23/11/2017 BBC Wales Today

That's all from the BBC News at Six.

Welcome to Wales Today.

Our top stories this evening -

The First Minister, Carwyn Jones,

refers himself to an independent

investigation to look at allegations

of bullying in the Welsh Government.

The First Minister shouldn't be

investigating himself, so to the

extent he is referring this to

someone who is independent, that is

something we would welcome.

Also tonight - three feet of water

gushing down Llangefni High Street -

the clean-up after torrential rain

caused flooding across

Anglesey and Gwynedd.

Anglesey and Gwynedd.

I have lived in Llangefni for 40

years, and I never thought I would

see the river bursting its bank and

coming through the town centre like

it did last night. It was terrible.

Waiting-time targets

for cancer treatment

in Wales could be changed to better

reflect how long patients

are actually waiting.

are actually waiting.

I suppose you are knocked out. You

won't have to bear this hell any

more.

This war film was shot in Wales -

but is the Welsh Government getting

value for money on its

multi-million pound

investment in the industry?

In tonight's sport, that familiar

losing feeling. Can the skipper

inspire Wales to a first win over

the all Blacks in more than six

decades?

Good evening.

The First Minister has confirmed

tonight he's referred himself

to an independent investigation

to look at allegations of bullying

in the Welsh Government

dating back to 2014.

Following the death

of Carl Sargeant, former minister

Leighton Andrews and former adviser

Steve Jones alleged there had been

bullying and a "toxic"

atmosphere in the last

Welsh Government administration.

Our political editor

Nick Servini has the details.

Another week, and the First Minister

faces another enquiry, this time

over historic bullying allegations

at the top of the Welsh government.

They were made by this man, Leighton

Andrews, the former minister for

public services, and also the First

Minister's Special Advisor Steve

Jones, who said there was a cultural

pure poison. They said it was toxic

and that there was bullying in 2014.

Last week, Carwyn Jones provoked a

furious reaction from opposition

parties when he refused to answer

questions about the claims.

I have nothing to add to the answers

I have already given, but I do,

again, of course reiterate the

invitation that was made yesterday,

if anyone wishes to come forward

with further information.

But he struck a very different,

conciliatory tone this week during

First Minister's Questions, when he

said he accepted it was an issue

that would need further scrutiny.

And tonight, Carwyn Jones said in a

statement:

He went on to say he had accepted

with a current adviser to the

Scottish Government: The

Conservatives have succeeded in

getting a debate and vote next week

at the senedd on whether there

should be an assembly committee on

the claims.

That vote is now unlikely to

succeed. Particularly, as this

development was largely welcomed by

the opposition parties.

I think this

is a step in the right direction,

away from the First Minister

investigating himself, but he has

still got quite a lot of

involvement, choosing who this

person is and what happens when this

person reports.

We think what is required is for an

assembly committee, as we are

proposing at the Conservative group

on Wednesday, to make the decision,

is this a genuinely independent

process?

By responses this: It is a bit rich

of labour are to be asking for an

independent adviser now. It is

something that Plaid Cymru have been

calling for for a long time, and

people will be asking, well, why are

they doing it now and now they are

in a difficult situation? So, yes,

it is good that they are doing it,

but it should have happened a long

time ago.

One of the minister said to have

been undermined back in 2014 was

Carl Sargeant, whose death a

fortnight ago sparked a crisis for

the Welsh government. There are

already enquiries into the

circumstances surrounding his death.

The First Minister will now have a

separate one looking into events not

just a few weeks ago, but too few

years ago. -- a few years ago.

A second man is being investigated

over allegations of sexual abuse

on Caldey Island in Pembrokeshire.

Police say he was a visitor

to the island in the 1970s and 80s.

Two more complaints have also been

made about Father Thaddeus Kotick.

11 women have accused the monk

of abusing them on the island

during the same period.

Burial and cremation fees

for children are being scrapped.

The Welsh Government is making up

to £1.5 million available between

now and 2020 to assist

councils with the costs.

It follows a campaign

by Swansea East MP, Carolyn Harris,

who had to take out a loan to pay

for her own son's funeral.

More than 2,000 people

who bought tickets through

Back to our top story now.

Nick is at the senedd.

Was this announcement by Carwyn

Jones inevitable?

