03/02/2016 BBC Wales Today

and on BBC One, we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

Tonight's headlines: The state of the NHS takes centre stage

in Cardiff and Westminster as the First Minister

and the Prime Minister attack each other's record on health.

England ministers have embarked on a reform so dizzying in its complexity

so baffling its structure that patients there could be forgiven

wondering who is in charge. Diagnosis of pneumonia takes two

weeks longer, treatments of heart operations and cataracts take two

months longer than in England. Labour are running Wales.

Also tonight: The discovery of a man's body at an Anglesey

beauty spot is thought to be linked to the murders of a woman

Calls from the First Ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

to hold the EU referendum later than June are rejected by the Prime

And we're in Aberystwyth where a team of academics

are benefitting from a fund that's supporting new antibiotic research.

A few surprises in the Wales team to face Ireland on Sunday. Six years

after his last cap Tom James is back in Wales shirt. I think he has grown

up and mature wood as a person and a player.

The state of the NHS in Wales took centre stage today in

The Prime Minister attacked the Welsh Government's record

on running the NHS here, criticising the long waits patients

It follows an exclusive report by BBC Wales which showed average

waiting times here are longer for most key treatments

In a speech in Cardiff today, the First Minister launched a major

attack on what he called the confrontational philosophy

Here's our political editor, Nick Servini.

Two leaders and two very different takes on the state of the Welsh NHS.

As the first Bannister did a major speech defending his record over the

past five years, and setting out his vision for the next, David Cameron

used Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons to respond to our story

last week which revealed how many waiting times in the NHS in Wales

were falling behind in London. He cannot washes hands of the situation

in Wales. Hip operations in England take 75 days waiting times on

average, in Wales its 197 days. Diagnosis of pneumonia takes two

weeks longer, treat the Dove cataracts, Ernie Els and heart

operations take two months longer than in England. Labour are running

Wales. He is responsible for Labour. Pick up the phone, tell them to stop

cutting or NHS. But is the Welsh NHS living in the shadow of its much

larger neighbour? Not so according to Carwyn Jones who told senior

health figures in Cardiff that the accountability of the Welsh NHS

contrasted with the baffling complexity in England and pointed to

research showing nine out of ten patients rated the care they had

received. A crisis is an easy headline to write about the system

but when people face a crisis of their own as the statistics show the

system is there for them. But we cannot be complacent. That is the

challenge we must set ourselves in the future. This was very much a

speech from the First Minister designed to reassure the greater and

the good of the NHS in this room. Unlike in England they said they

would be no major reorganisation and no strikes by doctors. There is

undoubtedly a much closer and friendlier relationship between

government and the health service in Wales than in England. But is it too

cosy here? I would not agree the relationship is cosy within Wales.

There is a strong degree of performance management in the

system. What that is is a clear shared value set and a clear vision

about what we want to do together. There is a real difficulty in Wales

because it is a small country and there is nothing between the

minister and the health service. There are no intermediate level saw

the Minister must hold back a bit and not get involved in

micromanagement. The health service has benefited from the fact the

Minister has held back. But we have an election approaching. All normal

rules are put into abeyance for the next four months. That pre-election

scrutiny will ramp up even further next week when a major report is

publishing to the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different

health systems across the UK. Do the people running the Welsh NHS

accept there are problems? This was the annual get-together of

experts and charities and nobody in the room denied the NHS is facing

huge challenges such as caring for a population living longer with a

variety of illnesses but a common complaint was that the system was

not changing quicker to respond. But sometimes we look at the Welsh NHS

in isolation. We know of GP shortages in related and we had

today of similar problems in Scotland and we heard of that

problems joining up health and social care was a global problem not

just in Wales. And we heard of a ?2 billion black hole facing the NHS in

England this year and the Welsh Government seeing the NHS in Wales

overall will balance its books. In the run-up to the election Labour

will try and spend its record. Carwyn Jones tried to do that today

but it critics will claim to fund the government made the wrong

decision. For example squeezing health budgets at the very start of

this assembly term, the very time those waiting times described the Mr

Cameron were lengthening. The problem is it's impossible to say

had anybody else been a charge would they have fared any better. What

voters will be doing between now and the election is looking at those

health policies from all the parties and perhaps themselves are the

deliverable and will they make a difference to solving those

pressures which won't go away? BBC Wales is looking at what makes us

different is to the rest of the UK. It's part of a series called how

Wales works and you can follow it across ABC radio and TV.

