their
:09:23. > :09:27.financial requirements. So they can now balance their books after three
:09:27. > :09:31.years. One footnote is, there is no extra money.
:09:31. > :09:34.A nurse who expressed concern about standards at the hospital he worked
:09:34. > :09:37.at has been reprimanded by a professional body. Colin Toseland
:09:37. > :09:40.took to the social networking site Facebook, warning that wards at
:09:40. > :09:48.Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan were unsafe. He also told claimed
:09:48. > :09:51.the hospital had asbestos in it. Mr Toseland didn't attend the hearing
:09:51. > :09:54.in Cardiff, although he had previously written to the panel
:09:54. > :10:00.expressing regret about his online posts.
:10:00. > :10:03.For months, charities have been warning that cuts to their business
:10:03. > :10:06.rate relief could see their shops disappear off the high street, but
:10:06. > :10:10.tonight there seems to be a change of heart from the Welsh Government.
:10:10. > :10:18.Our reporter, Brian Meechan, is on one of Cardiff's shopping streets
:10:18. > :10:29.tonight. What is this change of heart? I am on this busy street and
:10:30. > :10:33.as you can see they are quite a few charity shops around. Essentially
:10:33. > :10:38.the Welsh Government was looking into whether charity shops had an
:10:39. > :10:43.unfair advantage. Many small traders say they do because they don't pay
:10:43. > :10:48.the same levels of business rates. Charity shops say they need that
:10:48. > :10:57.kind of relief in order to provide services across the board. The Welsh
:10:57. > :11:01.Government was looking into it and some of the proposals was cutting
:11:01. > :11:06.the rate of relief from 80% to 50% and abolishing it altogether for
:11:06. > :11:11.larger stores. They have said tonight they are going to write to
:11:11. > :11:19.the UK government and the other devolved administrations because it
:11:19. > :11:25.will need primary legislation. -- it will mean. It is not imminent but
:11:25. > :11:30.neither is it off the table. What has been the response. The charities
:11:30. > :11:40.say they are concerned about this level of uncertainty. They want this
:11:40. > :11:44.wiped out altogether. It has not been ruled out. The Welsh Liberal
:11:44. > :11:48.Democrats say they are concerned about the uncertainty and they
:11:49. > :11:51.pointed out this legal problem that ministers did not have the problem
:11:51. > :11:55.to go ahead without getting the law changed.
:11:55. > :11:58.Councils will be asked to produce maps of all walking and cycling
:11:58. > :12:02.routes to encourage us to use our cars less if a bill is agreed in the
:12:02. > :12:05.Senedd tonight. But there's been criticism of the Active Travel Bill
:12:05. > :12:16.because it doesn't include new money for more routes. We have got some
:12:16. > :12:20.good examples already of quality infrastructure, good cycle and
:12:20. > :12:23.walking routes in place, so we're not starting from scratch. In recent
:12:23. > :12:29.years we have seen a substantial increase in the numbers of people
:12:29. > :12:32.and walking so that is a good base to build on but this bill is very
:12:32. > :12:38.much about further progress and further development.
:12:38. > :12:40.Much more to come before 7:00pm: The race against time to save hundreds
:12:40. > :12:54.of ducks covered in oil. School leavers in Wales will be
:12:54. > :12:57.guaranteed an opportunity to continue to learn or train under
:12:57. > :13:01.Welsh Government plans to reduce the number of young people out of
:13:01. > :13:04.education, employment or training. There are more than 11,500 so-called
:13:04. > :13:10.NEETs in Wales aged between 16 and 18, higher than the number in
:13:10. > :13:13.England. The Government says its new framework will enable every young
:13:13. > :13:22.person to achieve their full potential. Cemlyn Davies reports. In
:13:22. > :13:27.this workshop near Llanelli a group of young people have been
:13:27. > :13:31.refurbishing old furniture and equipment so they can be sold on.
