06/04/2016 BBC Wales Today


06/04/2016

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bishops find themselves between a rock and the hard place on this.

:00:00.:00:12.

There were hopes it would bring up to 6,000 jobs.

:00:13.:00:18.

But tonight a big question mark over the future of the Circuit of Wales.

:00:19.:00:22.

We'll be assessing what hope remains for the plans.

:00:23.:00:24.

the man looking to buy Tata's steel business here admits

:00:25.:00:29.

there's still a lot of work to be done

:00:30.:00:34.

An apology to same sex couples for prejudice

:00:35.:00:41.

from the Archbishop of Wales - as for now -

:00:42.:00:43.

Plaid Cymru's leader tells us - they'd reinvest NHS savings

:00:44.:00:51.

into front line services - if they win power in May's election.

:00:52.:00:59.

We're meeting the Lewis family as part of My Manifesto 2016 -

:01:00.:01:03.

who tell us they waited 20 hours for a special ambulance for Mared.

:01:04.:01:08.

That single ambulance has got to cover from Truro up to Gloucester

:01:09.:01:13.

from Swindon, all the way over to Aberystwyth.

:01:14.:01:21.

It's a project which has promised thousands of jobs

:01:22.:01:29.

But tonight, there are big question marks over the future of the Circuit

:01:30.:01:33.

It follows a decision by the Welsh Government

:01:34.:01:37.

that they cannot underwrite investment worth more

:01:38.:01:40.

than 350 million pounds by the Insurance firm Aviva.

:01:41.:01:44.

Independent advice has questioned the viability of the project,

:01:45.:01:48.

and what's described as an unacceptable

:01:49.:01:50.

With the latest - here's Iwan Griffiths.

:01:51.:01:56.

It was seen as an ambitious project with the potential to change the

:01:57.:02:03.

whole of the heads of the valleys area. The aim was to bring thousands

:02:04.:02:09.

of customers to Ebbw Vale drawn to South Wales to enjoy events like the

:02:10.:02:17.

Moto GP. 6000 jobs were promised. The people behind the project have

:02:18.:02:21.

always insisted that the money is there. You have got 300 million

:02:22.:02:29.

pledged? We have it pledged but we have two get it. Some of it includes

:02:30.:02:37.

money from the Welsh government. The sticking point is the Welsh

:02:38.:02:41.

government providing a guaranteed to the privately funded project.

:02:42.:02:47.

Assurance firm Aviva had been expected to back the project,

:02:48.:02:57.

financial advice has been taken but Edwina Hart reluctantly came to the

:02:58.:03:00.

conclusion not to proceed with the guarantee. You have to look at the

:03:01.:03:05.

risks we are being asked to entertain. At one time, when we

:03:06.:03:09.

started to talk about the project, we knew there would be private

:03:10.:03:16.

sector investment. It went from 35mm to 350 million as a guarantee. 100%

:03:17.:03:24.

guarantee. We have spoken about a lesser guarantee, 80% but Aviva who

:03:25.:03:29.

are the other partners weren't even prepared to guarantee 20%. The town

:03:30.:03:34.

has had many millions spent we it after the steelworks closed in 2002.

:03:35.:03:42.

Unemployment has remained high, the circuit of Wales project was seen as

:03:43.:03:46.

a way of bringing jobs and further investment to the area. Tonight, the

:03:47.:03:53.

vision of seeing these scenes in south Wales will depend on finding a

:03:54.:03:57.

private sector backer who is willing to take more of a risk.

:03:58.:03:59.

Our political correspondent Daniel Davies is here.

:04:00.:04:04.