A factory employing around 150 people in Caerphilly County

The United States-based company which owns Penny and Giles

in Cwmfelinfach says the closure is due to current

The firm makes equipment including joysticks and motion sensors

for commercial vehicles and industrial use.

The discovery of a man's body at an Anglesey beauty spot

is thought to be linked to the murders of a woman

The body was recovered from South Stack near Holyhead,

hours after Geraldine Newman, her son and daughter

It's thought the man is her estranged partner.

Matthew Richards is in Holyhead for us.

Matthew, what do we know about the people who died?

West Yorkshire Police were called to a house in Leeds yesterday around

midday after the discovery of these three bodies and the woman has been

identified as Geraldine Newman and the Chew children are reported to be

her 11-year-old daughter and six-year-old son. Then the focus

turns to Anglesey following the discovery yesterday evening of a

man's body on a cliff edge at South Stack. That is also understood to be

Mrs Newman's estranged partner who lived not far from the scene of the

murder. What connections did they have with Anglesey? Very little

information has come out today and over the coming days we might find a

more details but what we understand is that Geraldine Newman does have

relatives who live in Holyhead and who have lived here for some time.

Procedures would normally mean that members of the police would act as

family liaison officers to give them support during the early stages of

the investigation. The postmortem examinations are due to be carried

out on some of those who died tomorrow so it's a very tragic story

and more details will unfold as the week goes on.

A man's appeared before magistrates in Swansea charged with the murder

43-year-old Rhys Trevor Anthony Hobbs was charged after the body

of Andrea Lewis was found by police at a house in Tonna on Saturday.

Another man, who was also arrested in connection with her death,

has been released on bail while the investigation continues.

Calls to postpone the EU referendum until later in the year to avoid

a clash with the National Assembly election have been rejected

The First Minister, Carwyn Jones, has written to David Cameron warning

that a June referendum would "distract" from the elections.

But the Prime Minister has told MPs there would be at least six weeks

Our parliamentary correspondent, David Cornock reports.

Bucks fizz, winners of Eurovision the big annual vote in Europe and

after David Cameron's proposed deal on Britain's mentorship of the EU

has now make your mind up time for politicians and the rest of us.

Conservative MPs are starting to take sides. I am going to be saying

to everybody I am out and proud and I will vote to come out of the

European Union. I think it is absolutely outrageous that after

asking for a fair deal the Prime Minister has been told no and has

been told is going to be ignored on issues like benefits so we need to

send a message to the EU. We are not willing to take that and if they are

not willing to play the game we will come out. I signed a letter today so

this is a group of Conservative MPs that supports staying in the EU but

a reform European Union. But when will the referendum be? Most MPs

think the premise to want to hold in June but Carwyn Jones and the first

ministers of Scotland and Northern Ireland say that could distract from

the devolved elections. They have written to David Cameron to asking

for a delay. The letter warns that the June poll could risk confusing

issues on clarity is required. They got a swift response in person and a

guarantee of a short gap between poles. People are perfectly capable,

six weeks or more after 17 letters to consider another election and I

know the Leader of the Opposition whose party is in control of Wales

was actually pressing me to hold the referendum on the 23rd of June.

Labour in Westminster support a June vote despite the Prime minister's

fees but a six-week gap did not satisfy Plaid Cymru. In the Welsh

general election how will his Conservative colleagues argue for

the economic stability that Wales needs when that might be overthrown

by his referendum just six weeks later. The earliest the referendum

could be held with the June the 16th but with Wales playing England at

football in France that day it looks rather unlikely. So put June the

23rd in your diary. But that still depends on David Cameron clinching

the deal in Brussels later this month.

Much more to come before 7:00pm: Newport's new shopping centre

attracted record numbers over Christmas, so is the future of Welsh

And Gareth Anscombe is picked for Wales at full-back,

while his team mate at the Blues Tom James

We'll assess the team taking on Ireland on Sunday.

