:00:00. > 3:59:59Friday to discuss joining the US air strikes against Islamic State in
:00:00. > :00:09.Iraq. Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's
:00:10. > :00:10.headlines: The ambulance service again under
:00:11. > :00:12.fire for failing to meet targets, despite the Health Minister
:00:13. > :00:31.demanding improvement. was forced to work for no pay, sleep
:00:32. > :00:36.in a rat-infested shed and wash in an animal trough.
:00:37. > :00:38.The Labour leader Ed Miliband tells Wales Today he's open to further
:00:39. > :00:41.powers being devolved if he wins next year's General Election.
:00:42. > :00:47.Kayleigh Davies had to endure months of pain, waiting for a prescription.
:00:48. > :00:50.Now new rules allow physiotherapists to give them directly to patients.
:00:51. > :00:53.It's one of the oldest working steam engines - The Talyllyn celebrates
:00:54. > :01:14.150 years of service. Good evening. The ambulance service
:01:15. > :01:16.is again under-fire after failing to meet its target for reaching
:01:17. > :01:18.life-threatening incidents. That's despite the Health Minister
:01:19. > :01:20.demanding improvement. The Welsh government have called the figures
:01:21. > :01:22.disappointing and opposition Conservatives said urgent answers
:01:23. > :01:38.were needed. More now from our It is an emergency service that find
:01:39. > :01:44.self on the front page is too often. Look at the headlines. A catalogue
:01:45. > :01:50.delays, disputes and departures and a crescendo with complaints. And
:01:51. > :01:54.that is just in the last month alone. But this isn't a new
:01:55. > :01:58.phenomena. The Ambulance Service has been under fire here for quite a
:01:59. > :02:04.while. It has been reviewed and audited more often than any other
:02:05. > :02:11.part of the Welsh NHS. The most recent review last year called for
:02:12. > :02:14.changes after finding fundamental flaws in performance. Across Wales,
:02:15. > :02:19.the Ambulance Service has failed to meet its response time target for
:02:20. > :02:23.the most urgent calls in every month except one since the summer of 2012.
:02:24. > :02:30.That led to seemingly frustrated health Minister in June to make this
:02:31. > :02:38.pledge. I have said to them all but I expect an urgent improvement over
:02:39. > :02:41.the next few months. I don't want to be coming before the assembly in
:02:42. > :02:47.September to find that the performance we have seen in a and
:02:48. > :02:50.has continued into June as well, I do not want to be here having to
:02:51. > :02:56.explain to you why the Ambulance Service has not been able to make
:02:57. > :03:03.the necessary improvements. So what are the headlines today? In August,
:03:04. > :03:09.it turned up at just 57% of the most serious calls within the target time
:03:10. > :03:13.and performances had deteriorated despite fewer emergency calls
:03:14. > :03:18.overall. It is significantly worse than August last year. 50% of
:03:19. > :03:24.ambulances in Wrexham turned up in time but in Caerphilly, less than
:03:25. > :03:29.half. The buck stops with the Labour health Minister. He cannot come up
:03:30. > :03:35.with excuses in the chamber. They are dealing with a very difficult
:03:36. > :03:39.financial settlement as a result of cuts imposed by the Welsh government
:03:40. > :03:44.and I am afraid that the end result of that is that patients are facing
:03:45. > :03:47.the brunt of it. The Welsh government says it is disappointed
:03:48. > :03:51.but points to improvements over the last few months. It says it is only
:03:52. > :03:57.two thirds of the way towards implementing a plan to turn things
:03:58. > :04:02.around. 21 paramedics have been recruited since April, with dozens
:04:03. > :04:08.more to follow. For the university is where many of the next generation
:04:09. > :04:12.are being trained. Demand for this course is high and students come
:04:13. > :04:15.from far and wide. Most say they are keen to stay in Wales when they
:04:16. > :04:22.qualify, despite having first-hand experience of the pressures while on
:04:23. > :04:28.placement. The guys are really under pressure, doing immense work but
:04:29. > :04:33.they don't have the days off or if somebody gets sick, everyone has to
:04:34. > :04:41.relate that back onto each other and they take the brunt. It is a family
:04:42. > :04:46.more than a workforce. They also argue the problems are not confined
:04:47. > :04:51.to Wales. It is the same kind of pressures, talking to friends and
:04:52. > :04:57.colleagues in services in England as to the troubles they are facing.
