:00:00. > :00:00.Martin McGuinness is stepping down from politics for good.
:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight:
:00:00. > :00:07.Patients here are still waiting longer than those in England
:00:08. > :00:13.Tonight, we ask the Health Secretary if he takes responsibility.
:00:14. > :00:17.Not everyone who waits waits in pain or discomfort but some people do and
:00:18. > :00:21.for lots of people there is anxiety that goes with the wait for
:00:22. > :00:24.treatment and I have got responsibility overall as a
:00:25. > :00:27.politician for the whole system and I don't try to hide from that.
:00:28. > :00:31.Melanie Woodcock was sent to prison for not paying her council tax.
:00:32. > :00:34.The High Court rules she was unlawfully jailed.
:00:35. > :00:39.I think it's wrong that if you are struggling with a bill
:00:40. > :00:45.that you are sent into a prison full of criminals.
:00:46. > :00:50.Closed down after an inquiry found patients were treated like animals.
:00:51. > :00:52.A long-awaited report into the Tawel Fan mental
:00:53. > :00:58.Getting us out of our cars and onto our bikes -
:00:59. > :01:00.Cardiff is aiming to become one of the leading cycling cities
:01:01. > :01:07.And in tonight's sport, 74 days at sea.
:01:08. > :01:11.The ocean threw everything at him but Welsh sailor
:01:12. > :01:15.Alex Thomson finishes runner up in the Vendee Globe and is set
:01:16. > :01:37.Latest figures show that waiting times in the Welsh NHS still lag
:01:38. > :01:41.behind the health service in England in most of the key categories
:01:42. > :01:46.Average waits for hip replacements in Wales are three times
:01:47. > :01:49.longer than in England, although there's been a big
:01:50. > :01:53.reduction in the Welsh wait for heart by-pass surgery.
:01:54. > :02:06.More from our political editor Nick Servini.
:02:07. > :02:15.Ab with her dog at home in Newquay in Ceredigion. 82-year-old Margaret
:02:16. > :02:20.Brazier can now enjoy a short walk thanks to a hip replacement
:02:21. > :02:25.operation last year at nearby wrong lies hospital. It was cancelled four
:02:26. > :02:30.times but she eventually had the surgery after waiting six months.
:02:31. > :02:33.You are on tenterhooks waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for a
:02:34. > :02:40.letter when you are going to be able to come in and you have got pain in
:02:41. > :02:44.your groin. It's difficult to walk. Just a very frustrating. Your life
:02:45. > :02:48.is virtually on hold. Official figures from last year show she
:02:49. > :02:52.wasn't alone. The main statistical bodies for the NHS have found that
:02:53. > :02:57.patients in Wales waited significantly longer than in England
:02:58. > :03:02.in seven out of the 11 categories. And the biggest gap was in hip
:03:03. > :03:09.operations, where the average Welsh weight was 226 days compared to 76
:03:10. > :03:15.in England. Elsewhere, waits for a hernia operations in Wales were 120
:03:16. > :03:21.days compared with 43 in England. Cataract waits in Wales were 107
:03:22. > :03:25.days compared with 58 in England. But it wasn't all bad. Cancer waits
:03:26. > :03:29.were broadly the same as in England and there was a dramatic fall in the
:03:30. > :03:34.length of time patients wait for heart bypass surgery in Wales. It is
:03:35. > :03:39.very frustrating to see that things aren't better but it is no surprise.