We've just had a statement from the heads of the valleys development

:04:05.:04:11.

company who are behind the scheme. They say that they respect and

:04:12.:04:16.

understand Edwina Hart's decision. It was their preference that the

:04:17.:04:21.

government would provide 100% guarantee for this project. They

:04:22.:04:25.

have been talking for six months but it has not worked. They say they

:04:26.:04:30.

will continue negotiations with the Welsh government, local councils and

:04:31.:04:34.

private investors like Aviva to find a way forward that everyone is happy

:04:35.:04:40.

with. They are at least hopeful that the project isn't dead in the water

:04:41.:04:44.

and we'll keep working at it. In a sense, they have two. The government

:04:45.:04:56.

has already spent ?9 million in one way or another backing this race

:04:57.:05:06.

track. What reaction has there been? A lot of political anger. Not

:05:07.:05:10.

surprisingly. Today was the first day that the assembly was broken up

:05:11.:05:16.

officially for the election. The Tories are angry because there is no

:05:17.:05:21.

chance for the Minister to be grilled about this decision. Plaid

:05:22.:05:25.

Cymru as saying this is more bad news for the economy in the

:05:26.:05:30.

aftermath of coming to terms with the decision after the steel --

:05:31.:05:44.

Tartar steel. To close the steelworks at Port Talbot.

:05:45.:05:52.

Liberty steel says it has had positive talks about plans to take

:05:53.:06:05.

over Tata's operations. The steel industry, including Liberty, has

:06:06.:06:11.

been calling for the UK Government to take action to reduce energy

:06:12.:06:16.

costs for years. It has been a frustration that ministers haven't

:06:17.:06:20.

been able to go further. The question is whether this current

:06:21.:06:24.

crisis means that the UK Government has been pulled far closer to where

:06:25.:06:28.

the steel industry where it wants to be, reducing costs. Liberty wants to

:06:29.:06:35.

develop an energy park here, including a biomass facility and

:06:36.:06:43.

tidal lagoons. Making energy cheaper for is the key to reducing costs for

:06:44.:06:48.

the steel industry. These technologies will transform the way

:06:49.:06:53.

energy is made globally. They should be given every attention. Even more

:06:54.:06:58.

so that we want to propose to turn the UK steel industry into a

:06:59.:07:03.

recycling industry requiring a lot of energy. Even more reason why we

:07:04.:07:06.

need long-term sustainable solutions like this. There are sticking point

:07:07.:07:13.

to any deal. Not least, pension liabilities. The company scheme

:07:14.:07:24.

covers 135 found in the UK. It has a deficit of almost ?500 million.

:07:25.:07:27.

Although it is falling at the moment, it could increase to

:07:28.:07:32.

billions in future. It has been identified as a clear issue.

:07:33.:07:36.

Everybody is aware that it has to be addressed so I believe there will be

:07:37.:07:41.

resolution. European state aid rules may stop the UK Government helping

:07:42.:07:49.

directly. One solution is the government buying the sites from

:07:50.:07:52.

Tata and immediately selling them back. As was done in Scotland.

:07:53.:08:08.

Sanjiv Gupta says it is early days. He is not ruling out continuing to

:08:09.:08:16.

make steel from scratch at Port Talbot while introducing recycling.

:08:17.:08:20.

To build an arc furnace would take at least two years. The process

:08:21.:08:26.

would probably be that we go to one blast and see how we are operating

:08:27.:08:33.

and compared the economics. If it can't make heavy steel production

:08:34.:08:38.

work at Port Talbot, Liberty is still interested in other

:08:39.:08:44.

steelworks. Sajid Javid have -- has been meeting Tata bosses in Mumbai.

:08:45.:08:51.

A man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving

:08:52.:08:55.

after a father and son died last December.

:08:56.:08:58.

Stuart Bates and his seven-year-old son Fraser

:08:59.:09:00.

were killed as they crossed this carriageway near Talbot Green

:09:01.:09:02.

22-year-old Joshua Staples from Tonyrefail has

:09:03.:09:05.

A new law has come into force which makes it

:09:06.:09:08.

From today all dogs over eight weeks old will need to be micro-chipped,

:09:09.:09:15.

with their owners' details registered on an approved database.

:09:16.:09:18.