To an extent, I

think there was a degree of

inevitability. Maybe not necessarily

on this form, but earlier in the

week, you will remember Carwyn Jones

opened the door himself to a degree

of scrutiny with regard to this

matter, and it will look into

whether the Ministerial Code was

broken when in 2014, Carwyn Jones

said he received no allegations of

bullying, and then last week said

any issues that were raised were

dealt with at the time. You get into

the issue of processors of how to

scrutinise a First Minister here,

but all said and done, the clear

intention here is to come out with

some kind of relatively neat

solution and to try to take that

staying out of a vote that is due to

be held here on the subject next

week. I don't think they will

necessarily be that much criticism

of the substance of what was

announced here rather than the

timing. It was a bit like the first

enquiry, a lot of political

criticism could have been avoided if

this was announced a few days

earlier, but it has been a

fast-moving story. A final thought,

the First Minister now is facing two

independent investigations following

the death of Carl Sargeant. He would

never have faced such a degree of

independent scrutiny.

Nick, thank you.

Travel remains disrupted tonight

after yesterday's heavy rain,

which caused flooding in

north west Wales.

Some roads remain closed in Gwynedd

and on Anglesey and trains

between Holyhead and Bangor

are cancelled until tomorrow.

People had to be rescued

from vehicles in Bethesda,

and Llangefni town centre

was flooded by around

three feet of water.

Roger Pinney reports.

Torrents of water captured on mobile

phone cameras, then posted on social

media, along with comments like, we

have never seen anything like this.

The flooding followed the best part

of 24 hours of heavy rain in

Anglesey and parts of Llangefni.

If I put my foot on here, you can

see was knee deep in the living room

here.

Today, counting the cost, starting

with clearer. The Ashworth family

have had a flat before, -- a flood

before, but nothing like last night.

It came through the house, through

the drive, through Maiga arch,

everything. And they have bubbled up

under the floor. Although we had

sandbags, it was actually coming up

under the floor.

All the homes in the short terrace

where they live have been affected.

The river is just at the back of

them. It is still high and fast

flowing, but nothing like it was

last night. What no one bargained

for was the speed with which the

river rose, bursting its banks,

turning the town centre into a flood

plain. And there, it is shops and

offices that are flooded, although

traders insist the place remains

open for business. Tracy Bevan runs

an outdoor equipment shop. She told

me that even before last night, she

has struggled to find flood

insurance. What did you find when

you got here?

A torrent of water was

just coming down here, just like a

fast flowing river. Our shop over

the road was up to the windowsill.

But here, we could at least get into

the shop. But once we were in the

shop, we then could not get out, so

we had to get the fire brigade to

come and rescue us.

I have never

seen anything like it before.

I have lived in Llangefni for nearly

40 years, and I never thought I

would see the river bursting its

banks and coming to the town centre

like it did last night. It was

terrible.

And it wasn't just

Llangefni.

There are problems across Anglesey

and North West Wales. Transport has

been disrupted, some roads remained

closed, rail services delayed.

Questions are being asked about the

cause of a landslip which blocked

the main road. Some of last night's

damage will take awhile to repair.

Cancer is the biggest cause

of premature death in Wales.

Anyone born after 1960 now has

a 50-50 chance of developing

the disease during their lifetime.

But some people are waiting

too long for treatment,

with the NHS once again failing

to meet one of its key

cancer targets.

But are things about to change?

In a major speech this afternoon,

the Health Secretary announced plans

that could see Wales' current

cancer-targets scrapped.

Our Health Correspondent

Owain Clarke reports.

Two years ago, Kat Harding got the

news no one wanted to hear. After

going to see her GP and getting

tests, she was told she had bowel

cancer.

I was in such a state of shock.

Within five weeks, she had had

chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and

12 weeks later, surgery. But each

day brought new worries and

uncertainties.

It is awful. It is

like you are outside looking in. You

are underwater. Nothing makes sense.

Nothing.

The earlier cancer gets treated, the

more likely the patient is to

recover. At a major conference at

the principalities 's fading today,

experts met to discuss how to speed

things up. The Welsh NHS has not

performed as well as it should in

some areas of cancer care. If a GP

thinks someone has cancer, in 95% of

cases, treatment should start within

62 days of a referral. But that

target hasn't been met since 2008.

But a second target has been met.

98% of patients who have been

investigated for something else,

then found out they have cancer,

star treatment within 31 days with a

care plan being agreed.

