12/05/2016 BBC Wales Today

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

Talks will get underway tomorrow between Labour and Plaid Cymru -

after both party leaders gained equal support

from Assembly members to become the next First Minister.

Tonight, we're in Blaenau Gwent, asking voters if Carwyn Jones

They had the most seats so I think they had a

So you are not impressed with the opposition?

I think we have got to do something, anyway, in order to shake it up.

They've been fighting to save their sixth forms.

Now councillors in Pembrokeshire scrap plans to shut

We have been fighting this fight for two years.

It is incredibly tiring but also incredibly fulfilling.

What do we want? Sixth forms.

Carving a way out of poverty - a charity says a new approach

is changing lives and saving public money.

In a country twinned with ours - we're with Welsh charities

in Lesotho trying to help those facing starvation after drought.

And less than a month to go before the Euros 2016,

and the Manic Street Preachers unveiled their anthem

When sport and music meet, either it tends to be a disaster

and I think we've pulled it off, hopefully.

Talks between Labour and Plaid Cymru will get underway tomorrow,

following yesterday's tied vote for First Minister.

Despite not winning a majority in last week's election,

Carwyn Jones was expected to be reappointed to the top job

as his party won the most Assembly Members.

But Plaid Cymru nominated it's leader Leanne Wood -

she won the backing of the Conservatives and Ukip -

Our political editor Nick Servini is at the Senedd.

A lot of informal chat and talks about talks, but nothing

particularly concrete. The truth is, it has been quiet today. A lot of

the AMs have been in their constituencies. Some movement from

Ukip who said they might support Carwyn Jones in future but when you

look at the list of demands, that seems unlikely. We go full circle

and we are left with, I think, the only realistic game in town, which

is a Labour and Plaid Cymru deal. Talks tomorrow. The lieutenants

rather than generals are being sent in, so we are not aware will be from

the Plaid Cymru side of things. In terms of town, from Labour at least,

a more conciliatory aspect to the talking. Less of the attack - minded

criticism, reflected in a chat I had earlier with this labour

representative. It was a difficult day for the whole

institution yesterday. We recognise we have

got responsibilities We think we have got a mandate to

form a Government, in Welsh Labour. We also recognise we have a real

responsibility for the way in which we work with other parties,

because we recognise So we are having conversations and,

in fact, we had a conversation today with Plaid Cymru

to arrange for talks. These talks should take place

tomorrow. And politicans are accusing other

parties of not acting That is right. No shortage of

politicians slinging mud at each other. It is a week since the actual

election and we still don't have a Government. An inevitable question

in all of this is, what do the voters think about it? James

Williams has spent the day in Ebbw Vale.

A town and area built on steel, with an eye on core of political

independence. The people Ebbw Vale are not afraid shaking things up. It

was a sensational victory at the 2005 general election, as Labour's

safest seat in Wales at the time fell to their former AM Peter. The

voters around a Ebbw Vale almost delivered another shock result last

week. The expectation beforehand was that Labour would walk it but

against the odds Plaid Cymru pushed them all the way, slashing Alan

Davies's majority from over 9000 votes to a slender 650. Did you

vote? No, we're not interested in

politics. OK, not interested. And you voted?

I voted Plaid Cymru. I voted Labour.

Why did you vote for the different parties?

To have a change because they have not been in before.

You fancied something different? Yes.

Gwyneth, have you always voted Labour?

I have great faith in the Labour Party.

After yesterday's vote, Labour say Plaid Cymru will have to explain to

their voters across Wales why they were on the same side as Ukip.

Plaid Cymru have got in coalition with the Conservatives.

Did you see that? It was disgusting.

You did not like that? She said she was not going to

collaborate with anybody, didn't she? And she has gone in with them.

I do like her. For Plaid Cymru and the opposition

parties, it was about sending a message. Labour does not have a

majority. I think both parties were damaged by

yesterday's events. For Plaid Cymru, there is the claim be supported Ukip

and the Conservatives, which they said they would not doing the

election. For Labour it was difficult because Carwyn Jones

looked out of control and, when you try to take control of the

Government, that is a bad place to be.