The RSPCA hopes it will promote responsible dog ownership.

:09:19.:09:25.

Welsh Anglican Bishops have ruled out an attempt to change the law

:09:26.:09:28.

to allow same-sex couples to marry in church.

:09:29.:09:30.

The Archbishop of Wales has said there's concern the issue

:09:31.:09:33.

Welsh Bishops have though unreservedly apologised to gay

:09:34.:09:39.

and lesbian church goers for the way they've been treated.

:09:40.:09:41.

It's an issue on which church and state are out of step.

:09:42.:09:49.

Same-sex marriage divides Christians and the

:09:50.:09:51.

Today's governing body was meeting in Llandudno and an informal poll

:09:52.:09:58.

A small majority supported change but

:09:59.:10:06.

A bill to allow same-sex marriage in church would fail.

:10:07.:10:11.

It was a risk that the Church would be

:10:12.:10:13.

There is no point in doing something for it to fail,

:10:14.:10:18.

you need a body of people behind you and we need

:10:19.:10:27.

them to do it happily and graciously.

:10:28.:10:29.

And joyously, rather than half-heartedly.

:10:30.:10:30.

What the bishops have given is an unreserved

:10:31.:10:33.

apology to gay and lesbian Christians for the way they've been

:10:34.:10:36.

There are prayers for clergy to say with same-sex

:10:37.:10:41.

couples following a civil ceremony but not a full church blessing, a

:10:42.:10:44.

step dismissed as too small by some and too far by others.

:10:45.:10:50.

I think it has affected the first breach

:10:51.:10:52.

Quite sensibly, from their point of view, in that

:10:53.:11:02.

they can say they have not changed anything but, in fact,

:11:03.:11:05.

from my point of view, they have changed

:11:06.:11:08.

something, they have said implicitly that same-sex marriage is something

:11:09.:11:11.

which can be celebrated, albeit privately.

:11:12.:11:13.

Do you have same-sex couples coming to you saying,

:11:14.:11:20.

please, I wish I could be married in church?

:11:21.:11:22.

Yes, I do and that is very frustrating because we build up a

:11:23.:11:26.

relationship with the people in our congregations and the wider

:11:27.:11:29.

community and it would be lovely to be able to offer a bit more than

:11:30.:11:33.

what we've got at the moment for those couples.

:11:34.:11:37.

Welsh Anglican bishops find themselves between a

:11:38.:11:39.

They know that as it stands they simply can't deliver change, even if

:11:40.:11:51.

they wanted to. They also know it is an issue that won't go away. There

:11:52.:11:58.

is a wider context, relations with the traditionally more conservative

:11:59.:12:04.

Anglican churches around the world, there is absolute resistance to

:12:05.:12:05.

change. There's a question mark tonight over

:12:06.:12:08.

the future of a project to build a race track in Ebbw Vale,

:12:09.:12:13.

which promised thousand of jobs. And coming up

:12:14.:12:16.

I'll have a full weather forecast. Just when you thought spring

:12:17.:12:18.

had arrived it feels more like The leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne

:12:19.:12:21.

Wood says she'd be prepared to accept efficiency savings

:12:22.:12:35.

of ten per cent in the NHS She says the money

:12:36.:12:38.

would be redirected into Plaid, who are the third largest

:12:39.:12:43.

party at the assembly, are looking to make gains

:12:44.:12:47.

after a number of disappointing In the latest of our interviews

:12:48.:12:49.

with the party leaders, our political editor

:12:50.:12:53.

Nick Servini caught up Of all the party leaders I'm

:12:54.:12:54.

interviewing this week, you're the only one who's just

:12:55.:13:06.

released their manifesto. The reason I ask is because

:13:07.:13:07.

what is striking is there are some pretty aggressive savings

:13:08.:13:17.

in the public sector, the cost of It's a document I'm very proud

:13:18.:13:20.

of because it's more That means that Plaid Cymru

:13:21.:13:24.

is serious about offering ourselves as an alternative

:13:25.:13:32.

government to the existing Labour One example is, in the

:13:33.:13:35.

event of a Plaid Cymru government in Cardiff,

:13:36.:13:42.

a business expert would be called in and within 100 days,

:13:43.:13:45.

come together with a series of proposals for

:13:46.:13:49.