:03:40. > :03:43.Everyday we can see the pressure that the hospitals are under when we
:03:44. > :03:47.are working there. You can see the pressure that the emergency services
:03:48. > :03:52.and doctors and nurses are under in managing the demand for emergency
:03:53. > :03:54.care. The Welsh government has come under fire from opposition parties
:03:55. > :04:00.who say the figures are scandalous and in particular hit the elderly
:04:01. > :04:03.the hardest. The Health Secretary Vaughan Gething admits some of the
:04:04. > :04:08.weights are unacceptable but says there needs to be changed because
:04:09. > :04:12.the current structure in the NHS is unlikely to deliver the waiting
:04:13. > :04:19.times people want. Do you take responsibility? These people are in
:04:20. > :04:23.pain for months longer than they would be if they lived the other
:04:24. > :04:28.side of the border. Not everyone who waits deals with pain and
:04:29. > :04:32.discomfort. Not everyone who waits and waits in pain but some people do
:04:33. > :04:35.and for lots of people there is anxiety that goes with the wait for
:04:36. > :04:38.treatment and I have got responsibility overall as a
:04:39. > :04:46.politician for the whole system and I don't type to hide from that. My
:04:47. > :04:50.job is to make the case for a public service that delivers high-quality
:04:51. > :04:54.care and the improvements that all of us would wish to see. There are
:04:55. > :04:57.no easy answers to figures like these but political pressure on
:04:58. > :05:02.ministers would be to throw even more money at hospitals like this
:05:03. > :05:06.one but that creates even more pressure from other public services
:05:07. > :05:11.that already feel starved of cash because of demands from the NHS and
:05:12. > :05:14.then there is the growing realisation that simply throwing
:05:15. > :05:19.money at it is probably not the long-term answer anyway. All the
:05:20. > :05:23.recent attention has been on winter pressures but they rise in emergency
:05:24. > :05:28.admissions has a big knock on for the time it takes to treat patients
:05:29. > :05:29.elsewhere. And those preparing for planned operations are often the
:05:30. > :05:31.ones who suffer. Our Health Correspondent
:05:32. > :05:33.Owain Clarke is here. To what extent are these differences
:05:34. > :05:43.accepted as a problem in Wales? The Wales Audit Office and others
:05:44. > :05:48.have been warning about waiting times for quite some time. The boss
:05:49. > :05:52.of the NHS Andrew Goodall will be appearing before Assembly Members on
:05:53. > :05:56.Monday to discuss this issue. He has prepared this document in advance
:05:57. > :06:03.and it says quite clearly, waiting times in Wales are too long, waiting
:06:04. > :06:08.lists are 6% bigger than in January 2015, but that's because demand is
:06:09. > :06:12.increasing. GP referrals are 9% in three years and that is the
:06:13. > :06:17.fundamental problem. We have a system that is unbalanced, the
:06:18. > :06:22.demand exceeds the NHS' ability to deliver. And the Health Secretary
:06:23. > :06:25.has admitted that some of these weights are unacceptable but can
:06:26. > :06:31.waiting times be brought down? Where there is a will and a focus it can
:06:32. > :06:35.happen. Surgeons warned that too many people were dying on cardiac
:06:36. > :06:39.lists. A range of measures including sending Seb Davies to England were
:06:40. > :06:50.introduced and that brought waiting times down. -- sending some patients
:06:51. > :06:53.to England. That means the Welsh government needs to invest in
:06:54. > :06:58.different types of treatment, physiotherapy, keeping people out of
:06:59. > :07:01.hospitals, even changing the system more radically and changing models
:07:02. > :07:02.of care but that can be painfully slow to deliver and people on
:07:03. > :07:05.waiting lists can relate to that. A woman from Porthcawl
:07:06. > :07:08.who was unlawfully jailed for failing to pay her council tax
:07:09. > :07:10.says she will never recover Melanie Woolcock is calling
:07:11. > :07:15.for a change in the law after being sentenced to 81 days
:07:16. > :07:18.in prison for failing to pay ?10 She was released half way through
:07:19. > :07:24.after a charity took up her case. Melanie Woolcock is currently
:07:25. > :07:31.juggling two jobs, running a shop As single mother, she says
:07:32. > :07:36.trying to make ends meet pushed her into debt