What we know

is that there is sometimes a delay

at times when a patient is told they

are suspected of having cancer, or

even from the time they are

diagnosed with cancer, from when we

start measuring the time that they

are waiting.

And in his keynote speech at the

conference, the Health Secretary

outlined a plan that could see the

two Tigers replaced with a new one.

It is not clear yet what that would

be, and it does mean waiting times

for all cancer patients would be

measured in the same way. The first

time this has been done in the UK.

It could make a difference, and if

it didn't, we would not bother to do

this. Every time we change a

measure, there is the inevitable

criticism of the reason for change,

and people doubting why you are

doing it.

But it is not just about targets.

Better survival rates mean that by

2030, the number of people living

with cancer on Wales will have

doubled to more than 200,000 people,

more than 2.5 times the number of

people who will be coming here on

Saturday to watch the All Blacks

play. But in terms of cancer

survival, Wales is far behind the

best in the world, with some experts

suggesting that 600 more patients a

year could survive cancer if service

is here performed with the best in

Europe.

We know that with 19,000

people, more people than ever being

diagnosed with cancer, and more

people than ever needing to be going

through the tests to find out

whether they have cancer or not,

there is a huge challenge ahead.

Critics say that by ditching the

current Tigers, the Welsh government

is trying to move the goalposts, but

for Cath it wasn't about targets.

What mattered was the quality of her

care.

Targets, it's like... It meant

nothing at the time. I just wanted

to get on with it and go through it

and come out the other side.

Cath Harding ending that

report by Owain Clarke.

It's been revealed that the Welsh

Government has invested almost

£12 million in 12 feature films -

but so far only one

has returned a profit.

The Government says it's too early

to judge the success of the scheme,

but the figures have prompted calls

for more transparency.

Our Arts and Media Correspondent,

Huw Thomas, is at the premiere

of one of the films tonight.

Huw.

Yes, welcome to the rooftop bar of

the city centre cinema, and the

Welsh premiere of Journey's And.

This is a World War I film was shot

partly on location and it studios in

South Wales. Some of the stars are

turning up to me, but so too are

some of the civil servants from the

Welsh government, and that is

because this is one of these films

has been backed by the government.

Today, we discovered that the first

time just how much has been invested

in productions like this one.

Every little noise makes me feel

sick.

Journey's End is one of

several productions to receive money

from the Welsh government's

investment budget.

It is designed to attract high

investment productions to Wales and

make sure they spend time and money

here well bringing a return to the

government. The first time, we know

how much they have been getting.

Their Finest received a £2 million

loan, and after a Phillies

accessible box office run, the Welsh

government has recouped all this

money, plus £50,000 on top. But

other films have not done so well.

Takedown was the first to be backed

by the fund, getting £3.1 million.

It had poor reviews and went

straight to DVD last year. So far,

less than £1 million has been

recouped by the government. On the

success of others remains to be

seen. Journey's End will officially

open next year, but it got £850,000,

and so far, the government has got

£80,000 back. Most of the other

films that got money are still in

production, but opposition parties

have questioned the government

approach to film funding.

I think that we need an integrated

and strategic approach to the film

industry in Wales which brings the

cultural and economic together. I

think we see people going off in

very different directions at moment,

and possibly would not as much

success as we might have hoped.

Looks older!

But talk of success and failure is

premature and naive, according to

the Welsh government. It says the

investment long-term commercial

buses and, and that the revenue will

continue to flow from DVD sales and

distribution is, even if a film

fails to do well at the box office.

And of all the films attracted to

Wales in recent years, £100 million

has been spent here, creating jobs

and boosting supply chains. Industry

analysts agree that investing in

films requires a long-term

commitment.

From my experience, you only start

recouping those kind of investments,

usually a minimum of five years

after the initial investment is

made, because of all the production

issues you have, and the various

other partners involved, so it is

far too early for anybody, really, I

think, to be criticising the Welsh

government in terms of the capital

investment they put into these

projects.

I mean to come through this!

Stick at it!

The film world is used to the

attention of critics, but it will be

some years yet before the

politicians' influence on the

industry in Wales can properly

assessed.

You're watching Wales Today.

Still to come on the programme -

more than six decades without

a win over the All Blacks.

Can Wales pull off the impossible?

And after yesterday's

heavy rain and flooding,

the next few days are looking

drier and colder.

I'll have the latest forecast.

It's one of the most overcrowded

prisons in Wales and England,

and now one charity has described

the situation at Swansea prison

as "like a pressure cooker."

