:00:00. > 3:59:59sunshine and showers continuing. And that is all from the BBC News at
:00:00. > :00:10.six. Welcome to Wales Today.
:00:11. > :00:14.No cuts to special needs education - the police are called in Powys as
:00:15. > :00:31.protestors disrupt a council meeting to sign off savings.
:00:32. > :00:36.Our other headlines tonight: Will the services that older people use
:00:37. > :00:38.be hardest hit by local council cutbacks?
:00:39. > :00:49.Les is 37 stone - are obese people being denied access to life-saving
:00:50. > :00:53.treatments available in England? This is a ticking time bomb. This is
:00:54. > :00:57.going to spiral out of control. We've already said that for many of
:00:58. > :01:00.these patients the ship has sailed. Countdown to the Commonwealth Games
:01:01. > :01:03.- Wales' netball team's preparations are well underway.
:01:04. > :01:05.And a century of coal - remembering the miners and their families at
:01:06. > :01:22.Point of Ayr colliery. Good evening. How to pay for help
:01:23. > :01:25.for children with special needs is one of the biggest challenges facing
:01:26. > :01:33.councillors as they aim to balance their budgets. In Powys today a
:01:34. > :01:44.decision to close assessment centres was put on hold for EU amid protests
:01:45. > :01:48.and disruption. Protesters arrived in their trolls
:01:49. > :01:54.this morning. Some campaigning about cuts to libraries, some about
:01:55. > :02:02.elderly care and others about special needs services. This protest
:02:03. > :02:06.was organised largely on social network sites.
:02:07. > :02:14.A bus was organised that brought them here to deliver one very clear
:02:15. > :02:19.message. This man is one of the children who could have been
:02:20. > :02:27.affected. Don't let him mess around cause he
:02:28. > :02:30.will go off and play. Instead of doing his work that's what he does
:02:31. > :02:35.because he doesn't know how to do it. But now he has been mates to do
:02:36. > :02:39.his work and the difference is amazing.
:02:40. > :02:47.Councillors decided not to close the specialist units for now.
:02:48. > :02:50.Some units may be preserved but we have to get quality of provision
:02:51. > :02:54.throughout the county because that is not present at the moment.
:02:55. > :03:00.Success for some of these protesters but not all of them.
:03:01. > :03:07.Sian Steele is moving her whole family. Her son has Asperger's
:03:08. > :03:15.syndrome, a form of autism, and other needs. Independent experts say
:03:16. > :03:22.he is not being given the support he needs. The school which could
:03:23. > :03:30.accommodate his needs is over 100 miles away. My child has got a
:03:31. > :03:34.disability, a head and disability. Every child has a physical
:03:35. > :03:40.disability and wants to have provisions put in that gets done.
:03:41. > :03:43.But because it is a mental disability, it is a head and
:03:44. > :03:49.disability, there is no provision and it doesn't matter. The school
:03:50. > :03:53.costs tens of thousands of pounds every year.
:03:54. > :04:00.The council there pay for it but Powys refused to do the same.
:04:01. > :04:11.I'm sure it there are more children than Rhys so we could cure rate for
:04:12. > :04:18.all of them. Going over the border shouldn't be a barrier. The council
:04:19. > :04:22.say they want comment on individual cases but...
:04:23. > :04:28.The fight goes on. Well, that meeting finished without
:04:29. > :04:31.a decision on how they'll make overall savings of ?20 million.
:04:32. > :04:40.Arwyn, there will be tough decisions ahead for councils around Wales when
:04:41. > :04:44.it comes to education spending. Yes and what we saw in Powys today
:04:45. > :04:52.wasn't a cast-iron guarantee for the future of these units. Tough
:04:53. > :04:57.decisions will still have to be made. Special educational needs can
:04:58. > :05:01.be difficult for councillors cause they cost so much more but the
:05:02. > :05:04.council still have an obligation to provide an adequate level of
:05:05. > :05:12.education for every child in the authority. When we are discussing
:05:13. > :05:16.council cuts, the spending on schools is supposed to be
:05:17. > :05:21.ring-fenced. But increasingly I am speaking to teachers who are saying
:05:22. > :05:24.budgets are being squeezed and we are being asked to provide for
:05:25. > :05:31.things we didn't have the pay for in the past, things like rubbish
:05:32. > :05:36.collections and leisure services. The budgets are being protected but
:05:37. > :05:45.the cause of the additional demands they are being squeezed.
