0:00:00 > 0:00:01Don't forget a first look at the papers over on the BBC News
0:00:04 > 0:00:05Welcome to Wales Today.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Tonight's headlines:
0:00:07 > 0:00:09The Conservatives here say giving some powers over income tax to
0:00:09 > 0:00:12the Assembly can ignite the Welsh economy - but how do you feel
0:00:12 > 0:00:17about politicians in Cardiff having an impact on your pay packet?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19And hundreds left without water after contractors damage a pipe,
0:00:19 > 0:00:24but who's left picking up the bill?
0:00:39 > 0:00:40Good evening.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Just a day after the Chancellor announced some control over income
0:00:43 > 0:00:46tax would be coming to Wales, without the need for a referendum,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48the Conservatives here say they'll reduce the rates
0:00:48 > 0:00:51if they win the Assembly election.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Their leader in Wales, Andrew R T Davies, says cutting the
0:00:53 > 0:00:58amount of tax some people pay will attract business and create jobs.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Our political editor, Nick Servini, has more.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04George Osborne had only just left the Treasury after his Spending
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Review at Westminster yesterday when the Conservatives in Cardiff
0:01:06 > 0:01:11came out of the blocks early.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Their idea is to lower income tax rates to attract the kind
0:01:14 > 0:01:20of people to Wales who would open up businesses and create jobs.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23They say they'd cut the basic rate by a penny
0:01:23 > 0:01:29from 20% to 19%, which would cost around ?180 million a year.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35It means someone earning ?25,000 would save around ?70 a year.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39They also say they would cut the higher rate from 40% to 35%.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Those earning ?50,000 would save around ?400.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45You need to create a difference between Wales
0:01:45 > 0:01:47and the rest of the United Kingdom.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49We would like to create that difference.
0:01:49 > 0:01:535p seems to be a sensible difference between what Wales would raise
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and what England would raise, and that would offer enough scope to
0:01:55 > 0:02:00say to businessmen and women, Wales is open for business.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04The party hasn't said how it would fill a ?250 million hole
0:02:04 > 0:02:08in the public finances, but it says policies
0:02:08 > 0:02:12like scrapping free prescriptions and scrapping the university tuition
0:02:12 > 0:02:18fee grant would lead to huge savings under a Tory Welsh government.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Now, whatever the merits of these policies, the point is that for
0:02:21 > 0:02:24the first time we're going to have parties going into the Assembly
0:02:24 > 0:02:27election campaign not just talking about how to spend public money, but
0:02:27 > 0:02:34how to raise it as well, with potential impacts on take-home pay.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Now, the question is, how do people feel about politicians
0:02:37 > 0:02:40in Cardiff having a say on how much they earn in places like
0:02:40 > 0:02:46this - a business park in Chepstow?
0:02:46 > 0:02:49And companies like this one, where around 30 people work,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53making specialist lifting equipment and where, from the factory floor to
0:02:53 > 0:02:56the office, attitudes change.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58I see what they're doing, I roughly understand what they're
0:02:58 > 0:03:02doing, and I'm more than happy for them to carry on doing it.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04And you're happy to give them more responsibility?
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Oh, yes, definitely.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07Even income tax?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Even income tax.
0:03:09 > 0:03:10You're right on the border here.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Taxes go up, your staff move to England?
0:03:13 > 0:03:18I would think it would need to go up quite a bit, but it could happen,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22but more likely, I would say, is they change the way they vote.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25There's a bit of work on the timing to be done yet
0:03:25 > 0:03:28for these proposals to be agreeable to all, but it appears that the
0:03:28 > 0:03:31heavy lifting has all been done.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37The Prime Minister has clashed with Welsh MPs over whether Britain
0:03:37 > 0:03:41should join air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader, Hywel Williams, told David Cameron
0:03:44 > 0:03:46he should "examine his conscience" before committing Britain to
0:03:46 > 0:03:48military action.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Labour MP for Newport West, Paul Flynn, warned that they could repeat
0:03:51 > 0:03:55the mistakes of the war in Iraq.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58A coroner will raise safety concerns with council officials
0:03:58 > 0:04:02following the third death this year at a millpond in Pembroke.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Robert Mansfield drowned in July after going swimming on the night
0:04:05 > 0:04:07of his 18th birthday.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10At an inquest today, the coroner ruled his death was accidental.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Pembrokeshire Council has already said it will carry out
0:04:12 > 0:04:19improvements and will have 56 days to respond to the concerns.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22A fresh ballot for strikes will be held among Arriva Trains Wales
0:04:22 > 0:04:27drivers in a long-running row over pay, terms and conditions.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29A planned strike earlier this month was suspended to
0:04:29 > 0:04:31allow talks to be held.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33But the union, Aslef, is accusing the company of "moving
0:04:33 > 0:04:36the goalposts" on a proposed deal.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39An Arriva spokesperson says there's been a "misunderstanding"
0:04:39 > 0:04:43over the company's offer.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Far too many gas, electricity and water supplies are being
0:04:45 > 0:04:51disrupted because contractors aren't making checks for pipes and cables.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55The warning comes from Welsh Water after hundreds of homes in Abercarn,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Crosskeys, and Ynysddu had their supplies disrupted
0:04:58 > 0:05:00after a water pipe was fractured.