Resistance to antibiotics is one of the top health concerns

Research here that could lead to new drugs to tackle the problem

is being given a lifeline with investment from a Welsh

Here's our business correspondent, Brian Meechan.

This team is at the early stages of work that could lead to new

antibiotics reaching the market one day. Ground-breaking research is

being carried out at universities across Wales like here in

Aberystwyth that some of the ideas have failed to go any further

because the initial work is finished before a company is ready to take it

on. It is the so-called Valley of death and that is what the bridging

fenders Theatre get the best research across. It's an expensive

business with few guarantees. A new drug takes up to 14 years to go from

initial idea to reaching the market. It costs over ?1 billion because of

the high failure rate of research. After the academic stage that are

still only a one in 10,000 chance of finding a new drug, that is why it's

called the Valley of death. If the bridging fund gets ideas past that

point there is a win in seven chance of a new drug which is way companies

are willing to begin trials. The impact of the funds money has been

felt by Doctor Sharon Hughes. Now of course there is an impetus on

commercialisation and using what we generate on the lab. Without this

funding certainly a lot of this would fall by the wayside. It's no

exaggeration to say that antibiotic resistance is reaching crisis point.

It's estimated 10 million people a year will die in future unless more

new drugs are discovered but there is no incentive for companies to do

that because it will cost a lot to make them while they will only be

used when all other and to the ticks have failed. The ?3 million bridging

fund is administered by the life sciences have with the investment

coming from the Welsh Government. What is startling I imagine is that

there has been no new class of and to the optics are 30 years. 1987 was

when the first class was discovered and there has been no new discovery

since then. It's partly because there is no incentive for companies

to come in. The current jabs are cheap and work well in most patients

but if you are one of the unfortunate patients they don't work

for its a disaster. Ever increasing resistance to add to be optics

means, infections could once again killed and some surgeries and

treatments would be impossible and that is what researchers in Welsh

life sciences sector are doing their best to prevent.

Labour says its MPs will vote against UK Government plans

to rewrite the devolution settlement unless they are radically changed.

The shadow Welsh Secretary, Nia Griffith, said the draft

Wales Bill would limit the powers of the Assembly.

But the Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb,

said criticism of the plans was "ill-informed and just plain wrong".

The UK government has announced it will freeze a proposed ?400,000 cut

to S4C's budget while an independent review of the channel

The channel's chief executive and some Welsh MPs had called

for an official assessment of its financial requirements

A review of the Welsh language broadcaster's remit,

governance and funding will happen in 2017.

This allows us to have a digital model for the digital world. The

original channel was set up in 1982 when we only had three channels. The

world has moved on since then and this provides an opportunity for the

independent sector in Wales, the Welsh speaking community and the

English-speaking community to come together to provide channel that has

got a vision for the future. Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has announced

that household bills will remain The not-for-profit company says

customers will pay an average Could the future of Welsh retail be

in our town and city centres? Figures seen by BBC Wales show

Newport city centre recently A quarter of a million people

visited every week in December after the new "Friars Walk"

shopping centre opened. Swansea has just announced plans

to revamp its city centre and tens of millions visited

Cardiff's Saint David's Two Part shopping centre

and if the music's anything to go The crowds arrived

in time for Christmas. We now have "footfall"

figures for Christmas. They show an average of nearly

a quarter of a million people visited the city centre

each week in December. The highest figure

for close to a decade. There was a near 3% drop

across Wales between last December People are certainly coming back to

the city centre. We are seeing an increasing number of other retailers

in the city. Paul Gray's family have been

in business in Newport They started selling candles

in their Beechwood shop But since moving to Friars Walk his

takings are up by 40%. Business has been superb since we

opened. On the number of occasions we have been replenishing the start

and as we're putting it on the shelves people are taking it off.

These are the new half a billion pound plans for Swansea City centre

Shops not seen outside of London are promised along with housing

It all follows the success of Saint David's Two in Cardiff.

So are we now seeing a trend away from this?

We all know about the rise of online retail.

But could relocating back to our town and city centres be part

It feels as if people wanted experience and a varied experience

where they have everything. Here we have the restaurants, the cinema,

the shops, everything seemed to be in one place. City centre but is

coming to the centre. It seems to be simpler for people.