:05:46. > :05:48.As local authorities across Wales try to make savings, the Older
:05:49. > :05:51.People's Commissioner for Wales says our elderly population will be hit
:05:52. > :05:54.hardest by the cuts. Sarah Rochira says losing community services could
:05:55. > :06:06.lead to bigger, more costly consequences in the future.
:06:07. > :06:15.85-year-old I rub believes life is for living and life is lived here.
:06:16. > :06:24.I sit in the same cheer every time and we have a chat.
:06:25. > :06:30.The local authority wants to close the centre, part of ?70 million of
:06:31. > :06:38.cuts over the next four years. The centre of Eira's world is about to
:06:39. > :06:45.disappear. She has failing eyesight and certain tasks can be difficult.
:06:46. > :06:50.I couldn't see so closing the centre is going to be really hard for me.
:06:51. > :06:53.The Older People's Commissioner for Wales says that Eira's situation is
:06:54. > :06:56.typical. I think older people
:06:57. > :07:06.typical. beginning to do the portion of --
:07:07. > :07:14.disproportionately hit. It is going to put them into a
:07:15. > :07:17.position of greater frailty and fall ability that Mac vulnerability than
:07:18. > :07:35.they need to be. If I didn't come here, I wouldn't
:07:36. > :07:45.see anyone. I would just be waiting till the end. You would feel very,
:07:46. > :07:50.the word is disabled, which I am, but you would feel it. You would
:07:51. > :07:54.feel that all the world has forgotten about you.
:07:55. > :07:57.The chief executive of the Local Government Association says there
:07:58. > :08:03.may well be long-term consequences of short-term savings. The skill of
:08:04. > :08:07.cuts is such that the budgets of local authorities are declining and
:08:08. > :08:12.that means that the scale of services declines.
:08:13. > :08:16.That is a horrible fact of life. If you haven't got the money to invest
:08:17. > :08:21.in the first place, you have got to cut them back.
:08:22. > :08:26.The council will vote on the budget tomorrow. Eira and her friends can
:08:27. > :08:31.only wait and hope. More on this story on Week In Week
:08:32. > :08:37.Out, here on BBC One Wales, at 10:35pm tonight.
:08:38. > :08:37.An inquest into the death of a five-week-old baby from
:08:38. > :08:41.Pembrokeshire has heard that five-week-old baby from
:08:42. > :08:44.took him off a ventilator without the knowledge of her superiors. Alex
:08:45. > :08:48.and Bronwyn Rhodes' son, Rohan, was born 14 weeks prematurely in 2012.
:08:49. > :08:51.He was transferred to St Michael's Hospital in Bristol for surgical
:08:52. > :08:57.assessment, where he died. The inquest continues.
:08:58. > :09:00.Ceredigion council has confirmed that a residential care home in
:09:01. > :09:06.Llandysul has been closed following the suspension of eleven staff. They
:09:07. > :09:15.say an investigation into the care given to vulnerable adults is under
:09:16. > :09:19.way. Abigail Neal reports. Anne Jones has just had to help her
:09:20. > :09:22.mother move to another care home this afternoon after Ceredigion
:09:23. > :09:33.Council announced the one she was in was set to close.
:09:34. > :09:39.I have always found everything to be very good there. The staff have been
:09:40. > :09:43.brilliant. It doesn't matter what time you going, they are always the
:09:44. > :09:46.same. As far as I could tell, they were all happy there.
:09:47. > :09:50.Ceredigion council say they have taken the decision to close Awel Deg
:09:51. > :09:52.care home in Llandysul because 11 members of staff have been
:09:53. > :09:55.suspended. In a statement, a spokesperson said the suspensions
:09:56. > :09:57.were to enable a independent investigation linked to protecting
:09:58. > :10:01.vulnerable adults to go ahead and added that the home will be closed
:10:02. > :10:12.for at least six months before being re-opened as a dedicated dementia
:10:13. > :10:16.care centre. And Jones' 85-year-old mother had been there for each year
:10:17. > :10:23.and wants answers about what led to the suspension is. Why has it gone
:10:24. > :10:26.like this? They could have
:10:27. > :10:31.like this? information. And earlier
:10:32. > :10:35.information. If there were ongoing problems there we should have had
:10:36. > :10:37.the information before now and should have been kept notified.
