13/06/2014 BBC Wales Today

pleasant in the south-west where the winds are that bit lighter. That is

it. Goodbye. Welcome to Wales Today,

our top story: The First Minister Carwyn Jones

tells us he's lost faith in the ability of some of our

councils to deliver on education. It is quite clear with six local

authorities in special measures, how can we have faith they will be

consistent good delivery of education across Wales?

But given that Labour has been in power for 15 years,

is it fair to offload the blame onto local councils?

The call tonight to reverse the cuts at Newport Passport Office.

They've got terrible broadband, a hopeless mobile signal,

Welsh rugby bosses prepare to face the clubs unhappy with the way

Good evening from the Swalec Stadium where Glamorgan are aiming to

continue their good form in the T-20.

They're up against Kent and the crowds have come out too.

The First Minister has given his strongest criticism yet

of the way councils run education services in Wales.

He says he doesn't have faith that local authorities can consistently

deliver good education across the country.

Carwyn Jones made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with

our political editor Nick Servini about the Welsh Government's record,

15 years since the beginning of devolution in Wales.

Education is never far from the spotlight.

I don't consistently because it is quite clear with six

local authorities in special measures how can we have

faith there will be consistent good delivery in education across Wales?

That is why we need to make sure the future structure

of local government delivers in the way we want it to do.

We couldn't change the structure before 2011 anyway,

Just to be clear on this, there is a stark message, what you

are saying is, the people who were delivering education on the ground

Some local authorities are not delivering.

If six of them are in special measures, they are failing.

There is no point beating around the bush.

If we have a system where six of the 22 local authorities are in that

Away from education, the NHS is the area where the Welsh Government

has faced the greatest criticism particularly over waiting times.

He said there would be some tough decisions as the NHS dealt with the

What we have to do is decide what we are able to fund,

to try to understand what demand will be like in the future

But at a time when our budgets are being cut

It isn't just your government but it is previous Labour governments

Does Labour need to apologise to the people of Wales

If we go back five or six years, the situation was different.

It has gone up and down in terms of the NHS as it has

It woulnd't be correct to say somehow over the last 15 years the

That is something I could never accept,

there have been times when we have found challenges, we have seen them

lately and those challenges are made worse by the fact the money isn't

But it isn't the land of milk and honey over the border.

But over a 15 year period, a massive increase in funding.

The thing about the health service is, the demand on the health

It is a challenge for any government to ensure the funds

Devolution is high on the agenda with the referendum

on Scottish independence a matter of months away.

With tax and borrowing powers in the process of being handed over,

I asked Carwyn Jones how far he felt devolution should go here.

It clearly doesn't lead to independence.

There are some areas which I think are not right for devolution,

It is a system that distributes money around UK.

I think having a wholly independent taxation system

Other areas such as defence, security, clearly not.

What is important is there is an established mechanism for devolving

You have been First Minister for four and a half years,

Presumably you will fight the next Assembly elections.

What I can tell you as I said in a speech I made to Cardiff

business club recently, I was at the centenary dinner,

I would not be there as First Minister at their bicentenary.

Carwyn Jones there speaking to Nick Servini, Nick, joins me now.

The First Minister's strongest comments there education

but his party has been in charge for 15 years.

It has and it is interesting but council leaders said today. They

were calling everybody to pull together, calling on people to focus

on the positive. The clear inference there that Carwyn Jones's comments

were not helpful. Education is a system and council leaders are just

one part of the system and it is unfair to bring them. The context is

important. Carwyn Jones did not answer the question as to how long

he wants to continue as political career. One thing we do know is he

wants to drive through a major reorganisation of councils, a

substantial reduction in the number. When he is faced with resistance to

change, he cites problems in education as one of the main reasons

why he should do it. The councils are saying a lot of work is going

on, some of the inspections are improving. They pointed to these

regional partnerships tasked with the job of improving standards. The

Royal that Welsh Government acknowledge some of these

partnerships are effective but there wasn't a great deal of mention of it

in a blistering attack on councils. In order to drive through local

government reorganisation, he would need to return as First Minister

with a majority which looks unlikely according to this poll. We did a

poll to mark this week-long series we have done to mark 15 years since

devolution. In terms of looking at what the voting intentions are for

people at the next Assembly elections. It would help him to

drive through council reorganisation and a load of other reforms if he

has a overall majority. Currently, Labour have 30 seats exactly half.