Wales needs a Government. It was not a bad day for democracy,

we saw democracy in action, but Wales needs a Government at the

moment. A few more days will not harm things too much.

How much do these little events in the Senedd register outside of the

Cardiff Bay bubble? Did you see what happened in the Assembly yesterday

with the First Minister 's vote? Not all of it. It started and I

think I went in the other room. I don't know... I'm not that

interested. It is early days in the new Assembly

and a long time until the next election. But if events of the last

few days have set the tone for this term, it is going to be an

interesting five years. James Williams reporting from Ebbw

Vale. Nick, an interesting

day tomorrow as well. That is right and I think the

biggest question we are trying to answer is what exactly Plaid Cymru

want. In order for them to give their support to Labour, what do

they want? On the table from Labour at the moment is an offer to Plaid

Cymru to take a formal party and put together any negotiations in new

legislation. That will not be good enough for Plaid. They will have to

go back to their supporters and party with a real gain as a result

of what has happened and all the indications... The only indication

so far say that... Leanne Wood says they will not be a pushover. Also

possibly voting reform, they want to look at. All should be revealed

tomorrow but it could take some time before they reach a concrete

agreement. Thank you, Nick.

There's much more analysis on our website:

An amateur boxer has appeared in court charged with the murder

Private Matthew Boyd, from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment,

was found unconscious on Lion Street on Sunday morning,

23 year old Jake Vallely has been remanded in custody and will appear

A GP accused of causing the death of a 12-year-old boy

from Blaenau Gwent has admitted adding an entry to his medical

Ryan Morse, from Brynithel, died in 2012 from Addison's disease.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Dr Joanne Rudling,

seen here in the black coat, admitted failing to note down

a phone call with his mother before he died.

Dr Rudling and her colleague, Dr Lindsey Thomas, deny manslaughter

A representative from Wales will sit on the BBC's new management board.

The move was announced in the UK government's plans for the future

The existing BBC Trust, which includes a Welsh member,

will be abolished at the end of this year.

Meanwhile the BBC's director general Tony Hall has committed to spending

more on English language programmes in Wales, while objectives will be

set to improve the number of Welsh voices heard on programmes broadcast

Controversial plans to shake up secondary education in Pembrokeshire

Campaigners fighting to save their school sixth forms

shouted out applause when councillors decided not

What do we want? Sixth form!

Where do we want it? School!

Their message couldn't have been clearer and this

After two years railing against plans to scrap their sixth

form, today it was the plans themselves that were scrapped.

Pembrokeshire is languishing towards the bottom of the pile

The Council say that, of those who do go on to do

A-levels, a quarter of them drop out.

In a bid to drive up performance, they wanted to merge two failing

schools and build a new one minus a sixth form,

hiving that off a specialist centre at Pembrokeshire College,

which they argue would have offered greater choice.

I hoped that councillors would see this as an amazing opportunity,

rather than just carry on with the status quo.

We are not doing well with education.

Our results are incredibly low and we have just

proposed that we carry on doing that and nothing new has come out of this

whole consultation, which is incredibly sad.

Tensions have always run high over these proposals, and there had been

fears that time was running out to secure vital funding

for a new school, but campaigners say they were right to hold out.

Quite frankly, it is better to get it...

For the time frame in terms of finances to be tighter,

to get it right, rather than for the council to relax

It is too big a decision for the next half century

and the next generation of students in this town and county.

St David's and Fishguard supported these plans and, for them,

a new sixth form centre at Pembrokeshire College will go

ahead, just not on the scale the council had hoped,

and for those in Haverford West, well, it's back

What do we want? Sixth form!

A GP surgery with almost four thousand patients in Conwy has

announced it will be terminating its

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board says it will write to patients

of the Llys Meddyg practice to keep them informed of developments.

It follows similar moves by GPs in Prestatyn,

Also in Conwy, 10,000 households will have their rubbish

collected once a month instead of once a fortnight as part

Recycling will still be picked up weekly.