:10:38. > :10:40.A Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales report in May
:10:41. > :10:43.last year criticised Awel Deg because of its lack of structured
:10:44. > :10:55.activities, saying residents were under-stimulated, uninterested and
:10:56. > :11:04.not fulfilled. Apologies for the technical problems
:11:05. > :11:07.we are experiencing. Wales has one of the highest rates of working
:11:08. > :11:10.hours lost due to sickness in the UK, new figures show.
:11:11. > :11:13.Statistics from the Office for National Statistics reveal that the
:11:14. > :11:16.proportion of hours lost to sickness in Wales is 2.4%, compared to 1.5%
:11:17. > :11:18.proportion of hours lost to sickness in London. The main cause was back
:11:19. > :11:21.and neck pain, and minor illnesses such as coughs and colds.
:11:22. > :11:24.An extra ?12 million has been secured to extend the coverage of
:11:25. > :11:27.super-fast broadband across Wales. The extra money from the UK
:11:28. > :11:29.Government will help provide coverage to areas that aren't
:11:30. > :11:32.already covered, either through the Superfast Cymru programme or private
:11:33. > :11:38.sector installations of fibre internet access.
:11:39. > :11:41.It's been described as a ticking time bomb and now surgeons say obese
:11:42. > :11:43.patients are being denied access to potentially life-saving treatments.
:11:44. > :11:46.The British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society says patients in
:11:47. > :11:51.England have much better access to gastric band and by-pass operations.
:11:52. > :11:58.The Welsh Government says new criteria for this kind of surgery
:11:59. > :12:01.will be in place soon. In Wales 59% of adults are overweight or obese
:12:02. > :12:17.Here's Paul Heaney. Here's Paul Heaney.
:12:18. > :12:21.Less price is 44 years old and nearly 47 stone. He says he has
:12:22. > :12:26.always been big but when his late wife passed away his eating habits
:12:27. > :12:38.got worse. His doctor says surgery is an option but he has been turned
:12:39. > :12:45.down three times. I have to have chronic heart disease
:12:46. > :12:49.or sleep apnoea so I don't qualify. Some people will be watching this
:12:50. > :12:52.and saying why don't you change your lifestyle?
:12:53. > :12:54.Why can't you do that yourself? I have been trying but it is not
:12:55. > :13:02.happening. If they said there is the line, get
:13:03. > :13:32.to that line and we can help you but they want.
:13:33. > :13:40.This lady says she has been on many diets and used appetite suppressant
:13:41. > :13:44.pills but with her health deteriorating she eventually had a
:13:45. > :13:50.gastric sleeve operation or most of her stomach was removed. Three years
:13:51. > :13:54.later she has dropped from a size 26 to a size 12. The doctor said I
:13:55. > :13:59.would probably die of a massive heart attack within ten years.
:14:00. > :14:03.I was type two diabetes which I was injecting myself eight times a day
:14:04. > :14:08.and they were on the verge of putting me on tablets. I had very
:14:09. > :14:12.high blood measure. Now some surgeons want a change in the rules
:14:13. > :14:17.here so that more people can access weight loss surgery on the NHS.
:14:18. > :14:21.We have the fourth highest rate of adolescent obesity in the world and
:14:22. > :14:28.we have got to make or the government have got to make efforts
:14:29. > :14:33.to address this. It is not the fact we should be operating, bariatric
:14:34. > :14:40.surgery is not a cure for obesity but it is part of a package. We need
:14:41. > :14:44.to change the criteria, make sure there are beds in the hospitals and
:14:45. > :14:49.make sure people can get their surgery in Wales.
:14:50. > :14:52.Eight of the ten worst places for obesity in the UK, seven are here in
:14:53. > :15:01.Wales. The Welsh Government says it is in
:15:02. > :15:06.considering changing the criteria but is warning that is not the only
:15:07. > :15:19.way to solve this problem. Les says that surgery would change his life.
:15:20. > :15:20.Much more to come before seven o'clock.