:07:37. > :07:40.but she was paying it off. I fell behind roughly about ten
:07:41. > :07:44.weeks, realised that, and then paid ten weeks in one go
:07:45. > :07:50.but the day I paid the money, a warrant had been issued
:07:51. > :07:55.to arrest me for nonpayment so it was too late for me
:07:56. > :08:01.to do anything about it. I think it's wrong that
:08:02. > :08:04.if you are struggling with a bill, that you are sent into a prison
:08:05. > :08:11.full of criminals. When I have never committed
:08:12. > :08:14.a crime in my entire life, And yet they are able
:08:15. > :08:22.to take you into prison Yesterday a High Court judge ruled
:08:23. > :08:29.she had been unlawfully jailed. The lawyer who represented her says
:08:30. > :08:33.most cases of this type which go We have won the case
:08:34. > :08:40.in front of the High Court because there was no adequate
:08:41. > :08:44.enquiry into means or investigation It is approximately 90%
:08:45. > :08:52.or thereabouts of cases that are quashed by the High Court
:08:53. > :08:57.and it is very unusual in any system to see that number of decisions
:08:58. > :09:00.to be found subsequently She only got help because while in
:09:01. > :09:07.prison she found a magazine article on council tax debt and wrote
:09:08. > :09:12.for help from a charity. The author of that article says
:09:13. > :09:15.the impact of such sentences on families already struggling
:09:16. > :09:18.financially is terrible and wants an end to imprisonment for all types
:09:19. > :09:23.of civil debt. Two people a week go to prison
:09:24. > :09:28.unlawfully so it is a small number compared with all the Magistrates'
:09:29. > :09:32.Courts dealing with all the council tax debt but in terms of the human
:09:33. > :09:37.cost, it is very serious. Prisons are not places for people
:09:38. > :09:40.who have financial difficulty, prisons are there for serious
:09:41. > :09:45.offenders who have committed crimes and caused great damage so it is two
:09:46. > :09:50.people a week and this, Bridgend Council, which was owed
:09:51. > :09:59.the money, says they have a legal responsibility to collect unpaid
:10:00. > :10:04.council tax but offer help to anyone experiencing difficulty
:10:05. > :10:07.and prosecution is always "We understand that the resident
:10:08. > :10:13.in this case was jailed "after failing to meet
:10:14. > :10:16.the requirements of "the suspended sentence issued
:10:17. > :10:22.by the Magistrates' Court, they say. Melanie says she will never recover
:10:23. > :10:25.from her experience. I was in a prison with,
:10:26. > :10:28.you know, paedophiles, She is now working with
:10:29. > :10:38.University Law departments She is now working with University
:10:39. > :10:40.law departments to try Ministers in Wales need to be given
:10:41. > :10:52.confidence their views on Brexit are making a difference,
:10:53. > :10:54.according to the Welsh Mark Drakeford was speaking
:10:55. > :10:57.after a joint committee on Brexit set up by the UK Government met
:10:58. > :11:01.for the first time since Theresa May said the UK should leave
:11:02. > :11:03.the European single market. This is meant to be
:11:04. > :11:05.a fundamental forum. It was referenced by
:11:06. > :11:07.the Prime Minister in her speech and I feel that we need to be given
:11:08. > :11:10.confidence by the UK Government that we are not simply
:11:11. > :11:13.here to express our views but that those views go
:11:14. > :11:16.on and make a difference. Even the Welsh Government accepted
:11:17. > :11:18.today that the language the Prime Minister used earlier
:11:19. > :11:21.this week about a free-trade agreement with the European Union
:11:22. > :11:25.is not inconsistent with the language they have talked
:11:26. > :11:28.about so this demonstrates there is a lot of common ground
:11:29. > :11:31.but I am not underestimating Let's get more now from our
:11:32. > :11:57.parliamentary correspondent, Theresa May set up one of the
:11:58. > :12:02.objectives which was to strengthen the United Kingdom and to strengthen
:12:03. > :12:06.the bond between the four nations. But as you heard, there is
:12:07. > :12:10.frustration from the devolved governments. The Scot said they were
:12:11. > :12:13.being told what to do and they didn't like it and the Northern
:12:14. > :12:22.Irish are talking about leaving the process entirely. So what did they
:12:23. > :12:25.talk about today? There was a man from Scotland and from Northern