The money-saving changes are expected to start in July

Nearly a quarter of Welsh households live in poverty.

At 23%, that's only 2% less than in 1999, despite it

being a priority for successive Welsh governments.

In more than half of poor families, someone has a job.

But the charity, Oxfam Cymru, has been piloting a new way

of tackling the issue, which it says changes lives

Our economics correspondent, Sarah Dickins,

has been to visit Banwen, at the top of the Dulais Valley.

This is where the coalfield and the Brecon Beacons meet.

Now the industry is largely gone, it is among the poorest

Until now, the Welsh Government's approach to tackling poverty has

been to focus support on the entire local area.

In contrast, Oxfam Cymru's approach concentrates on individuals.

I didn't feel confident about anything, and I couldn't,

so I felt I was really stuck in a rut.

To prove he was trying to find work and get jobseeker's allowance,

But he could not use a computer and his benefits were cut.

Tim is now part of Oxfam's Building Livelihoods project.

It is to improve my confidence and lift myself esteem

and the courses like IT, English and maths,

This used to be an industrial community - a coal community.

Now it is classed as a rural one and the push is to come

here for walking and mountain biking.

In a similar way, the Oxfam project is not looking at the skills people

don't have, but instead trying to look at what they can do

The charity says the new approach pays dividends.

Just because people live close by, it does not mean

Isn't the best way out of poverty jobs?

And actually, only about 12 out of 100 people that have been

A lot of the people we're working with are long-term unemployed

and have a huge number of very complex difficulties.

Obviously, work is a good long-term route out of poverty,

but we have to get people ready for their journey to work.

Also, we need to understand that work in Wales is not as much

of a route out of poverty as it once was.

More than half of poorer families in Wales are in poverty,

despite the fact that someone has a job.

Jan moved to Banwen with her disabled husband

It left me with major problems, anxiety issues...

Having been helped by the Oxfam Cymru project,

she now works as a volunteer teaching jewellery

To help someone, if they achieve that little thing, and you've

been a part of that, it's like, "I did that."

The charity claims that, for every ?1 spent on the project,

A roll call by the Manic Street Preachers in their anthem for Wales'

Eurovision 2016 campaign. Musically it has a feel as if it can

be sanguine a terrace. I think that is what you need from one of these

kind of songs. -- it can be sung on a terrace.

It's been the last day in the job for the man who's been

in the driving seat of Admiral insurance for the last 25 years.

Henry Engelhardt stands down as chief executive,

having taken the company from a start-up - to one of the UK's

This morning, our business correspondent,

Where would you like me to sign the shirt?

Not many departing chief executives get the rock star treatment but not

many turn up on their final day to find 2000 workers wearing T-shirts

with the boss' face on the front and 22 of his sayings on the back. One

of those, if people like what they do they will do it better, has

become Admiral's motto and the driving force behind its success.

It is about giving people the environment to flourish and use

their minds and creativity and intellect, and ingenuity.

The company was built from the ground up to its current position,

implying many people worldwide, the vast majority in Wales. --

employing. From the terrace of the new headquarters building, Henry

Engelhardt told me how the city had changed since they came to look at

it before setting up the company in 1981.

They had a council building. -- 19 91.

They took us to the roof terrace and the shops. Appleby businesses and

houses and a hotel. We nodded our head and looked out at one vast

rubbish tip and now it is incredible. There's restaurants and

hotels and businesses, and homes. It is fantastic. People talk about,

Navy the Welsh do not have that can do mentality, but I say rubbish. --

maybe they do not. It was not all plain sailing.

Hopefully it is like that but there are worse struggles. Especially in

our early years. What were your highlights for

Admiral? When we went public on London stock

exchange, every one of us was a shareholder, and it was a big day.

What is next we personally? Our foundation will go forward and

get bigger every year. We are very keen to support causes here in South

Wales and Wales in general, not just south Wales. This is our adopted

home and we are pleased to live here and be a part of this community.