:15:21. > :15:23.Countdown to the Commonwealth Games. We're live at Sophia Gardens as
:15:24. > :15:26.Wales netball team's preparations get underway. And a century at the
:15:27. > :15:40.coalface - remembering the miners and their families at Point of Ayr
:15:41. > :15:43.colliery. Small businesses are being urged to
:15:44. > :15:46.take advantage of the processing power of supercomputers to boost the
:15:47. > :15:50.economy. Six Welsh universities run a network of the computers, which
:15:51. > :15:52.are the size of a room. They say they're already helping some smaller
:15:53. > :15:55.firms. Here's our business correspondent, Brian Meechan.
:15:56. > :15:57.They crunch the numbers that let The Met Office bring us the weather
:15:58. > :16:00.forecast. There's my letter and my vouchers
:16:01. > :16:01.and my Clubcard. Thank you Mrs...
:16:02. > :16:04.I'm Dottie actually. Yes.
:16:05. > :16:07.And it was supercomputers that boosted profits at Tesco by making
:16:08. > :16:10.sense of the vast amount of information the Clubcard give the
:16:11. > :16:13.company about its customers. Large companies have always been able to
:16:14. > :16:16.use supercomputers to store and analyse information and make complex
:16:17. > :16:19.calculations but networks like this one which can run 320 trillion
:16:20. > :16:20.operations every second is now making that power available to small
:16:21. > :16:31.and medium-sized businesses. This is making that power available to small
:16:32. > :16:37.the heart of the HPC Wales supercomputer in Swansea. It is a
:16:38. > :16:42.network jointly run by Welsh universities and has other sites and
:16:43. > :16:45.Bangor and Cardiff. Calon Cardio Technology in Swansea
:16:46. > :16:50.is one of the companies that benefited from it. It is developing
:16:51. > :16:53.a pump and plan to treat heart failure and the design has been
:16:54. > :16:55.improved by the speed of the supercomputer.
:16:56. > :17:01.If you're just using laptop computers it would take us maybe a
:17:02. > :17:08.few weeks to get the information. Whereas using a supercomputer we can
:17:09. > :17:11.get results in a few days. A typical work station in an office is a Ford
:17:12. > :17:19.Fiesta whereas this is like a Formula 1 car.
:17:20. > :17:23.Sian Hope used to work for British Aerospace and now runs the project.
:17:24. > :17:26.It is a perfect example of how research and business can come
:17:27. > :17:30.together and it is also about providing high-level skills in order
:17:31. > :17:36.to take advantage of all these new technologies.
:17:37. > :17:41.This doesn't come cheap and has public money from Wales, the UK and
:17:42. > :17:44.the EU helping to power it. It is a sign of how much they think the
:17:45. > :17:54.economy could benefit from the centre's artificial intelligence.
:17:55. > :17:57.Football, and it'll be Billy Barr's first game in temporary charge of
:17:58. > :18:00.Wrexham tonight after Andy Morrell stood down as player-manager
:18:01. > :18:03.yesterday. They're away at Luton. Elsewhere, Newport County will be
:18:04. > :18:06.hoping it'll be third time lucky against Wimbledon. The game's been
:18:07. > :18:08.postponed twice because of bad weather.
:18:09. > :18:11.In snooker Mark Williams is safely through the second round of the
:18:12. > :18:13.Wales Open in Newport beating Tian Pengfei 4-0. But Ryan Day lost 4-1
:18:14. > :18:19.to Anthony Pengfei 4-0. But Ryan Day lost 4-1
:18:20. > :18:22.went out 4-3 to Graeme Dott. Wales should have lock Alun Wyn
:18:23. > :18:26.Jones and centre Jonathan Davies available for the next Six Nations
:18:27. > :18:29.game against England. Jones is due back in Wales training this week
:18:30. > :18:33.after missing the France match with a foot infection, while Davies is
:18:34. > :18:36.expected to play for the Scarlets against Munster after playing just
:18:37. > :18:47.40 minutes of rugby since picking up a pectoral injury during the defeat
:18:48. > :18:51.to South Africa in November. His actual fitness is excellent. He
:18:52. > :18:58.has been working incredibly hard but the conditioners. He just needs to
:18:59. > :19:04.work shone his match fitness and get confidence. It's that kind of
:19:05. > :19:12.injury. He could put his shoulder into a tackle and it wouldn't
:19:13. > :19:15.surprise me if he gets some game time this weekend.