:13:31. > :13:37.Before they began here, none of these teenagers were in education,
:13:38. > :13:42.employment or training. 17-year-old -- this seven year -- 17-year-old
:13:42. > :13:50.became a NEETs when she left college in January. It's hard. I thought I
:13:50. > :13:53.could not get back into college. Then I was told I could come here
:13:54. > :13:59.and it's been helpful. These young people are not being helpful -- paid
:13:59. > :14:03.for the work they are doing here but it's hoped the experience will stand
:14:03. > :14:11.them in good said when they apply for jobs in the future. They are
:14:11. > :14:16.turning up on time. They phone if they can make it so they are being
:14:16. > :14:23.more responsible. Because not turning up to work will rip --
:14:23. > :14:31.resulting unemployment. At the end of last year, Wales had more than 11
:14:31. > :14:34.and a half thousand NEETs the figures have been worse here than in
:14:34. > :14:39.England where young people now have to stay in learning or training
:14:40. > :14:41.until they are 17. Today the Welsh Government acknowledged that more
:14:41. > :14:48.until they are 17. Today the Welsh needs to be done. We need to
:14:48. > :14:54.identify people who are at risk of disengaging from education before
:14:54. > :14:57.they need to. We will look at attainment levels, behaviour and
:14:57. > :15:04.attendance. We will be able to predict who is most at risk and
:15:04. > :15:07.intervene. As part of the announcement the Welsh Government
:15:07. > :15:16.has called for a single lead worker to be allocated to young people at
:15:16. > :15:19.risk of becoming a NEETs. That relationship will build trust and
:15:19. > :15:26.get rid of confusion and bureaucracy. But what do they do
:15:26. > :15:31.with the people afterwards? What we need is a lot of preparation for
:15:31. > :15:36.some of these youngsters before they are placed with a business. From
:15:36. > :15:39.next September the government hopes to introduce the youth guarantee
:15:39. > :15:45.which will ensure all school leavers are offered an opportunity to learn
:15:45. > :15:48.or train so they too can put a shine on their employment prospects.
:15:48. > :15:51.Jeff Protheroe is from the National Training Federation for Wales, which
:15:51. > :15:53.provides courses for NEETs. What is your reaction to the Welsh
:15:53. > :15:58.Government's plans to tackle youngsters not in education,
:15:58. > :16:06.employment or training? I think it is very positive, having listened to
:16:07. > :16:11.the debate today. It's fair to say that we are very positive about this
:16:12. > :16:13.and anything that provides progression or pathway to
:16:14. > :16:25.progression for young people can only be welcomed. There is no extra
:16:25. > :16:29.cash. There is extra money in the system for apprenticeships for this
:16:29. > :16:34.year and the next. A lot of providers are working to deliver on
:16:34. > :16:37.the requirements. It is all well and good having courses but do they
:16:37. > :16:44.actually lead to jobs at the end of it? Apprenticeships are jobs. They
:16:44. > :16:50.are paid employment. There is evidence to suggest that when an
:16:50. > :16:55.apprentice gets more productive in the workforce employers tend to take
:16:55. > :17:04.them on. It is hoped that with the proposed economic upturn there will
:17:04. > :17:07.be sustained jobs as well. When people hear the word
:17:07. > :17:11.apprenticeships, they think about something which lasts years and
:17:11. > :17:18.years but that is not the case as it? No. Some of them last 18 months.
:17:18. > :17:23.In engineering, maybe they are for years.
:17:23. > :17:28.The Welsh music band, the Lostprophets, have announced they're
:17:28. > :17:31.splitting up after 15 years. The group told fans on their Facebook
:17:31. > :17:34.site and thanked people for their support. The band's former
:17:34. > :17:38.front-man, Ian Watkins, is due to stand trial this year for sexual
:17:38. > :17:42.offences. It's supposed to be for emergencies,
:17:42. > :17:45.but when it comes to calling 999, North Wales Police say they've taken
:17:45. > :17:51.calls from those who want help moving a sofa, or to complain about
:17:51. > :17:53.a catalogue firm. The force is now running a campaign to reduce
:17:53. > :17:56.time-wasting calls, warning they could be getting in the way of real
:17:56. > :18:01.emergencies. Here's Matthew Richards.
:18:01. > :18:23.Here are just a few examples of recent calls to North Wales Police.
:18:23. > :18:42.From furniture removal to home shopping.
