:00:00. > :00:00.Our top stories: The Welsh Conservatives,
:00:00. > :00:11.The leader of the party here, Andrew RT Davies, will campaign
:00:12. > :00:16.And they're doing well, but claims that thousands
:00:17. > :00:18.of children are at risk of leaving primary school unable
:00:19. > :00:39.The leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies,
:00:40. > :00:41.has tonight become the highest profile politician from Wales
:00:42. > :00:44.to back the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union in
:00:45. > :00:53.Our political correspondent Daniel Davies reports.
:00:54. > :00:56.He's thought long and hard about it, now the Conservative leader
:00:57. > :01:01.in the Assembly has decided he will vote to leave the EU.
:01:02. > :01:04.Andrew RT Davies has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow,
:01:05. > :01:08.but tonight another Tory AM agreed with him.
:01:09. > :01:13.There's a lot of scaremongering going along, there's a lot
:01:14. > :01:16.of suggested smear and sneer from some of the comments
:01:17. > :01:18.being made, but it's vital that whatever people's views
:01:19. > :01:21.are and whatever views they form, they are based on facts
:01:22. > :01:27.In Westminster, the issue has split the 11 Welsh Conservative MPs.
:01:28. > :01:35.Four want to leave the EU, six say they want to remain,
:01:36. > :01:37.including the Welsh Secretary, Stephen Crabb.
:01:38. > :01:39.It was a difficult decision, there is no perfect,
:01:40. > :01:42.easy answer in this big question that everyone will have to face
:01:43. > :01:49.on June 23rd, but for me what clinched the argument
:01:50. > :01:52.is with the package that the Prime Minister secured last
:01:53. > :01:58.week, there is at least now clarity about what kind of reformed
:01:59. > :02:01.membership we have got with the European Union.
:02:02. > :02:04.I will be voting to leave in June because I feel that Britain needs
:02:05. > :02:07.to take back control of its borders and it needs to regain powers
:02:08. > :02:09.that we have, over time, given away to Brussels,
:02:10. > :02:12.and that was the strong view that I was getting when I campaigned
:02:13. > :02:14.in the run-up to the general election.
:02:15. > :02:17.All 25 Welsh Labour MPs are backing the remain campaign,
:02:18. > :02:22.as are the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.
:02:23. > :02:25.Were we to leave, what would happen to measures such as convergence
:02:26. > :02:28.funding, which has provided large amounts of money for the poorer
:02:29. > :02:35.I think the short answer to the honourable gentleman is that
:02:36. > :02:38.if we were to leave the EU, we wouldn't be able to get those
:02:39. > :02:41.funds, which have made a big difference in parts of Wales.
:02:42. > :02:44.Some agonise over it, some decided long ago.
:02:45. > :02:47.We must do what's best for the British people
:02:48. > :02:50.and for the people here in Wales, and I believe passionately
:02:51. > :02:53.and strongly that remaining a part of this failing EU superstate is not
:02:54. > :02:59.Llangollen, known for bringing nations together
:03:00. > :03:02.at the town's international Eisteddfod.
:03:03. > :03:11.Views on the EU were mixed there today.
:03:12. > :03:13.For me, it's better that Britain comes out from the EU
:03:14. > :03:22.paid a lot of money to the EU but I don't think it doesn't get
:03:23. > :03:29.I would be worried about defence if we leave, very worried
:03:30. > :03:33.I don't know why people think we can manage on our own.
:03:34. > :03:36.I think we are harking back to a past that doesn't
:03:37. > :03:39.We haven't got any industries of our own any more.
:03:40. > :03:41.A leap in the dark, that's what David Cameron calls
:03:42. > :03:48.His party's candidate for the job of First Minister doesn't agree.
:03:49. > :03:50.Hospitals around Wales have tonight said they are experiencing very high
:03:51. > :03:52.demand, and are urging people only to visit emergency
:03:53. > :03:57.Health officials say they are extremely busy,
:03:58. > :04:00.and some say patients are having to wait a long time before
:04:01. > :04:06.Wales Today has learned that every council here with large numbers
:04:07. > :04:09.of holiday homes is considering bringing in a special levy.
:04:10. > :04:11.A new act will allow up to a maximum of
:04:12. > :04:14.double the council tax to be charged on second homes,
:04:15. > :04:19.to try and ease the problem of access to affordable housing.
:04:20. > :04:21.A consultation on whether Pembrokeshire Council should
:04:22. > :04:29.Are we doing enough to improve our children's reading?
:04:30. > :04:32.One campaign group fears 26,000 children in Wales are at risk
:04:33. > :04:33.of leaving primary school unable to read properly.
:04:34. > :04:36.Save The Children says it's a national scandal and is calling
:04:37. > :04:54.What better way to start the afternoon
:04:55. > :04:59.From space adventures to Egyptian kings, pupils at Blaenymaes primary
:05:00. > :05:01.school in Swansea are getting to grips with all kinds of topics.