?200 million worth of savings. You would commit to

:13:50.:13:52.

introducing half of those. I can't accept that

:13:53.:13:55.

the way that government is run at the moment is being run

:13:56.:14:03.

at its most efficient. Too many managers in the health

:14:04.:14:11.

service, the way surgical lists are

:14:12.:14:13.

organised, for example. If you look at the operation

:14:14.:14:15.

like a business and what you would find is any new company

:14:16.:14:20.

taking over with a new management, they would immediately

:14:21.:14:23.

identify new practices, new ways of operating to make

:14:24.:14:26.

the operation more This doesn't sound

:14:27.:14:28.

like the Leanne Wood... We are not saying we would

:14:29.:14:33.

fully implement all the recommendations that those

:14:34.:14:39.

business leaders would identify. Political decisions

:14:40.:14:41.

would take place and we would ensure within that that

:14:42.:14:48.

when savings are made that they weren't going to impact

:14:49.:14:50.

on the people who are worst off in our society but

:14:51.:14:53.

they will tighten up the operation, they will make efficiency savings

:14:54.:14:56.

and things more lean. What we want to do

:14:57.:14:58.

is create jobs and make sure that we safeguard jobs

:14:59.:15:07.

that are already in Wales. It doesn't sound like it when

:15:08.:15:18.

there are hundreds of millions Look, those policies

:15:19.:15:21.

are going to cost. They are not going to

:15:22.:15:24.

apologise for that. Are you arguing that what we have

:15:25.:15:26.

at the moment is working so well that we

:15:27.:15:28.

don't need to change anything? If you look at the NHS,

:15:29.:15:31.

look at ?300 million identification of saving by the end

:15:32.:15:34.

of the next assembly term, about 4%. There are already 3%

:15:35.:15:37.

efficiency savings Look, one of the things we want

:15:38.:15:42.

to do, one of our key policies is bringing together the health

:15:43.:15:55.

and social care functions. If we do that, we can avoid people

:15:56.:15:57.

staying in There's 3% now, there

:15:58.:15:59.

is 4% identified in the manifesto, so does that mean

:16:00.:16:04.

it's 7% for the NHS? We will see what these

:16:05.:16:07.

business leaders say when they identify it

:16:08.:16:12.

and we will take decisions What we've said,

:16:13.:16:15.

there are savings in the NHS that aren't identified so it

:16:16.:16:23.

will be ploughed back into the NHS. So don't portray this

:16:24.:16:26.

as a cut to the NHS, I want to establish,

:16:27.:16:29.

last question on this, is it 7% efficiency saving or a 4%

:16:30.:16:35.

efficiency saving? Nick, I want to save as much

:16:36.:16:42.

on inefficiencies as we If business people in that

:16:43.:16:45.

commission identify 10% efficiencies to plough back

:16:46.:16:48.

into front line services for staff, But let's see what they come up

:16:49.:16:52.

with first, shall we? We had an interview just a year ago

:16:53.:17:02.

ahead of the general election and then you were saying

:17:03.:17:05.

you were all guns blazing. Not only for the general

:17:06.:17:08.

election but for the I think there's always been

:17:09.:17:10.

an understanding that the assembly election is

:17:11.:17:13.

the big one for Plaid Cymru. Presumably, we judge you on this

:17:14.:17:15.

performance, this result? Nick, I've been all guns blazing

:17:16.:17:17.

since I was elected leader I've gone around the country

:17:18.:17:20.

doing public meeting after public meeting,

:17:21.:17:25.

touring marketplaces... As I said, 700,000 people have

:17:26.:17:26.