:18:42. > :19:07.Each call took up time that staff could have spent helping someone in
:19:07. > :19:11.genuine need. The force received more than half a million calls to
:19:11. > :19:20.its 999 and non emergency 101 phone lines but less than half needed a
:19:20. > :19:24.police response. I think staff deal with them very well. We are
:19:24. > :19:31.constantly amazed by the content of some of the calls. Each day brings
:19:31. > :19:35.yet another one which amazes you. So North Wales Police is spreading its
:19:35. > :19:38.message through social media and live webchats to urge people not to
:19:38. > :19:45.tie up its operators with irrelevant calls. A lot of them are
:19:45. > :19:49.nonemergency and they clog the system up. They don't allow us to
:19:49. > :19:56.get to the people who really need assistance. Malicious and hoax calls
:19:56. > :19:59.also cost the force money as well as staff time and those responsible
:19:59. > :20:03.will be prosecuted. But the focus of this campaign is on those who abuse
:20:03. > :20:05.the system for trivial or inappropriate, if genuine concerns.
:20:05. > :20:08.Pink balloons and lanterns are being released in Machynlleth tonight to
:20:08. > :20:11.remember the murdered schoolgirl April Jones, one year on since she
:20:11. > :20:15.was abducted. Last week, hundreds of mourners attended April's funeral in
:20:15. > :20:25.the town. Her body has never been found, despite one of the biggest
:20:25. > :20:28.search operations in police history. The Football Association of Wales is
:20:28. > :20:32.recommending imposing an age limit for members of its ruling council.
:20:32. > :20:36.Some of the current crop of councillors are in their eighties
:20:36. > :20:39.and nineties. The governing body is reviewing the way the sport is run
:20:39. > :20:44.here, but the recommendations will have to be passed by the FAW Council
:20:44. > :20:48.itself. Our football correspondent, Rob Phillips, has been reading the
:20:48. > :21:02.report. So how old will be too old to be on the FAW Council? What the
:21:02. > :21:07.review suggests is an age limit of 70 for any councillor standing in
:21:07. > :21:12.the next elections which are in 2016. That will be reduced then to
:21:12. > :21:19.65 for years later in 2020 and the key point, an age limit of 80 that
:21:19. > :21:23.life members should then lose their voting rights on the F EW Council.
:21:23. > :21:27.And for those of us who don't live and breathe football politics in
:21:27. > :21:33.Wales, why has this review been carried out? It was sanctioned by
:21:33. > :21:38.the F EW at the behest of the chief executive who is keen to push
:21:38. > :21:44.through structural reforms and it was brought to heightened interest
:21:44. > :21:49.in the summer with the achievement of Barry town. If you look at the
:21:49. > :21:53.perceptions that are gathered by this panel in the report they say
:21:53. > :21:57.many council members understood the public just thought they were the
:21:57. > :22:04.day for international trips and were described as the blazer brigade. The
:22:04. > :22:09.F EW have to vote for this in order of it to happen which is a bit like
:22:09. > :22:16.turkeys voting for Christmas. It can be like that and that is the wordy.
:22:16. > :22:21.They will take out what they want. They believe that the key points.
:22:21. > :22:25.But I think Jonathan Ford will be keen for what we've talked about to
:22:25. > :22:29.be pushed through. Hundreds of ducks have had to be
:22:29. > :22:33.rescued after oil spilled into a pond in Denbighshire. The 500 birds
:22:33. > :22:37.were destined for a shoot in a few weeks time. Now, they're on their
:22:37. > :22:41.way to a wildlife centre in Somerset for cleaning. The RSPCA says the oil
:22:41. > :22:45.spill at Corwen may have been deliberate and the matter has been
:22:46. > :22:49.reported to the police. The oil has seeped through their
:22:49. > :22:52.feathers right down to the skin. It means they are cold and emaciated.
:22:52. > :22:57.Since the spill, these birds have been unable to eat properly. Now,
:22:57. > :23:04.without help, they are at risk of drowning. It looks like it has been
:23:04. > :23:10.done deliberately. There are different areas of oil rather than
:23:10. > :23:14.in one place. We have got 80% of the birds which are heavily coated in
:23:14. > :23:19.oil and they have gone off for washing in Taunton and the other 20%
:23:19. > :23:22.have also come away because we can't leave them here because of the
:23:22. > :23:25.contamination. The spill happened last week. The farmer here, Iwan
:23:25. > :23:28.Davies, says his dog disappeared the same evening as the oil appeared and
:23:28. > :23:38.he's horrified at what he believes is an act of deliberate cruelty. It
:23:38. > :23:52.is a deliberate act of criminal damage to wildlife and the
:23:52. > :23:55.environment. The owner of the decks had high profile clients coming to
:23:55. > :24:00.the shoot and he spent an awful lot of time and money in producing these
:24:00. > :24:04.ducks ready for that. Mr Davies has managed to clear 90% of the oil off
:24:04. > :24:08.the pond, but says the rest is embedded in the soil and cleaning
:24:08. > :24:13.that could take some time. He's just relieved he says that the level of
:24:13. > :24:18.the water here means the oil has not seeped into the River Dee.