:12:26. > :12:29.Ireland. No plan on the table from Wales yet but I am told by Mark
:12:30. > :12:33.Drakeford that we will get that on Monday and that will set out in some
:12:34. > :12:38.detail what the Welsh government sees as the key issue, the most
:12:39. > :12:40.significant issue from Brexit as far as Wales is concerned, and how to
:12:41. > :12:45.deliver those objectives in the process. We will find out where that
:12:46. > :12:47.is discussed in the next meeting of this forum next month whether the UK
:12:48. > :12:51.Government is prepared to listen. Publication of a long-awaited report
:12:52. > :12:54.into the scandal-hit Tawel Fan ward at Glan Clwyd Hospital
:12:55. > :12:57.is to be delayed again. The mental health ward
:12:58. > :13:00.in Bodelwyddan was closed in December 2013 after an inquiry
:13:01. > :13:03.found some patients had been This comes after the release
:13:04. > :13:07.of another document, suggesting the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board
:13:08. > :13:10.was at risk of failing to comply with laws designed
:13:11. > :13:24.to protect vulnerable people. It was perhaps among the biggest
:13:25. > :13:29.scandals to hit a Welsh hospital and a Welsh health board. The closed
:13:30. > :13:32.mental health ward with the most vulnerable patients. An earlier
:13:33. > :13:37.report highlighted institutional abuse there. Two more detailed
:13:38. > :13:40.independent reports were commissioned and three years on it
:13:41. > :13:45.has emerged they will be ready until the summer. I am absolutely appalled
:13:46. > :13:48.that we are now over 18 months since the publication of the Tawel Fan
:13:49. > :13:52.report, which found shocking standards of care and abuse on
:13:53. > :13:57.mental health ward and yet no one has been held to account for what
:13:58. > :14:00.went wrong. We need this work to be completed as soon as possible and we
:14:01. > :14:05.need those who are responsible to lose their jobs and face the
:14:06. > :14:08.consequences for their actions. The Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board points
:14:09. > :14:13.out that the people who are writing these reports are fully independent.
:14:14. > :14:17.Since they were commissioned, more information has come to light and
:14:18. > :14:21.the families of more Tawel Fan patients have come forward. In any
:14:22. > :14:25.event, the health board says better a full report than a Russian one.
:14:26. > :14:28.But further questions are being asked about whether all patients
:14:29. > :14:34.being treated in North Wales hospitals are safe. A health
:14:35. > :14:38.campaign group has drawn attention to what's called a safeguarding
:14:39. > :14:42.report. It highlights high levels of risk in a number of areas, including
:14:43. > :14:48.failures to comply with the Mental Health Act and deprivation of
:14:49. > :14:51.liberty safeguards. So our patients at risk? It is a question I put to
:14:52. > :14:56.Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board chief executive Gary Doherty. We are
:14:57. > :15:01.waiting for the historic report and I would say that all the evidence we
:15:02. > :15:06.have got, everything I have seen and people I have spoken to, are giving
:15:07. > :15:10.good quality of care to people. We aren't always getting it right, but
:15:11. > :15:14.people can feel when they come here, we will give them the kind of care,
:15:15. > :15:19.attention and treatment that anybody would want to have and I would want
:15:20. > :15:22.anybody to have. The health board is keen to distance its annual
:15:23. > :15:27.safeguarding report from what happened at Tawel Fan. So great was
:15:28. > :15:31.the scandal, a mere mention of the health ward prompts concern.
:15:32. > :15:34.Still to come in the programme: On Barack Obama's final full day
:15:35. > :15:37.in power, pupils at a Newport school remember the day the President
:15:38. > :15:44.And there's no sign of any snow but if you're fed-up with the grey,
:15:45. > :15:51.cloudy weather, I've got some good news.
:15:52. > :15:55.Cardiff is aiming to become one of the UK's leading cycling cities
:15:56. > :15:59.The target is to get more than half of commuters out
:16:00. > :16:02.of their cars and cycling, walking or taking public
:16:03. > :16:07.The plan was approved by the council's cabinet today
:16:08. > :16:10.and they are now inviting views from the public.