:04:58. > :05:00.There are no doubt that some front-line staff feel frustrated and
:05:01. > :05:05.undervalued and unions have threatened industrial action. Until
:05:06. > :05:09.the most important targets are met, it could take some time for this
:05:10. > :05:15.emergency service to make headlines for the right reasons.
:05:16. > :05:16.You have been speaking to ambulance staff. What have they been telling
:05:17. > :05:23.you? I have talked to a few but the same
:05:24. > :05:28.phrases keep coming up. They talk of feeling frustrated, fed up and not
:05:29. > :05:32.being looked after. They said morale has never been worse. One
:05:33. > :05:38.contentious issue is new rules about rest breaks. We could take those at
:05:39. > :05:43.their home but now they have to take them at their nearest hospital or
:05:44. > :05:45.station and that has caused anger. Another one was angry at what he
:05:46. > :05:51.viewed with the ambulance staff being made escape goats for wider
:05:52. > :05:54.problems within the health service. He said, it isn't our fault
:05:55. > :06:02.ambulances are queueing outside the hospital. It is the hospital 's
:06:03. > :06:06.fault for not having enough beds. The Ambulance Service is saying it
:06:07. > :06:10.is doing all it can to raise morale and turn things around, even hiring
:06:11. > :06:15.taxis and private ambulances when the pressure is on. Some of the
:06:16. > :06:19.changes might not bear fruit until Christmas and it could take three
:06:20. > :06:21.years to turn things around completely.
:06:22. > :06:22.Thank you. A man, described by prosecutors as
:06:23. > :06:25.timid and vulnerable, has told a court how he worked on a farm for 13
:06:26. > :06:29.years without pay. Darell Simmester said he lived in a shed and washed
:06:30. > :06:33.in a horse trough. Two men a father said he lived in a shed and washed
:06:34. > :06:37.in a horse trough. Two men, a father and son from Newport, deny forcing
:06:38. > :06:39.him to work against his will. Caroline Evans reports.
:06:40. > :06:44.Living sometimes in fear working seven days a week for no pay. Today
:06:45. > :06:52.Darell Simmester told the jury at Cardiff Crown Court what his life
:06:53. > :06:57.was like on Cariad Farm. He said he met the defendants, a father and son
:06:58. > :07:00.known to him as big Dan Doran and Dan Junior, after he was offered
:07:01. > :07:05.bricklaying work by a man who picked him up off the side of the road. It
:07:06. > :07:09.was when that work was finished he was taken to the farm where he
:07:10. > :07:22.remained for 13 years. He worked He said he arrived in the clothes he
:07:23. > :07:27.was wearing and was given a shed to live in. At night he slept on a
:07:28. > :07:32.settee and covered himself with a jacket he had worn during the day.
:07:33. > :07:36.He said at one point the shed had become infested with rats. He told
:07:37. > :07:38.the jury that the toilet he worked was broken and that he had to wash
:07:39. > :07:43.in a horse trough. looking after horses from 7am in the
:07:44. > :07:47.morning until 10pm or 11pm at night, Brecon and once on new year?s eve.
:07:48. > :08:10.day off once to visit a fair in worked speaking via video link, he
:08:11. > :08:14.said he fell off a horse and when he went to hospital he gave a false
:08:15. > :08:18.name, telling doctors he had fallen off the wall. He said someone had
:08:19. > :08:20.told him to do this and he felt terrified.
:08:21. > :08:25.when he did his work wrong and he felt frightened asked if he ever
:08:26. > :08:29.thought of leaving he said no. Both Daviel Doran senior and junior deny
:08:30. > :08:31.the charge of forcing another person to perform forced or compulsory
:08:32. > :08:47.Support for Welsh independence has fallen to an all-time low in the
:08:48. > :08:50.wake of the Scottish referendum, that's according to a poll for BBC
:08:51. > :08:53.Wales. The survey found just three per cent wanted Wales to be
:08:54. > :08:55.independent. But there was more support for giving the Assembly more
:08:56. > :08:58.power. And growing support for UKIP at the expense of the four main
:08:59. > :09:02.parties. Our political correspondent Daniel Davies reports.