:24:18. > :24:23.Let's take a look at the weather forecast now. Here's Derek.
:24:23. > :24:29.On this day two years ago, October started with a heatwave. No sign of
:24:29. > :24:33.Indian summer this year, but staying mild this week. Wet at times,
:24:33. > :24:37.though. Some significant rain with a warning in force for Thursday. This
:24:37. > :24:42.evening, some dry weather but rain in the south and west will spread
:24:42. > :24:46.slowly north overnight. Some of the rain heavy and you may hear thunder.
:24:46. > :24:50.Breezy on the coast with lowest temperatures 12C to 15C. Tomorrow's
:24:50. > :24:57.chart shows low pressure near Ireland. Swirling around that are
:24:57. > :25:01.bands of rain and heavy showers. Here's the picture for 8:00am in the
:25:01. > :25:06.morning. Wet in parts of the north and east. Some heavy rain in
:25:06. > :25:13.Llandudno and Wrexham. Some low cloud and hill fog. Elsewhere, drier
:25:13. > :25:17.apart from a few scattered showers. During the morning, heavy rain in
:25:17. > :25:25.the northeast. Elsewhere, drier and brighter. Sunshine in places but
:25:25. > :25:31.showers as well. Heavy in places. Top temperatures, 15C to 18C with a
:25:32. > :25:36.southeasterly breeze. It will feel warm in the sunshine. Tomorrow
:25:36. > :25:40.evening, more rain and showers will spread from the south. Heavy and
:25:40. > :25:51.thundery in places. And a very mild night. Thursday, dry and bright for
:25:51. > :25:56.a time but further rain will spread from the south during the afternoon.
:25:56. > :26:07.So turning wet. A yellow warning has been issued. The rain heavy and
:26:07. > :26:10.possibly thundery but there is some uncertainty about the timing and
:26:10. > :26:15.when the heavy rain will arrive. The forecast could change so stay tuned
:26:15. > :26:20.for updates. Friday, breezy with more rain and showers but some
:26:20. > :26:24.drier, brighter spells as well. The weekend looks better. Much drier and
:26:24. > :26:30.calmer. Some sunshine, lighter winds with a few mist and fog patches. Our
:26:30. > :26:34.picture tonight is from Tony Stingle. Shower clouds over the
:26:34. > :26:39.Bristol Channel. Thanks, Tony. A few showers in Sully tomorrow. Hopefully
:26:39. > :26:43.a little sunshine and feeling mild. If you have a photo you'd like to
:26:43. > :26:45.share with us, please send it in. E-mail is best.
:26:45. > :26:54.Dereksdiary@bbc.co.uk. And you can follow me on Twitter as well.
:26:54. > :27:00.The headlines again. The Labour leader Ed Miliband is locked in a
:27:00. > :27:04.bitter row with the Daily Mail after the paper said his late father hated
:27:04. > :27:12.Britain. He said that description of his father was a lie. The newspaper,
:27:12. > :27:17.which has given the Labour leader right of reply, has refused
:27:17. > :27:20.apologise. Bus passengers in mid and West Wales have been left reeling
:27:20. > :27:25.after learning that a large section of the bus network in a rural area
:27:25. > :27:29.in Wales are set to be scrapped. Arriva buses announced it would
:27:29. > :27:31.withdraw six major services before Christmas, 46 jobs are also under
:27:31. > :27:35.threat. We'll have an update for you here at
:27:35. > :27:38.8:00pm and I'll be back after the BBC News at 10:00pm. That's Wales
:27:38. > :27:40.Today. Thank you for watching. From all of us on the programme, good
:27:40. > :27:43.evening.