09/02/2016 BBC Wales Today

Our top stories: Students will celebrate.

Cuts planned for higher education are reversed -

a climb-down tonight from the Welsh Government.

And the company behind Swansea's tidal lagoon warns the UK Government

it must decide if it's going to back the project.

A climb-down tonight less than three months before the Assembly election.

Cuts planned for the higher education sector here have been

reversed in the Welsh Government's budget.

Extra funding has also been found for the rural councils hardest hit.

The budget, worth around ?16 billion also includes a boost of close

Here's our political editor Nick Servini.

There has been a huge expansion in Welsh higher education in recent

years but university leaders have said that continued success depends

This time round, they said that wasn't forthcoming

University leaders said part-time courses and research

were in the firing line, with a potential cut of ?42 million

from the coffers of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

That was around a third of their budget.

The Welsh government said universities could afford it,

pointing to reserves of ?1.3 billion...

until this afternoon when the finance Minister reversed

around three quarters of the cuts, by partly setting aside

5 million of which will be used to support part-time provision.

And 5 million also so that we can continue to build our capacity

and excellence in Wales, including world-class scientific

research, also a key priority for this Welsh government.

The government said this was always a draft budget and so liable

Nevertheless it is a climb-down from its original standpoint

The Higher Education Funding Council said it was delighted

the contribution to universities to the economy and society to Wales

This is what supports our university research, it makes us attractive

to inward investors, it is what enables companies to spin

off from the best ideas in universities and it supports

Councils across Wales are being affected by cuts.

Protesters took to streets in Cardiff this weekend,

objecting to reductions in arts budgets.

But the worst affected councils in the latest settlement

Today there was an agreement to give an extra ?2.5 million to Powys,

Labour doesn't have a overall majority but this formed part

of a deal struck with the Liberal Democrats,

who claim to have won valuable concessions themselves.

Despite the big rise in health spending, the Conservatives set

These sums amounts to an admission of previous failures.

Year-on-year, five years of previous failures of underfunding

These sums will not make up for previous cuts.

Quite simply, Minister, it is too little, too late.

It goes to a final vote next month to be rubber-stamped.

Questions were raised as far back as 2002 over whether a Welsh soldier

did commit suicide at an Army base, an inquest has heard.

18-year-old Private Cheryl James from Llangollen was found shot dead

The Army apologised for leaving her and other trainee soldiers

But friends and family told the coroner they refuse to believe

The company behind the world's first tidal lagoon power station has

warned the UK Government that it must decide if it is going to back

the billion-pound project in the next few weeks or it'll risk

Building work on the lagoon in Swansea has already been delayed

by a year, after negotiations over how much public money it

The endless ebb and flow that could be powering homes.

Tapping into tidal power isn't new but what has been planned

The building of an artificial lagoon with turbines in the sea wall

would be the first of six around Britain.

It is claimed that together they could generate 8%

But after a year of government negotiations, the company says it

The eyes of the world are now on Swansea Bay and we have a project

that is ready to start, we have a turbine and generator

industry that is primed to deliver the project,

and to be in the water behind us in one year from now takes one

Building a world first clearly doesn't come cheap.

The cost of this lagoon has already doubled to ?1 billion.

The company says it can't go ahead without a government subsidy,

but that would be adding to the electricity bills of every

The company was looking to sell its electricity for ?160

per megawatt-hour, subsidised by the government for 35 years,

but that was far higher than the ?92.50 agreed

for the new nuclear reactor at Hinckley.

So now the latest price for tidal could be down to ?96.50,

but with a subsidy lasting for 90 years.

It will prove probably to be potentially the most expensive form

of producing electricity that the government could possibly

support, and it should really leave it to the energy companies

themselves to decide how they're going to meet the nation's

Hanging over the decision is the desperate need

Just across the water, the steelworks in Port Talbot is set

At this factory, another 100 are under threat.

Working on the tidal lagoon could spark some optimism.

We see no other attractions coming forward that can employ

the number of people, skilled people, that would be

displaced from traditional industries into this new industry.

The government says it is still considering if the lagoon

is in the best interests of bill payers as it tries to decide if it

A Welsh Labour MP has claimed the party leadership has already

decided to oppose the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons

Bridgend MP Madeleine Moon, who sits on the Commons Defence

Select Committee, says the view is out of touch

The Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry says the party needs

Wales will decide whether outside-half Dan Biggar is fit

enough to play against Scotland later this week.

Biggar was forced off in the first half against Ireland on sunday.

The Wales management says Biggar has made excellent progress

with his recovery following the ankle injury.

Wales will name their side later than expected on Thursday.

Football, and Wrexham came from behind at Altrincham

to claim their third successive National League draw.

The 1-1 final score leaves Gary Mills' side 12th in the table,

four points behind the play-off places.

Snow on high ground for some of us tonight.

A few centimetres of snow in places, more on the Brecon Beacons. More

rain and showers tonight, a bit more snow on higher ground in the South.

Later tonight, the strong and gusty wind will ease. Temperatures falling

as low as 1-2. A chilly start tomorrow, but not bad weather wise.

One or two showers but otherwise dry. Bright in places with some

sunshine and the wind is easing. Watch out for icy patches in the

North. Wintry showers in the North of Scotland, and some showers for

Cornwall. Otherwise, dry weather, bright skies and sunshine.

Temperatures around average for February. Close to home, a fairly

decent afternoon in prospect. Maybe some showers in the north-east,

Wrexham area. Otherwise dry and bright, some winter sunshine. The

wind lighter than today. Temperatures around eight Celsius.

Tomorrow night, most places dry with a widespread frost. Some showers to

the south and West. A frosty start for some of us on Thursday. One or

two fog patches possible. Some fine weather and sunshine with light

winds but also a few showers here and there. On Friday, a little more

tricky with this area of low pressure coming in from the Atlantic

bringing the risk of some rain. How far north that gets is open to

doubt. We could see snow on high ground. Staying cold over the

weekend with the chance of snow on higher ground.

We're back with the latest news and sport, traffic updates

and weather in Breakfast from six tomorrow morning.

From all of us on the programme, goodnight.