:09:03. > :09:10.Scotland's independence campaign shook up politics. Now its effect is
:09:11. > :09:15.being felt here at the centre of Welsh politics.
:09:16. > :09:18.Our poll found 3% of people wanted an independent Wales - a
:09:19. > :09:21.record low. 12% thought the assembly should be abolished. But like
:09:22. > :09:24.independence, support for that notion has fallen too. 26% said the
:09:25. > :09:26.assembly had enough power already. But the most popular choice was for
:09:27. > :09:32.a more powerful assembly, backed by 49%.
:09:33. > :09:35.So what does falling support for independence mean for Plaid Cymru,
:09:36. > :09:40.the only Welsh party that campaigned for an independent Scotland, and
:09:41. > :09:54.We want Wales to become independent so we can improve people 's lives
:09:55. > :09:59.and at present, in the system we are tied to at the moment with the cuts
:10:00. > :10:02.and austerity agenda coming from London, is likely that people 's
:10:03. > :10:06.lives will become more difficult future years.
:10:07. > :10:11.moved in favour of devolution, listen to the view of a Tory Welsh
:10:12. > :10:13.secretary, whose party once campaigned against it.
:10:14. > :10:22.I am very enthusiastic about Wales receiving more powers under
:10:23. > :10:26.devolution in line with public opinion. It is important politicians
:10:27. > :10:30.work with the queen of public opinion, which is why when we to
:10:31. > :10:37.devolve tax powers to Wales, there is an important cause which enables
:10:38. > :10:41.a referendum to take place to see whether the people of Wales actually
:10:42. > :10:42.want that. It is important devolution moves with public
:10:43. > :10:44.opinion. The Conservatives, Labour and the
:10:45. > :10:46.Lib Dems promised more Scottish devolution. But David Cameron wants
:10:47. > :10:49.to press ahead with English opposes.
:10:50. > :11:01.Wales's Labour first minister As far as I can see, he said he will
:11:02. > :11:05.give powers to Scotland and we will have English laws and everything
:11:06. > :11:09.will be done. It is not good enough, tinkering around the edges. We need
:11:10. > :11:11.to get it sorted for the future. assembly is tax powers, after a
:11:12. > :11:26.referendum. Is that in line with public opinion?
:11:27. > :11:32.Overall, 46% support 36% oppose. intend voting at the general
:11:33. > :11:35.election next May. Labour remains in the lead - but
:11:36. > :11:39.it's a lead has been cut by four points.
:11:40. > :11:41.In fact all of the four biggest parties have lost support to UKIP.
:11:42. > :11:44.It's in third place, and is up seven points.
:11:45. > :11:45.UKIP is currently targeting the Clacton by-election in Essex where
:11:46. > :11:58.Nigel Farage is looking for voters fed up with established politics.
:11:59. > :12:00.Scotland's Yes campaign tried to do something similar. It fell short of
:12:01. > :12:03.the mark, but the polls suggest support for Welsh independence
:12:04. > :12:05.doesn't just have some ground to The Labour leader Ed Miliband has
:12:06. > :12:10.told Wales Today he's open to the idea of further powers being
:12:11. > :12:15.devolved if he wins next year's general election. But speaking to
:12:16. > :12:17.our parliamentary correspondent, David Cornock he stopped short of
:12:18. > :12:20.promising to make up what Carwyn Jones says is a three hundred
:12:21. > :12:30.million pound hole in his I think the Barnett formula has
:12:31. > :12:33.served us well. I understand the issues Wales has and we will
:12:34. > :12:37.definitely look at those issues. We said that in our 2010 manifesto and
:12:38. > :12:42.it is a clear commitment we have made. The Barnett former state but
:12:43. > :12:47.we will look at the issues Wales faces. What do you mean? We know
:12:48. > :12:54.from this conference that you are not going to make unfunded promises
:12:55. > :13:00.but Carwyn Jones says we are ?300 million a year worse off. As part of
:13:01. > :13:06.our fit with back spending review we will look at the needs of Wales
:13:07. > :13:10.because we understand the needs of Wales and the issue it faces.