The main opposition group is currently the Tories. The Liberal

Democrats have five seats. If the poll findings are reflected in the

2016 elections, the big change that we will see and you can see it

highlighted they were the five purple dots is potentially five UKIP

Assembly Members for the first time. A reduction in the Labour Assembly

Members by two, Plaid Cymru would overtake the Conservatives as the

second party and the Conservatives and the Lib down to two. If this

poll was borne out, we would see the rise of UKIP for the first time in

the Assembly. After narrowly losing to Labour in the European election

this would be their breakthrough at a Wales level.

There are calls to reverse staff cuts at Newport's passport office

and for the postal system to be reinstated, after

Thousands of Welsh holidaymakers face having their holidays ruined

if their travel documents aren't processed in time.

The UK government has announced new measures to address the problem.

Alison Miners from Cwmbran near Newport can at last pack for

The couple got married last year and were treating this trip to

France as their honeymoon but all plans were put on hold when

Alison's new passport didn't arrive after applying for it in April.

What should have taken three weeks took nearly two months

and a 200 mile trip to Liverpool to collect it.

We were distressed. I was in work making the song calls. I had to

catch a train back home on a taxi to the house, get my husband out of a

business meeting. We had hired a car to go to Liverpool, book a hotel. We

got back five minutes after they closed. Very distressed and upset. I

hadn't been sleeping because it is getting nearer and nearer and

everything was non-refundable. Previously Alison would have been

able to make the short trip from her home

in Cwmbran to the passport office in But three years ago the office faced

potential closure, it was saved The workforce was halved and they

moved to these new offices just outside the city centre. The move

saw the closure of the department which dealt with postal

applications. It is a call now for that department and the job is to be

reinstated. For anyone who wants to existing passport applications, the

materials have got to be sent off from new parts to other offices. It

is a ludicrous decision to take that function away from Newport. The

author think about putting it back. These pictures emerged earlier

in the week said to show a backlog of applications waiting to

be processed with files being stored Postal applications have doubled.