The mental health charity Hafal

says it has serious concerns

about the safety of inmates,

who it says are very often confined

to their cells for entire weekends.

The Ministry of Justice

denies claims of overcrowding.

Rhys Williams reports.

HMP Swansea, a Victorian era prison

built for 268 inmates. Today, 438

men are kept behind bars here.

According to one mental health

charity, overcrowding is so bad,

staff can barely cope.

Prisoners are

sharing cells, adapted for single

usage. And therein mind, there is an

open toilet in each cell. And the

stories I hear from different

sources of being in prison is that

very often, on a weekend, prisoners

are locked down from Friday

afternoon to Monday morning for lack

of staff.

That is really disgusting.

It is smelly, people cannot get

showers, they have nothing to do.

They get very little food. And it

means that people go kind of stir

crazy.

The worry is that the

conditions behind the tall walls of

this old prison are creating a

hostile environment which is putting

prisoners and prison officers at

risk and damaging their mental

health. Between 2013 and 2016, the

rate of self-harm at Swansea prison

rose from 34 to 149, and the number

of deaths due to suicide rose from

zero to three in the same period.

That is the same amount of suicide

as the prison in Bridgend which

holds nearly five times as many

prisoners.

One former prison visitor with the

Samaritans and Swansea told me the

atmosphere at the prison was tense.

When you go in there, there is

animosity, tension, when you go

through the gate. You can feel it.

And you are afraid to say anything

to anyone, just in case it kicks

off.

The prison service says a

comfortable number of prisoners that

can be held in Swansea is 238. We

asked the Ministry of Justice Forest

response. It says the prison has a

full capacity of 500 and has not had

a lockdown incident since last May.

It strongly denied Swansea prison is

overcrowded and understaffed, and

said a national campaign has boosted

staffing levels so that the

establishment is now fully staffed.

But with a population of the prison

in Swansea growing, concerns remain

of a system under severe strain.

Let's get the sport now with Tomos.

The challenge could not be bigger.

Wales haven't beaten New Zealand

for more than six decades.

Another tall order

awaits on Saturday.

Coach Warren Gatland has made three

changes to the side that lost

to Australia in the opening match

of the Autumn Series.

There are also new revelations

about the future of

Gloucester's Ross Moriarty.

He's rejected a National

dual contract, but could

still return to Wales.

still return to Wales.

61 years of hurt!

It is even longer now. Three years

ago, the last time the all Blacks

were in town, and another defeat.

These are the players hoping to make

history. The coaches sticking with

the majority of the team that lost

against Australia earlier this

month. There are no changes in the

back from that site. Alun Wyn Jones

will skipper the side. Justin

Tipuric, who has not played so far

this autumn, will be on the bench.

Wales face a New Zealand side

crushed pretty close by Scotland

last weekend, with a narrow victory

for the world champions. -- pushed

pretty close. So is there hope for

Warren Gatland's team?

Someone asked

me the other day looking for a

headline, are they vulnerable? I

think they will be even more

dangerous. They will have had

potentially a bit of criticism from

last week, but they are undefeated

on this tour.

The only change not enforced by

injury comes at scrum-half. Rhys

Webb returns, with Jonathan Davies

sideline, Scott Williams is

preferred at outside centre.

Roberts, who was not in the initial

squad for the autumn series, is on

the bench. And winger Hallam Amos

comes in for the injured Lee

Williams. George North had been

ruled out through injury for the

autumn tests. His decision to leave

Southampton, not the end of the

world, says the former team manager

of the English club. Lenny Newman

said North, who had suffered several

injuries are multiple concussions,

has been a wasted commodity, like

having a Ferrari in your garage, he

said, but you can't find the key.

North will return on a national dual

contract. The WRU funds 62%, the

region pays the rest. Which region

is up to the players, but Warren

Gatland says the move will benefit

the player and his nation.

I think a lot of the players

recognise that with the national

dual contract, the benefit that

those type of players have, they are

limiting the number of games that

they play for the clubs. You know,

the minimum eight weeks break in the

summer, and being managed from a

national point of view.

One man possibly not convinced as

Ross Moriarty. Gatland revealed he

has turned down an offer of a

national dual contract, but he could

still be returning to Wales. It is

believed the Dragons are funding his

move from Gloucester. Coach Steve

Hansard is not complacent, despite

not losing to Wales since 1953.