Henry Engelhardt is not planning on putting his feet up and will still

be involved with Admiral that thinks it is time for others to take the

helm. A small mountain kingdom in southern

Africa, which is twinned with Wales, is facing a crisis that could lead

to thousands of people Food emergencies have been declared

across Lesotho, as a result of the drought caused

by El Nino, a natural warming Now Welsh charities have travelled

to the region to help From Lesotho, Garry Owen sent

this special report. It's a busy morning here in Maseru

city centre and you could argue there are no obvious visible signs

of famine here, but if you move out in that direction

into the countryside, the effect of the lack of food

becomes painfully obvious. The rain never came to Lesotho

this summer and it was 80% of the people of Lesotho

rely on farming for a living but, as you see, their crops

are failing and the situation Water table levels are down

and the crops in the One in three people living

here will need food aid until next year, according to

the United Nations. Dolen Cymru has launched an appeal

and has teachers and education experts advising in the remote

mountain village of Thaba Tscheka. For many of the children in this

school, this porridge - a watery mixture made of maize -

is their only meal of the day, Gwenallt Rees from Cardiff has been

coming here for over 40 years and set up a clinic ten years ago

to help deal with The doctor at the clinic has huge

concerns for the future. A state of emergency has been

declared, but the fear is that the situation can only get

worse, as the winter months set in And you can see more

on the Lesotho drought crisis In Football, Cardiff City have held

talks with first team coach James Rowberry about

the possibility of becoming Slade was removed as manager

at the end of the season, after the Bluebirds missed

their target of a place There's been more success for Welsh

athletes at the Invictus Games for wounded servicemen

and women in Florida. Flight Lieutenant Nathan Jones

from Colwyn Bay has Earlier the officer who broke his

back in a flying accident in Afghanistan had his hopes

of a cycling medal dashed He told the BBC he'd had

an eventful games so far. It was quite a successful day

after my unsuccessful day Tell us about your cuts

and bruises there. A couple of war wounds from having

a little altercation All you have been through,

and the barrier gets you Yeah.

The bike, I think, came off worse. It was carbon and it

smashed to pieces. With less than a month to go before

the start of Euro 2016, the Manic Street Preachers have

unveiled their official anthem The song, called Together Stronger,

celebrates the team qualifying for its first major football

championship in nearly six decades. It's one of a number tracks by Welsh

artists that are being released ahead of the championship,

as Carwyn Jones now reports. There are regular trade may be

political punk music but today the Manics revealed another side to

their songwriting. # Let's set the world alight... #.

It is a triumphal track designed to be charted from maximum volume from

the terraces. The Manics have always been a possessive about sport. But

this is a labour of love. In the past, we wanted to support

sport, during that Welsh manager, and many successive campaigns, with

glorious Billy. When sporting music made, it tends to be either a

disaster really go well and I think we have done well hopefully.

The manics are not the only artists releasing tunes to coincide with the

championship. Singer Chris Phillips releasing tunes to coincide with the

from Cardiff wrote this track, Let The Good Times Roll.

Originally I wrote it while we were playing Russia in the play-offs. We

got knocked out. When we beat Belgium last summer, my friend

texted me and said he should release that football song and record it. --

that I should. Another song coming our way about

football comes from Super Bari Animals. Returning to the studio,

they have given us an old song. It is not officially released until

tomorrow but we know it is sung entirely in Welsh. -- Super Furry

Animals. Sporting anthem is usually are disliked by music critics but

why do so many Welsh artists give it a go?

It is not like they are jumping on the bandwagon and glory hunters. We

know that the Manics and the super Bari animals are writing it because

of the songs for the situation ahead.

However it goes, at least we will have plenty of anthems to charge

from the terraces and victory in the Euros will certainly be music to

their ears. Let's get a full

weather forecast now. Behnaz, how's it looking?

It is not looking and buying and things turned more

mild by the middle of next week. A reminder of our top story and

talks between Labour and Plaid Cymru will get underway tomorrow after a

vote for First Minister was tied between Carwyn Jones and Leanne

Wood. We'll have a quick update at 9pm,

and more after the BBC News at 10pm. From all of us here,

have a good evening.