Newport and Swansea were recently named as low wage,

Newport Council see these footfall figures as a sign

Whether they've made an impression, certainly on the bank balances

of independent traders, isn't yet known.

But the figures will be welcome news for Newport and all those places

investing in their town and city centres.

With news of the Wales team to face Ireland

Scarlets prop Rob Evans will start instead of the record cap

He'll be on the bench for the game against the defending

Despite playing just one game in two months,

So too Gareth Anscombe at full-back, and Tom James will play almost six

Head coach Warren Gatland said there is always trepidation about the

opening game but he had no worries about picking a bold team for the

trip to Ireland for a match against the defending champions. After six

years away from the international stage, wing Tom James is back in

Wales shirt to win his 10th cap. Reward for excelling for Cardiff

Blues. And having spent a couple of seasons at Exeter Warren Gatland

insisted time away from Wales had benefited him. He was in the Welsh

goldfish bowl and he needed to get out and he went out and went to the

premiership and played for Exeter. I think he has grown up and Michu

would. Gareth Davies starts at scrum-half, Dan Biggar at number ten

and Jonathan Davies returns from injury for the first time since last

year's six Nations. He names -- he plays alongside Jamie Roberts.

Cardiff Blues Gareth Anscombe makes his six Nations debut at full-back

having started there in the last two World Cup games. In the Parc y

Scarlets prop Rob Evans is preferred to Gethin Jenkins. With the record

cap holder on the bench does it represent a changing of the guard?

Possibly. He is a young player for the future and he's had a few caps

and we have been impressed with this form for the Scarlets. He is joined

by Scott pulled and Samson Lee in the front row. Luke Charteris and

Alun Wyn Jones continue their partnership in the second row.

Justin Tipuric starts the game at open side flanker with Captain Sam

Warburton moving to blindside. He has played just one game in two

months but insists he is ready for Sunday. I know what's coming so from

that point of view my mind and body is ready for that. I will go as hard

as I can and if I blow gasket that is why you've got the British Lions

come off the bench. That lion is Dan Lydiate, part of an experienced

bench. Wills' replacements have more than 350 caps between them. The

Wales management hope they will make an impact in Dublin on Sunday.

Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung Yeung is a doubt

for Saturday's game at home to Crystal Palace

The South Korean international replaced by Alberto Palosgi

for his first appearance for the Swans.

Gylfi Siggurdson scored the opening goal and Swansea were on course

for victory until West Brom bundled home an equaliser deep

When you concede so late is that the biggest disappointment? Yes because

at the end we had a victory, but this is for all. Let's get a full

check on the weather forecast now with Derek.

Strong winds, rain and snow on some hills this morning.

Less windy with some sunshine this afternoon.

This warm front over Ireland is moving towards us.

Bringing some rain and introducing milder, moister air

This evening, a dry start bar the odd shower but rain will spread

from the west later in the evening and overnight.

A little snow on high ground for a time.

Cold this evening but temperatures rising later in the night.

Here's the picture for 8:00am in the morning.

Much milder than today with a lot of cloud.

Further south, some dry weather but with spots of drizzle.

Patches of light rain and drizzle, especially on the hills

Drier in the North East and the Marches with odd

Top temperatures, 9C to 13C with a west to

Tomorrow night, further pockets of rain and drizzle.

Especially in the south and west and on the hills.

Drier in the East and North East and a mild night.

Friday will continue mild and breezy.

Strong winds in the West and North West.

Some rain and drizzle at times although Flintshire and Wrexham

Friday night, a cold front will bring a short

Saturday morning will be the best part of the day.

Turning wet and windier during the afternoon.

The wind and rain associated with this area of low pressure.

We're not sure yet the exact track it will take.

Sunday, breezy with sunshine and showers.

More rain in the evening together with stronger winds.

Sunday night and especially Monday, potentially very windy.

Gales or severe gales with a risk of disruption.

No warnings in force at the moment but that could change.

A reminder of our top story. Carwyn Jones and David Cameron has been

attacking each other to records on the NHS. The primaries to criticise

waiting times in Wales, the First Minister attacked what he called the

match confrontational philosophy in the English NHS.

I'll have a quick update at 8:00am and a full round up after the BBC

But from me, Derek, Tomos and everyone on the programme,