:16:11. > :16:23.With congestion and traffic jams a consistent problem, Cardiff Council
:16:24. > :16:27.wants to get more of us on our bikes. It's been working closely
:16:28. > :16:32.with experts from the Danish capital Copenhagen about how to make Cardiff
:16:33. > :16:35.one of the UK's leading cycling cities. The 10-year strategy aims to
:16:36. > :16:41.address the concerns many people have about cycling. Improving
:16:42. > :16:44.safety, lighting, parking, road surfaces and cycle paths. This
:16:45. > :16:49.charity says continuous cycle lanes are key. You can set off on a
:16:50. > :16:55.journey and suddenly find that you have to go back into the mainstream
:16:56. > :16:59.with the traffic and we found that many of our customers had told us
:17:00. > :17:03.they would just get off the bike and start wheeling it. Cardiff Council
:17:04. > :17:06.hopes that half of commuters will get out of their cars and onto
:17:07. > :17:14.public transport or will cycle or walk to work by 2021. A target of
:17:15. > :17:21.60% has been set for 2026. Most of the trips that take place in Cardiff
:17:22. > :17:25.are in the city are less than three miles. To go by bike would take
:17:26. > :17:30.about 20 minutes. Why should we not improve the cycle lanes? The plans
:17:31. > :17:35.include creating cycle lanes segregated in places from the
:17:36. > :17:39.traffic along two primary routes, providing continuous cycling between
:17:40. > :17:42.communities and key destinations. The first primary route would go
:17:43. > :17:48.from Cardiff Bay through the city centre to a planned new housing
:17:49. > :17:53.development. The second primary route would go from Saint Mellons in
:17:54. > :17:58.the East through the city centre and out beyond Fairwater in the West. If
:17:59. > :18:02.the plans go ahead, it would enable businesses like this coffee tried to
:18:03. > :18:08.expand into areas which are currently difficult to access by
:18:09. > :18:12.bike. Newport Road is quite fast and busy and unless you are really
:18:13. > :18:17.confident on your bike, even on my own personal bike, I am not that
:18:18. > :18:21.comfortable on Newport Road. What happens here will be watched closely
:18:22. > :18:25.across the country. All Welsh councils have a duty to improve
:18:26. > :18:29.sustainable forms of transport. Cardiff Council has now launched a
:18:30. > :18:33.12 week public consultation period to get residents views on what would
:18:34. > :18:35.make them get and stay on their bikes.
:18:36. > :18:42.He has battled everything the ocean has thrown at him.
:18:43. > :18:45.Alex Thomson is set to receive a hero's welcome tomorrow morning
:18:46. > :18:47.as he finishes second in the Vendee Globe,
:18:48. > :18:52.The 42-year-old, who was born in Bangor, was bidding to become
:18:53. > :18:55.the first non-French winner but his push for glory petered out
:18:56. > :19:02.Battling the waves alone, Alex Thomson has survived on no
:19:03. > :19:07.more than 20 minutes of sleep every few hours for the last 74 days.
:19:08. > :19:11.He has pushed himself to the limit and come back fighting every time.
:19:12. > :19:15.His final attempt at reeling in his French rival ended yesterday
:19:16. > :19:18.when technical equipment let him down.
:19:19. > :19:21.He has kept his supporters aware of his progress
:19:22. > :19:30.throughout his journey, posting at times emotional videos.
:19:31. > :19:38.I just worry about what is going to happen over the next
:19:39. > :19:50.For his family waiting at the finish line, it's been
:19:51. > :20:00.I have spoken to him, I have been in contact,
:20:01. > :20:02.but actually seeing him is totally different.
:20:03. > :20:05.Not having much sleep, my heart is beating and racing,
:20:06. > :20:10.just incredibly proud, just so proud, and every time
:20:11. > :20:15.I think of him crossing the line, I get very emotional.
:20:16. > :20:20.The winner crossed the line this afternoon and Alex is expected
:20:21. > :20:25.With low tide, he will sleep in his boat until morning
:20:26. > :20:29.where his arrival and reunion with loved ones can be captured
:20:30. > :20:35.Wales' youngest football international Harry Wilson has
:20:36. > :20:38.made his first senior appearance for Liverpool.
:20:39. > :20:40.The 19-year-old came off the bench as a second-half substitute
:20:41. > :20:45.Born in Wrexham, he beat Gareth Bale's record when he played
:20:46. > :20:48.for Wales at the age of 16 years and 207 days.