0:05:00 > 0:05:06Paul Heaney reports.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Pumping water back into the mains so that customers can get
0:05:09 > 0:05:14at least some water back out.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The supply problems were caused by contractors.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23They fractured these high-pressure pipes yesterday in Crosskeys.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24It is frustrating.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Far too many utilities, not just water mains,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31but electricity cables, gas mains, get damaged by contractors.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Before they put a spade in the ground, all they have to do
0:05:34 > 0:05:37is contact us, we'll come out and help them trace it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41In this case, that didn't happen, I'm afraid.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43The contractors were building a flood wall at the time, but instead
0:05:43 > 0:05:48caused this flood of their own.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51The cricket pitch down in Waunfawr Park looked more
0:05:51 > 0:05:53like a lake, a lagoon.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I haven't been able to have a shower, wash my hair.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Haven't been able to do any washing.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Thankfully I do have a lot of bottled water anyway so I could
0:06:01 > 0:06:08make tea, and also my dog is having a water bottle, and my cat is.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Further up the valley in Wattsville, bottles were handed out to keep
0:06:11 > 0:06:13people going.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Many were frustrated in the delays in reconnecting their
0:06:16 > 0:06:20supply, including this holiday accommodation business who noticed
0:06:20 > 0:06:23a problem yesterday afternoon.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27We noticed around about, I suppose, three o'clock that we lost
0:06:27 > 0:06:30our water pressure.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34We were concerned and with the holiday log cabin, really concerned
0:06:34 > 0:06:39about what we were going to do.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Welsh Water said it had to turn off the supply of water here to
0:06:42 > 0:06:45repair the damage safely and it's now taking time for it to make
0:06:45 > 0:06:48its way back through the system.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51The law of gravity, I'm afraid, that the further up the hill people
0:06:51 > 0:06:55are, the worst they've been affected during this incident.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59All this has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04A big bill for the contractor that hit the pipe in the first place.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Fewer than half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves to be
0:07:08 > 0:07:12fluent according to a survey of how the language is used.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14But researchers for the Welsh Government and
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Welsh Language Commissioner also say there's been a significant increase
0:07:17 > 0:07:23in the number who speak some Welsh compared to a decade ago.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Rugby, and Wales wing George North has signed a new deal with English
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Premiership club Northampton Saints.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32There had been speculation the 23-year-old could leave Northampton
0:07:32 > 0:07:36at the end of the season, when his contract was due to expire.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41Northampton aren't disclosing the length of the deal.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Football, and Helen Ward's hat-trick helped Wales' women beat Kazakhstan
0:07:44 > 0:07:484-0 in Haverfordwest - their first win of their Euro 2017
0:07:48 > 0:07:51qualifying campaign.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55Natasha Harding headed Wales in front five minutes after the break.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Then substitute Helen Ward scored twice in two minutes before scoring
0:07:58 > 0:08:01her third in the closing stages.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06Wales are now third in their group.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Time to find out what the weather has in store
0:08:09 > 0:08:10for us over the next few days.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Here's Behnaz with your forecast.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17A fairly quiet night ahead, but all change tomorrow.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21We do have wet and windy conditions heading our way.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Tonight, we have some drizzly rain gradually clearing south-east.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Behind it, quite a bit of low-level cloud, mist and fog, but a fairly
0:08:27 > 0:08:32mild night with temperatures ranging from eight to about 11 Celsius.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Tomorrow, we do have a cold weather front bringing some heavy
0:08:34 > 0:08:38rain with strong winds as well.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40First thing tomorrow morning, it's a mild start.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43We do have some drizzly rain at first, especially further west.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Strong winds picking up as we go through the morning and into the
0:08:47 > 0:08:51afternoon and then rain approaching by lunchtime into the west.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54For the rest of the British Isles, we do have the rain across Scotland
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and Northern Ireland in the morning, gradually spreading south and east.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Highs of eight to about 13 Celsius.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04In Wales tomorrow afternoon, a soggy afternoon.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Strong winds with some heavy pulses of rain, but the good news is
0:09:07 > 0:09:09the wind will help the rain to push through pretty quickly
0:09:09 > 0:09:12and it's a fairly mild afternoon.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Temperatures of 12 to about 13 Celsius.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16We do have a cold weather front clearing.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Behind it, much colder air into tomorrow night.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21A chilly night to come and a few showers.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Temperatures getting down to about two Celsius.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Saturday, a chilly start to our weekend.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29We've got some drizzly rain at first, more persistent rain to
0:09:29 > 0:09:32come as we go through the morning and into the afternoon.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Strong to gale-force winds, especially for coastal areas.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Temperatures of eight to about 10 Celsius.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And then we go into Sunday.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41Some patchy rain, but also some drier weather,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44slowly becoming milder, and the winds will ease through the day.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Ten to 12 Celsius.
0:09:47 > 0:09:54Again looking unsettled for the start of next week.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56We're back with updates in Breakfast from around 6.25am tomorrow.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57But that's Wales Today.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58From all of us here, goodnight.