:19:16. > :19:18.With five months to go until the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,
:19:19. > :19:21.Wales' netball team's preparations are well underway. After success
:19:22. > :19:24.last year, they're hoping for much more in 2014. Starting with a win at
:19:25. > :19:33.the Northern Cup Championship this week. Kate Morgan is at Sophia
:19:34. > :19:39.Gardens in Cardiff for us. This is the northern cup. Wales, who
:19:40. > :19:47.have just led behind me, Scotland and Singapore are all competing.
:19:48. > :19:53.They were watched last night by Warren Gatland and his wife. They
:19:54. > :19:59.will be hoping for similar success when they take on Scotland's later.
:20:00. > :20:04.It is about getting ready for the Commonwealth Games this summer. Four
:20:05. > :20:11.years ago, the Welsh netball team could only watch from home.
:20:12. > :20:17.But with a new coach with a straight talking attitude, everything is
:20:18. > :20:23.changing. I can tell you right now, the one thing that irritates me the
:20:24. > :20:29.most, it is just being lazy. They have rocketed from 19th to
:20:30. > :20:32.eighth in the world. They qualified for the Commonwealth
:20:33. > :20:41.Games in Glasgow this summer, the highlight of the net all calendar.
:20:42. > :20:47.But there is always a new goal. The aim is to finish fifth in the
:20:48. > :20:55.world, something that would have been laughed at years ago.
:20:56. > :20:59.world, something that would have joined by someone you saw and heard
:21:00. > :21:05.a little of in that piece. You are expecting more this summer.
:21:06. > :21:12.Yes, this has been a long process for us. We want top five so I am
:21:13. > :21:18.expecting a lot more from this team. You are ambitious, your ethos is
:21:19. > :21:24.about hard work and drive. What do you put these girls do?
:21:25. > :21:29.If you want to represent your country, if you don't put the hard
:21:30. > :21:36.work in and the time away from friends and family, it is not worth
:21:37. > :21:39.it. Anyone could do this, but not everyone can do with these girls do
:21:40. > :21:45.so it is an achievement in itself to everyone can do with these girls do
:21:46. > :21:51.make the Commonwealth Games. It is fantastic. I don't put them through
:21:52. > :21:57.it anymore, maybe I did when I started. They want it now so they
:21:58. > :22:01.are pushing me. They want me to be more cutting edge and I am getting
:22:02. > :22:07.that with the performances. I'm so happy. It could put the team on the
:22:08. > :22:12.map but also the sport. I want that. I wanted to be number
:22:13. > :22:16.one within the schools. I want every child in Wales to be
:22:17. > :22:23.playing throwing the ball around. There is a great sport for women and
:22:24. > :22:27.that is the aim I have, for it to be the number one sport for women in
:22:28. > :22:31.this country. Thank you and good luck for the night.
:22:32. > :22:42.They are playing and a little over half an hour.
:22:43. > :22:45.Work has started on a memorial to remember Point of Ayr colliery in
:22:46. > :22:49.Flintshire and the community which grew up around it. The pit operated
:22:50. > :22:52.for more than a hundred years before closing in 1996. Now the community
:22:53. > :22:57.has raised money to erect a monument to commemorate the miners and their
:22:58. > :23:01.families. Matthew Richards reports. At its height in the '50s and '60s,
:23:02. > :23:05.more than 700 men worked at Point of Ayr colliery, which produced 200,000
:23:06. > :23:08.tonnes of coal a year. It was the scene of heated arguments during the
:23:09. > :23:12.miners' strike of 1984 and one of the local mining union organisers
:23:13. > :23:15.was a familiar face on TV screens. Today, Ted McKay wants everyone to
:23:16. > :23:26.appreciate the pits weren't only synonymous with South Wales.
:23:27. > :23:34.At one time there were maybe 20,000 men. Mining was the main industry in
:23:35. > :23:38.North Wales for many years. Today, a turf cutting ceremony was
:23:39. > :23:41.held in the village of Ffynnongroyw which formed near the colliery and
:23:42. > :23:44.provided most of its miners, among them John Wilshire who spent 20
:23:45. > :23:48.years underground until he was injured in a mine accident.