Even those who seek to pay extra to get a counter appointment to get a

quicker turnaround, they are no longer able to get an appointment

within a couple of days. The UK government has announced new

measures to address the problem. Anyone with urgent travel

plans will have their cases It's cost her nearly ?500

and a lot of stress but now her and her husband can now go

on a much needed holiday. The case against a mine

manager accused of manslaughter over the deaths of four miners at

Gleision colliery is "fundamentally The defence told Swansea Crown Court

that serious mistakes are not enough Malcolm Fyfield

and the pit operators, MNS Mining, The judge is expected to begin

summing up the trial next week. Staff at Aberystwyth University are

prepared to go on strike on the first day of the new term to protest

against changes to pensions. Union members voted in favour

of the action. They say a new pension scheme

could lead some low paid workers to Anglers are being urged to release

at least 90% of their catch on rivers where salmon

and sea trout are at risk. At the moment, around three quarters

are returned to the water but Natural Resources Wales want people

to release more of the fish they There are concerns over their

numbers in 20 rivers across Wales. A community in the Conwy Valley has

found itself virtually cut-off after problems with phone lines

dating back several months. Some people in Eglwysbach say

they've been waiting weeks for BT to carry out repairs

on faulty cables which affect their Jonathan Rees is trying to make

a call but despite getting through he and his

partner regularly hear interference and recorded messages over the top

of the person they are speaking to. It is beginning to have an impact

on the business they run from home. It has been going on now

for the last three to four weeks. We have had a long-standing

problem for many years. When it rains,

we get a very crackly line. Internet broadband

is extremely slow. We're looking at download speeds

of about 70 kilobytes BT say it is down to this cable

which supplies five other properties Elsewhere in the village it is

claimed some phone lines and only been fixed after being

damaged in last winter storms. With home phone lines down

in parts of Eglwys Bach for up to four months, people have

had to depend on other alternatives The alternatives aren't

that convenient. You can expect some delay

after the storms we had. But I think, on the whole,

rural areas perhaps aren't getting the service they deserve

and the service they pay for. BT says it is a complex repair

involving specialist equipment, It has escalated the issue

as a matter of priority and Much more to come

before seven o'clock. I am in the studio the artist who

will represent Wales at the world 's biggest arts event. Find out who

will be sent to Venice. It?s a full house tonight

at the Swalec stadium where The 320 member clubs of the

Welsh Rugby Union will gather in Port Talbot on Sunday

for an Extraordinary Meeting The Union's admitted that

the meeting is a proverbial 43 of the clubs have accused them

of not running the sport in Twice grand slam winners,

Six Nations champions in 2013. On the face of it, Welsh Rugby Union

on a high bit issues lurk below. According to some

of the smaller clubs, there is too much emphasis on the

elite rather than the grassroots. The debt on the Millennium Stadium

has been paid off too quickly. Some clubs are unhappy with

the restructure of the leagues. There are concerns over a drop-off

in people playing the sport. Has the EGM been a kick up

the backside? We've always got to evolve,

we have always got to get better. If this makes us better,

bring it on. If you want me to say yes to you,

I'll say yes to you. What I feel cross about, what I feel

cross about is yourselves at the BBC have given people the oxygen to

promulgate inappropriate, factually incorrect stuff which

bears no journalistic scrutiny. That is what I play back

to yourselves at the BBC. The role you have played

in this has hopefully given you A BBC spokesman defended

the Corporation's coverage saying it Not only grassroots

clubs have concerns. The four professional regions also

signed letters calling for Sunday's I'm not sure that a couple

of hours on a Father's Day Sunday with very short notice is really

going to be able to properly do justice to the underlying issues

that the clubs have. But we have seen, perhaps,

more communication and initiatives in the last three weeks than maybe

the last three years. The EGM campaign has been led

by former WRU Chief Executive, David Moffett, who has been back

in Wales since January. He has run an eye catching

and sometimes controversial campaign But Mr Moffett appears

to have disappeared. On Monday he posted this message

on his website and closed Also on Monday he declined to BBC

request for an interview and despite repeated attempts, hasn't

responded to calls and e-mails. Much of the antipathy towards

the WRU is directed that its Chief Executive, some of the regions

have gone on record saying they have In light of that and the EGM,

has he considered his position? I wouldn't be sitting here today

if I didn't have that confidence. I wouldn't have applied

for the position eight years ago and I wouldn't have led the

organisation over the last eight The maths suggest

the WRU is likely to win. But the EGM has shifted the focus

of our trip beyond And the EGM takes place on Sunday

morning. We'll bring you all the developments

in our bulletins during the day and there'll be updates on the

BBC Wales News website. Meanwhile almost 6,000 miles away,

Wales are preparing for the first test against

South Africa tomorrow afternoon. Wales hopes

of beating the Springboks for the first time in their own backyard

have been boosted after George North, who's been isolated because

of a virus, came through training. Wales say their ready and know

the challenge that faces them. From Durban here's our rugby

correspondent, Gareth Charles. It is exactly 50 years since the

Welsh rugby team embarked on its first ever to. It is here in Durban,

South Africa won the test. Times have changed, Durban has changed but

the one thing that has remained constant is the result. Even though

they have never lost at has remained constant is the result. Even though

they have never lost at home South Africa are taking nothing for

granted. Whenever you play the Welsh, it has been a tough test

match. They were a big part of the British and Irish and is. -- lions.

We will have to be on our best. On the eve of the" what the kickers

were going through preparations, the rest of the squad were going through

a last training session in private. The good news was George North was

amongst them. Our medical team have looked after him. He has been

hydrated and as you can well imagine, having not trained for the

last couple of days he is feeling rough. I am sure he has got 36 hours

and he will be ready to go. Also read -- raring to go argue

travelling supporters. Quite confident. They have had problems in

midfield. I think we can be stronger as an all-round team. There is no

doubting the enormity of the task. Durban is a population equal to the

whole of Wales. While the Springboks are missing a few key players they

have a massive player base on which to call. While making a bit of

history is sometimes a cliche it is certainly true as Wales go in search

of their first ever win on South African soil.

It's a perfect evening for cricket and Glamorgan are in T20

Tomos Dafydd is live at the Swalec Stadium.

The beautiful evening for a bit of cricket. The latest score is 40-1.