:13:11. > :13:18.Scotland will get more powers. Do you think the Welsh government
:13:19. > :13:22.should to? Yes I do. If you think about the first referendum in Wales,
:13:23. > :13:29.it was narrowly won. The subsequent referendum was won by a bigger
:13:30. > :13:32.margin. Carwyn Jones is doing a fantastic job for the people of
:13:33. > :13:40.Wales. There is the devolved model, the model which is used in Scotland,
:13:41. > :13:46.devolving power and making sure that we actually have a fair system for
:13:47. > :13:52.Wales. The powers model. In terms of extra powers, the commission
:13:53. > :13:56.suggested policing should go. I think it is right to look at the
:13:57. > :14:01.issue of placing. There are issues about borrowing powers for Wales, I
:14:02. > :14:06.am open to this. We will have a convention to look at all of these
:14:07. > :14:09.issues across the United Kingdom and in a way, Carwyn Jones led the way
:14:10. > :14:13.on the proposal for a constitutional convention.
:14:14. > :14:17.You are putting the NHS at the heart of your general election campaign
:14:18. > :14:22.but you know the problems with the NHS in Wales. Are you taking a huge
:14:23. > :14:29.risk when the BMA said that the NHS in Wales, on Labour's watch, is
:14:30. > :14:35.facing imminent meltdown? The Nuffield Trust study said that
:14:36. > :14:41.there was not one health service that was doing better. There are
:14:42. > :14:46.challenges in Wales and we are determined to confront them and
:14:47. > :14:50.Carwyn Jones is determined. I have got to say that the last time the
:14:51. > :14:55.Tories were in power, waiting lists were two years long. Let's deal with
:14:56. > :15:01.these issues and not use the NHS as a political football. David Cameron
:15:02. > :15:02.is responsible for the English NHS and I wouldn't recommend those
:15:03. > :15:07.changes in Wales. Plenty more on that debate tonight.
:15:08. > :15:24.That is at 10:40pm on BBC1 Wales. Still to come, the steam engine used
:15:25. > :15:26.to ferry in First World War returns to Wales for the first time in 100
:15:27. > :15:30.years. Wrexham council is meeting around
:15:31. > :15:33.now to decide who will be its new leader. This follows a dramatic
:15:34. > :15:36.split in Labour there, which led to ten members resigning their party
:15:37. > :15:38.membership. The authority is also to discuss merging with neighbouring
:15:39. > :15:40.Flintshire. Roger Pinney is outside the Guildhall for us. Roger can we
:15:41. > :15:53.deal with the merger first? Authorities across Wales are being
:15:54. > :15:58.urged to link up voluntarily so what is the feeling better?
:15:59. > :16:03.The Welsh government wants to slim down the number of local
:16:04. > :16:09.authorities. They want between ten and 12 from 22. The blueprint
:16:10. > :16:17.involves merging Wrexham with Fincher. I found a mixed reaction to
:16:18. > :16:21.that today. We are the biggest town in North Wales so we should be going
:16:22. > :16:28.concern to have our own, I think. You think you're big enough? We
:16:29. > :16:34.should be. If we can save some cash somehow, fine. I think there is
:16:35. > :16:37.always an expense in any change and amalgamation will always cost
:16:38. > :16:40.something in the short term so we will have to wait and see.
:16:41. > :16:45.This we have been with Wrexham, the rates have shot up. We were in
:16:46. > :16:57.Denver show before. It will be interesting to see what Fincher and
:16:58. > :17:01.-- Fincher? Flintshire and Wrexham looks like.
:17:02. > :17:06.Authorities have already voted against the idea of a merger and
:17:07. > :17:10.Identix back that to change tonight. I spoke to a leading councillor
:17:11. > :17:15.today who said the merger was a foolish leap in the dark. That
:17:16. > :17:20.position flies very much in the face of the Welsh government, which once
:17:21. > :17:26.the mergers to go through. What about the leadership?