:23:49. > :23:51.He's one of those who wants to re-erect the pit head wheel in a
:23:52. > :23:56.prominent position alongside the coast road to commemorate Point of
:23:57. > :24:01.Ayr. It is important to keep it going to
:24:02. > :24:08.remember these men. I'm not doing it for John Wiltshire, I'm doing it for
:24:09. > :24:17.everybody, the lads who works, the lads who got hurt and some lads who
:24:18. > :24:20.did. The ladies here who are widows.
:24:21. > :24:22.did. The ladies here who are The fear is that without reclaiming
:24:23. > :24:25.and refurbishing this old equipment, now tucked away in a nearby heritage
:24:26. > :24:28.park, the community which exists because of the colliery will lose
:24:29. > :24:32.part of its identity. Generations of men worked in need
:24:33. > :24:35.this machinery and they decided it was important we are reminded of the
:24:36. > :24:45.contribution they made as well as the importance of mining to the
:24:46. > :24:53.whole of Wales. Let's get the weather forecast.
:24:54. > :24:58.It sounds better than heavy rain and gales. There's even been a few
:24:59. > :25:01.rainbows today like this one captured on camera by Louise
:25:02. > :25:04.Williams in Cardiff. It's a similar story tomorrow. Sunshine and
:25:05. > :25:07.showers. The showers hit and miss so some places dry. There is more rain
:25:08. > :25:11.on the way but not arriving until after dark. Tonight, plenty of dry
:25:12. > :25:13.weather although a few showers are likely in the south
:25:14. > :25:16.weather although a few showers are the Bristol Channel. Breezy on the
:25:17. > :25:19.coast and colder than last night. Temperatures inland falling low
:25:20. > :25:23.enough for a touch of frost where the wind falls light. So here's the
:25:24. > :25:27.picture for 8am. A few showers here and there. Wintry on high ground
:25:28. > :25:33.otherwise dry. Plenty of cloud but bright in places with some sunshine.
:25:34. > :25:37.Feeling chilly. Breezy on the coast. A brisk wind on Anglesey. During the
:25:38. > :25:41.day a few more showers will turn up. Heavy in places perhaps with hail
:25:42. > :25:52.but hit and miss. Some places will be lucky and have a dry afternoon.
:25:53. > :25:55.The wind strongest in the northwest. In Montgomeryshire tomorrow, you may
:25:56. > :26:04.catch a shower but on the whole plenty of dry weather. In Neath Port
:26:05. > :26:07.Talbot, a few passing showers tomorrow but some dry weather as
:26:08. > :26:11.well. Eight Celsius in Briton Ferry and breezy. By 6pm tomorrow the next
:26:12. > :26:14.frontal system will be bringing rain to Ireland and it's heading our way.
:26:15. > :26:18.Tomorrow evening will start dry followed by rain and strong and
:26:19. > :26:21.gusty winds. A spell of heavy rain moving east. It should clear during
:26:22. > :26:24.the early hours. Thursday, a mixture of sunshine and showers. The showers
:26:25. > :26:31.heavy in places with hail and wintry on high ground. Falling as snow on
:26:32. > :26:34.the mountains. On Friday there is a risk of rain in places. Followed by
:26:35. > :26:38.sunshine and scattered showers. Feeling chilly. Temperatures a
:26:39. > :26:41.little lower, around seven Celsius. Looking mixed for the weekend.
:26:42. > :26:52.Further rain and heavy showers but some dry sunshine in between.
:26:53. > :26:54.It is not all bad news for the half term holiday and don't forget you
:26:55. > :27:02.can keep up-to-date with the weather term holiday and don't forget you
:27:03. > :27:09.forecast on are whether website. The headlines: A suspected IRA
:27:10. > :27:15.terrorist will not stand trial for the murder of four men in 1982. He
:27:16. > :27:22.was given a letter of assurance as part of the Northern Ireland peace
:27:23. > :27:27.process wrongly saying he was not wanted by police. Relatives of the
:27:28. > :27:34.victims are angry and frustrated. As councils face balancing their
:27:35. > :27:37.budgets, the decision to close assessment centres and support units
:27:38. > :27:41.have been put on hold for a year. I'll have an update for you here at
:27:42. > :27:46.eight o'clock and again after the BBC News at ten. That's Wales Today,
:27:47. > :27:48.thank you for watching. From all of us on the programme, good evening.