History is a little bit like a

drought. Every day, you get a bit

closer to it raining.

So a nation hopes the heavens will

open this Saturday.

Football, and Wales' women

are aiming to continue

their unbeaten start

to their World Cup

qualifying campaign.

Jayne Ludlow's side are top

of their group, and welcome

Kazakhstan to Cardiff tomorrow,

before facing Bosnia

and Herzegovina next week.

George Zielinski reports.

Four World Cup qualifying points

from two tricky away ties is enough

to make anyone smile.

After a narrow win and a goal-less

draw in Kazakhstan and Russia,

Wales' women are back on home soil.

Those results see Wales top

of Group One, as they chase

qualification for their first ever

World Cup finals.

Kazakhstan once again are Wales'

opposition tomorrow -

this time at the

Cardiff City Stadium.

Jess Fishlock's superb

strike was the difference

between the two sides in September.

How she'd like to score a goal

like this again tomorrow.

A welcome addition to the squad

is a striker returning

after a welcome addition of her own.

Record goal-scorer Helen Ward missed

the last round of qualifiers

following the birth of her son.

Two months on, she's back

to spearhead Wales' front line.

At the moment, things are

progressing how I would hope. I am

probably a bit ahead of schedule if

anything, in terms of how much I am

playing and able to do, which is

great, and I can only thank the

medical team here and with Watford

as to how they have managed me and

let me get on with training and

finding my fitness.

After tomorrow evening's game,

Wales are back on the road -

they face Bosnia and Herzegovina

in Zenica on Tuesday.

That game's live on the Red

Button tomorrow night.

Same

Staying with football...

Swansea City head coach

Paul Clement does not feel

he could lose his job if his side

lose to Bournemouth on Saturday.

The Swans are 19th ,

after four consecutive defeats

in the Premier League.

Clement insists he still has

the backing of the owners

and the chairman.

Well, it is the media that puts me

in that spotlight. You know, it

doesn't change the way I prepare the

team, and what our goal is. Even at

this level, you can play very well

and still not get results, but it is

going to be a big help if we start

performing better.

Time for the weather.

Derek is here.

Hello.

Hello.

Hi, good news. It is looking much

better than it was yesterday. Very

mild recently, of course, but wet in

the north-west. Some flooding, as we

saw earlier in Llangefni. Here are

the rain falls for the last 24

hours. 50-70 millimetres on

Anglesey, 2-4 inches. Thankfully,

the next few days are looking drier,

and colder, with lower temperatures,

meaning some frost, sunshine and

wintry showers. Tonight, much of the

country dry. Having said that, the

risk of some rain in the far south,

particularly for Cardiff in the Vale

of Glamorgan. The odd shower in

north coast. Some cloud and much

colder than recent nights. Ground

frost in mid and North Wales, with

inland temperatures dipping close to

freezing. Tomorrow, a chilly start,

but a decent day on the whole.

Colder and calmer, some sunshine, a

few showers about, the most of those

in the north and west. Perhaps the

odd one or two in Powys. To bridge a

wise, 7-10, the wind much lighter

than today. -- temperature wise. On

Anglesey, most of the day will be

dry, just the odd shower, and more

showers will turn up tomorrow night.

They could be heavy and wintry in

places. A little sleet and snow, and

a look at those temperatures, close

to freezing or below. That means a

fairly widespread frost and icy

patches. Looking ahead to Saturday,

high pressure over the Atlantic, low

pressure of the Norwegian Sea, which

means north-westerly winds for the

UK, and those will drag some colder

area are way from the Arctic. So,

Saturday, cold and breezy with a

mixture of sunshine and showers.

Some showers quite sharp, falling as

Hale, sleet and a bit of snow on

high ground. Sunday, fewer showers

likely, more and we'll try whether,

and slightly less cold. -- more in

the way of dry weather. So it is

looking drier and colder over the

next few days. Sunshine, frost and

showers, and feeling

next few days. Sunshine, frost and

showers, and feeling more

seasonable.

Derek, thank you very much. A

reminder of our top story: The First

Minister has referred himself to an

independent investigation to look

into allegations of bullying in the

West and dating back to 2014.

And that's Wales Today -

I'll be back with the headlines

at eight, and we'll have a full

roundup for you after

the ten o'clock news.

For now, from all of

us on the programme,

thanks for your company,

hwyl fawr, goodbye.