Glamorgan are hoping to continue their good start in this

competition. They won three of their first five games. I'm happy to tell

you joining me now is Matthew Maynard, former coach and captain at

Glamorgan. New at back at the club. Three young players were identified

and I coach them. I was going to coach in the Caribbean. I am trying

to make them Glamorgan players of the future. Talk about this

competition, how important is Twenty20 to the club? It is the

competition where you attract the biggest crowd. The supporters love

the competition. It is very important. It is going to be

interesting to see how little class on the World Cup. I think we will

see about 5000 again. I think they will be happy. You played a couple

of seasons of the 20 before you retired. How special is it? There is

pressure in playing Twenty20 cricket but you know you've got an excuse

for getting out and stop --. The players love it, they can go out and

express themselves, show their skills with the ball and bat. The

crowd love it. It is action cricket, there are of sixes and four is being

hit. The is always moving. A lot of people are familiar with it because

they played it when they were youngsters. It tends to be 80 ball

overs. They are in contention of the quarterfinals. If they play like

they did last Sunday I don't think they will go very far. If they

played like they did last Friday against Somerset, they can go all

the way and win it. Thank you very much. He has to rush off to the

commentary box. Ball by ball coverage on BBC Radio Wales. That'll

start at seven o'clock. Iit's known as the City of Love

and a photographer from Monmouthshire will be there

next year representing Wales Our arts correspondent Huw Thomas

has been to meet her. For centuries,

Venice has been home to artists inspired by the architecture

and the romance, the Dolce Vita. For the past ten years,

Wales has sent its own artist to the event and it is Helen Sear who

will be creating a brand-new work I have been living and working

in Wales, which has been important To have my work recognised by

the Arts Council and the selection Helen will be the first female

artist to present a solo show Much of her work focuses on nature,

using her fine arts sIills to reinterpret the landscape around her

home in Raglen in Monmouthshire. The things that I am interested is

are human and occasionally animal Nature isn't something

that is separate from us. Wales is Venice adventure is

funded by the Arts Council. It costs around ?400,000 to plan,

build and display the work in Bedwyr Williams represented Wales

at the last Biennale. He won the praise of the critics

for his installation called the Starry Messenger

which used ideas about space and size to make visitors think

about their place in the universe. While her plans for Venice are

under wraps for now the exhibition will be unlike anything Wales has

shown there in the past. For the artist who has always

dreamed of being at the Biennale, it is the perfect opportunity to

display her work alongside Before the weather, have a look

at these pictures of Wales from the sky taken from a camera

attached to a large helium balloon. It was launched yesterday

by primary school pupils from Ysgol Gymraeg Aberystwyth with help

from experts at the university. It spent three and a half hours

in flight, reaching a height of nearly 18 miles, before landing

in a field near Llandrindod Wells. Back on earth, let?s get the

weather picture for the weekend ? It has been a great day across Wales

today. It has been quite warm. Let's take a look at the highest

temperatures. Fearing pleasant enough. It'll cloud over tonight. We

will see showers making their way from the North. We have seen some of

these shadows on the radar making their way through North Wales and

creeping down to the south-east. South West Wales remaining mainly

dry tonight. We will see plenty of showers further east. Temperatures

tonight everything about 16 Celsius. Overnight lows of 11 Celsius but

it's a a few muddy. It is eight o'clock tomorrow morning and here is

how things look. Samson Lee spells across parts of the south-west.

Further north, quite cloudy with a few sunny spells. Anglesey and

Gwynedd 14 Celsius at eight o'clock in the morning. Northerly winds

tomorrow is that these add a bit cooler. Pembrokeshire seeing some

sunny spells first thing in the morning. It'll feel pleasant. Moving

through tomorrow, it'll cloud over and then showers appearing here and

there across the country. Equally, plenty of sunny spells will stop

feeling quite pleasant in the sunny spells. Tomorrow night it'll cloud

over here specially further west with the mist and fog patches. Quite

thick fog as well. Tim Butcher is tomorrow reaching about 22 Celsius

in the day. High pressure still in charge. The First Minister has given

his strongest criticism of the way councils run education services in

Wales. He says he doesn't have faith that some local authorities can

consistently deliver good education across the country. There are calls

to my to my two rivers staff cuts at Newport's passport office for the

postal system to be reinstated. I'll have an update for you after

the BBC News at ten. That's Wales That's Wales Today,

have a lovely weekend. From all of us on the programme,

good evening.