been spoken to in the production of our

:17:27.:17:31.

manifesto, so we've production of our manifesto,

:17:32.:17:42.

so we've engaged the biggest engagement exercise that we've ever

:17:43.:17:47.

known as a party. But there's been no increase

:17:48.:17:49.

in people voting for you, Net weight for the election

:17:50.:17:52.

result, shall we? Not a single person has

:17:53.:17:55.

cast their vote yet. We've got four weeks

:17:56.:17:59.

to go of the campaign. We've had 17 years of

:18:00.:18:01.

the Labour government and

:18:02.:18:02.

all outcomes in terms of health, education,

:18:03.:18:04.

and the economy are poor

:18:05.:18:05.

to say the least. We need a new government

:18:06.:18:07.

now and Plaid Cymru is the

:18:08.:18:09.

change Wales need is. Leanne Wood, thank you very much

:18:10.:18:11.

indeed. Leanne Wood there talking

:18:12.:18:12.

to Nick Servini - you can watch that interview again on our website

:18:13.:18:15.

- with a few added extras. Tomorrow night, we'll be hearing

:18:16.:18:18.

from Labour's leader Concerns have been raised

:18:19.:18:20.

about the special transport service, which takes seriously ill children

:18:21.:18:23.

from one hospital to another. Darren Lewis from Pontypridd

:18:24.:18:25.

says his four-year-old daughter has had to wait up to 20

:18:26.:18:28.

hours to be picked up, since special ambulances were moved

:18:29.:18:30.

from their Cardiff base He told me his story as part

:18:31.:18:32.

of My Manifesto 2016 - our project to find out

:18:33.:18:39.

what you want from the government after next month's

:18:40.:18:42.

Assembly Election. On the streets of Pontypridd last

:18:43.:18:43.

week Darren Lewis told us this. If I was First Minister,

:18:44.:18:53.

I would ensure that all My daughter is disabled,

:18:54.:18:55.

she's got a syndrome, Since her birth we've

:18:56.:19:01.

become full-time carers. Sometimes, when she has seizures,

:19:02.:19:08.

she needs to be transferred from one

:19:09.:19:10.

hospital to another. Those ambulances used to

:19:11.:19:13.

come from Cardiff Now they come from

:19:14.:19:19.

a private provider in Bristol. Darren says, in his experience,

:19:20.:19:26.

it's meant waiting up to 20 hours That ambulance has got to cover

:19:27.:19:29.

from Swindon all the way over They've got a three hour

:19:30.:19:33.

target and a four-hour The part of the Welsh NHS

:19:34.:19:41.

which commissions the service says it is a collaboration

:19:42.:19:46.

between hospitals in They wouldn't comment on individual

:19:47.:19:47.

cases but pointed out it provides two ambulances staffed 24 hours

:19:48.:19:51.

a day for South and mid Wales. We would like her to have the same

:19:52.:19:57.

opportunities as everybody else But also as carers we need support

:19:58.:19:59.

and I'd like to see the First Minister put in place support

:20:00.:20:04.

for carers, as well as the people She is full of laughter

:20:05.:20:08.

and giggles all the time but, sometimes, we haven't been out

:20:09.:20:15.

as a couple for four years. It would be nice to do

:20:16.:20:22.

things that a normal couple would do,

:20:23.:20:25.

normal families would do. Darren says his experience

:20:26.:20:29.

is something he wants more politicians to pay attention

:20:30.:20:32.

to in the lead up to the election. No one chooses to find

:20:33.:20:35.

themselves in a carer's role, In future, when she becomes

:20:36.:20:38.

an adult, how difficult is it going to be to access

:20:39.:20:45.

the services that come There were concerns about making

:20:46.:20:47.

changes to this service last year? There was. People who work within

:20:48.:21:03.

the Welsh Ambulance Service told BBC Wales that they were concerned that

:21:04.:21:07.

changing this service and ambulances coming from Bristol instead of

:21:08.:21:10.