:05:02. > :05:04.Do you think it is important to read?
:05:05. > :05:09.Because you can learn different things that you don't even know.
:05:10. > :05:13.Because you can learn things about and...
:05:14. > :05:20.In its recent annual report, the education watchdog,
:05:21. > :05:23.Estyn, said literacy skills in Welsh primary schools have improved
:05:24. > :05:26.but those behind the Read On Get On campaign, which aims to get
:05:27. > :05:28.everyone reading by the age of 11, are concerned 26,000 children
:05:29. > :05:31.in Wales are at risk of leaving primary school unable
:05:32. > :05:40.The campaign group says children who read well by age 11 are more
:05:41. > :05:43.likely to do better at school, achieve more in exams and fare
:05:44. > :05:46.better in the workplace, and it's calling for more to be done
:05:47. > :05:48.to ensure all children in Wales start secondary school
:05:49. > :05:54.It is not just saying the Government needs to do this,
:05:55. > :05:57.but we do implore all party leaders to show they care about this
:05:58. > :06:01.and to put this into their manifestos, to say
:06:02. > :06:05.that they will get all children reading by age 11 by 2025,
:06:06. > :06:08.and we would like the public to be behind that and to build that sort
:06:09. > :06:11.of constituency to say, yes, this is a scandal and we all need
:06:12. > :06:15.The Welsh government says supporting people's literacy skills
:06:16. > :06:19.Opposition parties say they also recognise big
:06:20. > :06:30.Like so many other schools, Blaenymaes Primary has
:06:31. > :06:33.It believes developing a love of reading is key
:06:34. > :06:38.We try to involve the parents as well, and the Read On Get On scheme
:06:39. > :06:40.will involve parents coming in to learn with their children.
:06:41. > :06:43.We hold days such as World Book Day, homework tasks which involve
:06:44. > :06:45.reading, so we try to generate as much interest
:06:46. > :06:49.For this young bunch, it's about getting through
:06:50. > :06:53.The challenge for everyone else is to make sure their next chapter
:06:54. > :07:00.The Conwy Valley railway line has reopened, after being closed
:07:01. > :07:04.100 separate parts of the line between Llandudno Junction
:07:05. > :07:07.and Blaenau Ffestiniog were damaged by flooding over Christmas.
:07:08. > :07:10.Three of the services are still being replaced by buses,
:07:11. > :07:15.but Arriva Trains Wales hopes to resume a full rail service soon.
:07:16. > :07:18.The Woodland Trust is looking for volunteers to trace the oak
:07:19. > :07:20.trees from France planted across Wales in memory of soldiers
:07:21. > :07:27.who died in the longest single battle of World War One.
:07:28. > :07:30.This week marks the 100-year anniversary of the battle of Verdun.
:07:31. > :07:33.The trust says it's found some clues as to where the trees may have been
:07:34. > :07:42.We want to hope that they go on by collecting their seeds
:07:43. > :07:46.and propagating them and then planting them out again,
:07:47. > :08:06.so they are a living bit of history which is so important
:08:07. > :08:09.to our landscape as well as the people who sacrificed their lives.
:08:10. > :08:11.Let's see what the weather has in store Derek's
:08:12. > :08:18.Not dry everywhere tonight, we have a few showers in the north, they
:08:19. > :08:25.will spread into mid Wales overnight. Some snow on the hills
:08:26. > :08:30.and mountains. Temperatures on the Brecon Beacons already below
:08:31. > :08:34.freezing. A cold start to tomorrow morning, showers will continue to
:08:35. > :08:39.spread southwards, eventually clearing away with sunny weather
:08:40. > :08:45.following from the north. Across the rest of the UK, watch out for icy
:08:46. > :08:50.patches if you are travelling. Some sunshine, many places dry, but not
:08:51. > :08:57.everywhere. Some showers towards the east coast of England, and some snow
:08:58. > :09:02.showers to the north of Scotland. In between dry and sunny, a high
:09:03. > :09:10.temperature of six in Liverpool. Closer to home, a blue sky, sunnier
:09:11. > :09:13.than today, many places dry. Temperatures reaching nine Celsius.
:09:14. > :09:19.A widespread frost tomorrow night, cold tomorrow night fun tonight,
:09:20. > :09:23.minus five in mid Wales, maybe some showers in the north after midnight.
:09:24. > :09:29.More dry weather and sunshine after a frosty start on Wednesday, some
:09:30. > :09:34.showers feeding in from the Irish Sea but no more than that. Dry and
:09:35. > :09:38.cold over the next few days, sunshine and frost, just a few
:09:39. > :09:46.showers. The forecast for the end of the week is a little more uncertain.
:09:47. > :09:48.For the weekend, cold and brisk north-easterly winds.
:09:49. > :09:49.That's Wales Today. Thank you for watching.
:09:50. > :10:13.From all of us on the programme, goodnight.
:10:14. > :10:18.I was just here, just watching them...watching them die.