:20:49. > :20:50.And Glamorgan have confirmed that Jacques Rudolph will remain
:20:51. > :20:53.as captain despite a disappointing season with the bat.
:20:54. > :20:56.On his final full day in power, pupils at a school in Newport have
:20:57. > :20:58.been reminiscing about the day President Barack Obama
:20:59. > :21:03.Back in 2014, Mount Pleasant Primary School got in touch with NATO ahead
:21:04. > :21:07.They didn't expect anything to come of their request for a VIP visit
:21:08. > :21:10.but soon they were rubbing shoulders with the most powerful
:21:11. > :21:17.The first-ever visit to Wales by a sitting president
:21:18. > :21:21.It was pupils at Mount Pleasant Primary School who were among
:21:22. > :21:26.Ben and Ella were in year six at the time.
:21:27. > :21:37.Two people who wrote welcome speeches and spoke to Mr Obama
:21:38. > :21:43.in person now in high school looking back.
:21:44. > :21:52.If that handle went, teachers were coming back and forth,
:21:53. > :21:54.pushing the handle, and you would just sit up.
:21:55. > :21:58.When he entered the room we were so happy.
:21:59. > :22:01.So how do they think the 44th president of the United States
:22:02. > :22:08.Certainly we will be a lot more interested in what he does.
:22:09. > :22:11.The election, I did watch a lot of that and it has
:22:12. > :22:15.changed my life a lot and it has changed my perspective on things.
:22:16. > :22:22.I have gained a lot of confidence from doing that.
:22:23. > :22:26.Looking back, I figure that I can say, I did a welcome speech
:22:27. > :22:36.Whenever I go back to Mount Pleasant,
:22:37. > :22:39.I will always have the memories that I met him there.
:22:40. > :22:44.He will always be the president that visited this little Welsh school.
:22:45. > :22:47.Debate over his achievements will continue.
:22:48. > :22:51.His legacy here though as the happy man from Chicago
:22:52. > :22:58.who came to class one day seems secure.
:22:59. > :23:04.Time for the weather now. Derek, how's it looking?
:23:05. > :23:10.Rain is forecast in Washington DC tomorrow with a high of 8 Celsius.
:23:11. > :23:13.On this side of the pond, it's much more settled
:23:14. > :23:19.Most of the country grey again today.
:23:20. > :23:23.But parts of the south and the south-west
:23:24. > :23:29.Tonight, cloudy in the north with the odd spot of
:23:30. > :23:34.Elsewhere, the cloud will clear so turning cold with some frost.
:23:35. > :23:39.Here's the picture for 8:00am in the morning.
:23:40. > :23:45.The odd spot of drizzle over the Irish Sea.
:23:46. > :23:54.One or two fog patches but most places clear and sunny.
:23:55. > :23:58.During the day, the cloud in the far north will clear.
:23:59. > :24:04.Much of the country enjoying a fine and sunny afternoon.
:24:05. > :24:07.A welcome change after a few days of grey weather.
:24:08. > :24:10.Temperatures on the chilly side with a light to moderate breeze.
:24:11. > :24:13.In Bridgend tomorrow, fine and sunny.
:24:14. > :24:17.Temperatures rising to 5 or 6 Celsius with an easterly breeze.
:24:18. > :24:20.In Montgomeryshire, dry and much sunnier than today.
:24:21. > :24:26.Tomorrow night will be dry, clear and cold with a widespread frost.
:24:27. > :24:31.A few freezing fog patches and some low cloud later in the night.
:24:32. > :24:33.Saturday will be colder but generally dry.
:24:34. > :24:36.Some low cloud, mist and fog patches.
:24:37. > :24:39.The best of the sunshine in the north.
:24:40. > :24:44.Cloudy and cold but bright in places with some sunshine.
:24:45. > :24:47.High pressure over the UK on Monday means a dry
:24:48. > :24:58.We'll have a quick update at 8pm and more after the BBC News at Ten.
:24:59. > :25:01.For now, from all of us on the programme,