:17:27. > :17:32.Let me take you back. It all starts with a very public fallout in the
:17:33. > :17:37.Labour group, which ran Wrexham Council. The councillor was sacked
:17:38. > :17:41.from his Cabinet job and the leader of that group said that he was
:17:42. > :17:46.resigning from the Labour Party altogether and was taking nine
:17:47. > :17:50.councillors with him. Those ten former Labour councillors have since
:17:51. > :17:56.joined with ten independents to join a group which they hope to run the
:17:57. > :17:59.council. The leader of that group, Mark Pritchard, has just been
:18:00. > :18:06.elected leader of the council itself. It is also expected tonight
:18:07. > :18:09.that the former Labour leader, now an independent, Neil Rogers, will
:18:10. > :18:15.get the key Cabinet job of economy and business, leaving the rump of
:18:16. > :18:18.Labour in opposition. They would get two seats on the executive board but
:18:19. > :18:22.none of the Cabinet jobs which run the council.
:18:23. > :18:26.A nurse has pleaded not guilty to three counts of wilful neglect of
:18:27. > :18:28.patients at a Bridgend hospital. Jade Pugh, from North Cornelly, is
:18:29. > :18:31.one of five nurses charged, while working as a nurse at the Princess
:18:32. > :18:34.of Wales Hospital. The charges relate to the alleged falsification
:18:35. > :18:36.of blood sugar readings. The 29-year-old is due to appear at
:18:37. > :18:42.From today, physiotherapists will be able to prescribe medicines directly
:18:43. > :18:45.to their patients. The rule changes mean fewer people will have to wait
:18:46. > :18:48.to see a GP or a specialist to get the drugs they need, bringing Wales
:18:49. > :19:02.into line with England and Scotland, as Rhodri Lewis reports.
:19:03. > :19:05.Kayleigh Davies from Carmarthen has had a difficult time of it recently.
:19:06. > :19:08.She had a tumour on her spine which has now been removed. As part of her
:19:09. > :19:11.recovery, she's been having regular physiotherapy. But when she started
:19:12. > :19:13.having spasms in her legs, her physiotherapist couldn't prescribe
:19:14. > :19:15.the drugs she needed because he wasn't allowed to do so.
:19:16. > :19:18.She had to wait months to see a consultant to
:19:19. > :19:34.It was a few months before I could see consultant and then I had to
:19:35. > :19:35.wait. I get Botox injections to help with the spasms, which were
:19:36. > :19:41.hindering my rehab. Morris is the first physiotherapist
:19:42. > :19:45.in Wales to be trained to write prescriptions which can be given
:19:46. > :19:47.directly to patients. Podiatrists and chiropodists will be able to do
:19:48. > :19:53.so too. In many long-term conditions like
:19:54. > :19:59.neurological conditions that we treat here, it is that combination
:20:00. > :20:04.of physical treatment, like exercise and physiotherapy, and the medicines
:20:05. > :20:08.management. If they work well together and they work in an
:20:09. > :20:13.integrated way, that is where you get the best results so it puts us
:20:14. > :20:18.in a unique position to meet the needs and help the poor have a
:20:19. > :20:20.better quality of life. -- help people.
:20:21. > :20:23.The new rules bring Wales into line with England, where the right to
:20:24. > :20:25.prescribe for physiotherapists was brought in last year. They've been
:20:26. > :20:27.in force in Scotland since May. The body which represents
:20:28. > :20:30.physiotherapists says it's still early days but it has made a
:20:31. > :20:44.We are getting positive feedback with things like neurological and
:20:45. > :20:46.must go -- skeletal areas. This is where they will be using their
:20:47. > :20:51.say precisely how many doctors visits will now not be necessary. As
:20:52. > :20:54.well as Gary, four other physiotherapists working in north
:20:55. > :21:09.wales will also be able to prescribe drugs, like he does, very soon.
:21:10. > :21:11.They began their working lives when Queen Victoria was in her
:21:12. > :21:14.mid-40s and are still going strong. The Palmerston steam engine
:21:15. > :21:16.was used to ferry soldiers to training camps in Ceredigion during
:21:17. > :21:20.World War One and is back there for the first time in a century. And
:21:21. > :21:23.today enthusiasts came to Talyllyn near Tywyn to celebrate the return
:21:24. > :21:25.of Locomotive Number 1, 150 years after it first rolled onto the
:21:26. > :21:37.through a birthday banner can be a task. But the Talyllyn is a
:21:38. > :21:40.survivor of the Welsh railways. Rebuilt several times, it's not one
:21:41. > :21:42.to give up. Completed on this day in 1864, it
:21:43. > :21:45.was brought to Tywyn to bring down slate and help complete the railway,
:21:46. > :21:48.it would then work on. In its day it was state of the art.