Cardiff, before the changes were made last year. We went to the board

:21:11.:21:16.

within the Welsh NHS that commissioned these services and put

:21:17.:21:20.

concerns to them but they said it would result in a more robust

:21:21.:21:25.

service for patients. Then we went to the community health councils who

:21:26.:21:29.

speak up for patients on matters like this and they said that they

:21:30.:21:33.

hadn't been consulted before the change were made which was

:21:34.:21:36.

surprising. They said they would track the performance of this new

:21:37.:21:40.

system. Ambulances coming from Bristol rather than Cardiff. They've

:21:41.:21:45.

not had that information through from the service yet so, in essence,

:21:46.:21:49.

we don't know whether it is better or worse than the system it

:21:50.:21:55.

replaced. One bad experience we had there but nothing conclusive to tell

:21:56.:21:58.

is whether it is better or worse than the system it replaced.

:21:59.:22:01.

Well - if YOU want to be part of My Manifesto 2016 -

:22:02.:22:06.

tell us what you'd do if you were First Minister.

:22:07.:22:22.

We'll be passing on YOUR ideas to whoever's in charge of the Welsh

:22:23.:22:25.

Newport Gwent Dragons Chief Executive Stuart Davies

:22:26.:22:30.

says the announcement of sale plans is "the start of the process"

:22:31.:22:33.

The region is seeking new investment to take over

:22:34.:22:44.

shares currently held 50-50 by the WRU and Newport Rugby Club.

:22:45.:22:46.

They don't have any parties lined up, but Davies has described it

:22:47.:22:49.

Four grey seals have been returned to the wild after

:22:50.:22:56.

being nursed back to health at the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay.

:22:57.:22:59.

The two males and two females were recovered from the North Wales

:23:00.:23:02.

coast over the past five months with various health problems.

:23:03.:23:06.

Although some were reluctant to leave dry land at

:23:07.:23:08.

Maybe it was a bit chilly for a dip. How is the forecast looking? Chilly.

:23:09.:23:21.

Tonight will continue windy with further showers.

:23:22.:23:33.

Temperatures staying above freezing with gale force

:23:34.:23:50.

Here's the picture for 8.00 in the morning.

:23:51.:23:55.

Strong to gale force winds in the northwest.

:23:56.:23:59.

Snow on some hills and mountains. Southern counties a bit better.

:24:00.:24:02.

Drier and brighter at least for a while.

:24:03.:24:04.

During the morning the rain will spread south.

:24:05.:24:06.

Still a few showers in the afternoon but some drier, brighter

:24:07.:24:12.

Top temperatures only 8 to 11 Celsius.

:24:13.:24:15.

Feeling chilly in the wind which will slowly ease

:24:16.:24:17.

Drier in the afternoon and feeling cold and breezy.

:24:18.:24:27.

some rain and showers mainly in the morning.

:24:28.:24:30.

Tomorrow night still a few showers but generally drier.

:24:31.:24:37.

And a chilly night with temperatures

:24:38.:24:39.

The chart for Friday shows a small ridge of high pressure over the UK

:24:40.:24:46.

but this frontal system over Ireland is heading our way.

:24:47.:24:51.

Some sunshine and light winds but it won't last.

:24:52.:24:55.

Rain will spread from the west during the afternoon and evening.

:24:56.:24:57.

There are big question marks over the future of the

:24:58.:25:03.

Circuit of Wales race-track planned for Ebbw Vale.

:25:04.:25:06.

It follows a decision by the Welsh Government

:25:07.:25:11.

that they cannot underwrite investment by the insurance firm

:25:12.:25:13.

Aviva worth more than 350 million pounds.

:25:14.:25:16.

We'll have a quick update at eight, more after the BBC News at Ten,

:25:17.:25:19.

but that is Wales Today, from all of us on the programme,

:25:20.:25:23.

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