:21:49. > :21:54.When it arrived, nobody knew how it worked. It was a horse and cart
:21:55. > :21:58.economy and nobody knew how it works. They had to get the fitter
:21:59. > :22:01.down from Whitehaven, where they built it, to run it. It was a
:22:02. > :22:05.And for the first time in nearly a century this steam engine is rolling
:22:06. > :22:08.again on a stretch of railway in Aberystwyth. The Palmerston is also
:22:09. > :22:16.marking it's 150 years in service, it was one of the first four
:22:17. > :22:18.locomotives built for the Ffestiniog Railway.
:22:19. > :22:22.loaned to the Rheidol line. Then it was used to ferry soldiers to large
:22:23. > :22:25.Territorial Army camps at Lovesgrove, near Capel Bangor and
:22:26. > :22:29.Devil's Bridge. It's returned to mark the centenary of the outbreak
:22:30. > :22:41.These carriages would have been packed with soldiers having heading
:22:42. > :22:49.to their army base. Now it is filled with tumours, making a nostalgic
:22:50. > :22:53.journey. Think about the number of soldiers who possibly travelled on
:22:54. > :22:58.this line, going to train in Aberystwyth and then on the main
:22:59. > :23:02.line back to their barracks and then to go abroad to fight in the
:23:03. > :23:04.trenches. And to think that many of the soldiers had travelled on the
:23:05. > :23:06.sign and never return from France. historic one and for the drivers
:23:07. > :23:16.it's still all about the love of People say that the steam engine is
:23:17. > :23:27.the closest thing we Aberystwyth with the Palmerston, as
:23:28. > :23:30.the train will make it's final journey on this track at the
:23:31. > :23:38.weekend. But for the Talyllyn events Mice and dry for today's
:23:39. > :23:43.celebrations. Will it stay that way?
:23:44. > :23:51.One of the driest September is an record. A breezy day tomorrow.
:23:52. > :23:57.Plenty of clear spells leading to a chilly night in land. The breeze is
:23:58. > :24:02.holding up temperatures on the coast at around 11 or 13 Celsius. Cooler
:24:03. > :24:05.in the countryside. Tomorrow some brightness first thing in the
:24:06. > :24:10.south-east but plenty of cloud thickening through the day, enough
:24:11. > :24:14.for some light rain or drizzle, easing as it moves south eastwards
:24:15. > :24:19.and remaining largely cloudy. A change in wind direction meaning it
:24:20. > :24:26.will be slightly warmer with highs of 16 Celsius in Pembrokeshire. We
:24:27. > :24:30.keep the crowd tomorrow night, thick enough to produce some patchy rain
:24:31. > :24:36.and drizzle and the cloud holding up. A cold front moves south
:24:37. > :24:42.eastwards across Wales on Friday so it is a fairly weak feature that a
:24:43. > :24:45.cloudy and damp start on Friday with patchy drizzle. It will dry up
:24:46. > :24:50.through the day and brighten up from the north-west later on with
:24:51. > :24:53.temperatures in the mid to high teens. Looking fairly settled into
:24:54. > :24:58.the weekend. A chilly start on Saturday but mostly dry with bright
:24:59. > :25:04.spells and southerly winds. Temperatures a touch higher. Thanks
:25:05. > :25:10.to high pressure keeping things largely fine, dry and settled. These
:25:11. > :25:13.fronts could bring something more unsettled early next week but some
:25:14. > :25:17.uncertainty. The high pressure could just keep them at bay.
:25:18. > :25:28.The main story this evening- the prospect of military action in Iraq
:25:29. > :25:32.moves closer as Parliament is record.
:25:33. > :25:37.US air strikes continue. MPs have been summoned back to
:25:38. > :25:42.Westminster for a debate on Friday. That is Wales Today. A quick update
:25:43. > :25:44.at 8pm and more after the BBC News at 10pm. Thanks for watching and
:25:45. > :25:46.have a good evening.