02/03/2017 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to the programme. Tonight's headlines:

It emerges the cost of a four year dispute

over pay rises for these officials

at Caerphilly Council is nearing ?3 million.

Riot police out in Newport last year.

There was significantly more anti-social behaviour per person

in Gwent than the rest of Wales.

And we're on the buses to find out how your daily journey could change

with the proposed Metro for North East Wales.

Good evening.

Three senior staff members at Caerphilly Council are on leave

on full pay four years after an investigation

claimed they'd given themselves pay rises,

a move the Wales Audit Office called unlawful.

Tonight, it's emerged the cost of paying them and the legal fees

involved is set to rise to nearly ?2.8 million.

Here's our political editor Nick Servini.

It's the longest running pay dispute of its kind in Welsh local

government at the moment and tonight the cost is heading

towards the ?3 million mark.

This story began four years ago when the council's three

most senior officers, the chief executive

Anthony O'Sullivan, his deputy Nigel Barnett and the head of legal

services Daniel Perkins, had large pay rises approved

in a meeting that wasn't open to the public.

The assistant auditor general for Wales, Anthony Barrett,

decided to investigate and didn't like what he saw.

In March 2013 he published a report saying that there were inadequacies

in the way of Caerphilly Council worked out chief officer pay.

He said it had acted unlawfully.

The officers were suspended and charged by police

with misconduct in public office.

Eventually the case arrived at Bristol Crown Court,

but not for long.

After a two-year investigation a judge dismissed the case,

saying there wasn't enough evidence for a jury to find the men guilty.

The leader of the Plaid Cymru opposition group at the council says

this story has become a doorstep issue for council taxpayers

across the county borough.

It's been never-ending.

Unfortunately, there is no end in sight even now.

This could go on until after the election.

I was talking to somebody today who thought it might go

on for another 12 months.

It is ridiculous that you can get into this sort of situation

with costs escalating out of control.

One Labour councillor claimed that while it's been a long-running

problem for his party, Plaid Cymru can't wash its hands

of the affair either.

The deputy leader of Plaid Cymru was on the committee that

met in September 2012.

He knew about it.

If he had said something sooner we could have dealt with it

in September 2012 instead of when the story broke

in December 2012.

But you know Labour run this council and it's Labour that

will have to face up to most of the responsibility here.

And Labour apologised for this issue to the public in December 2012

and then took steps to reduce the amount of pay that was

awarded at the time.

Caerphilly Council has now begun its own investigation into the officers.

In a statement it said it was important to note that

a portion of the costs were incurred during the police investigation

which lasted for two years.

During this time the council was advised that it was unable

to undertake its own proceedings and therefore the timescales have

extended beyond what was originally anticipated.

Typically, internal disciplinary matters don't have much traction

with the public but when this one costs the equivalent of ?32

for every household in the county borough it's the kind of thing

people talk about and it's the kind of thing that could become a central

issue as Labour and Plaid Cymru fight it out to take

control of this authority in the upcoming council elections.

There was significantly more anti-social behaviour per person

in the Gwent Police force area last year than the rest of Wales.

That's according to a report by the police watchdog.

Dyfed Powys Police also needs to improve when it comes to keeping

people safe and reducing crime.

Jordan Davies has more.

The thin blue line.

Our police.

But how effective are they at protecting us from crime?

And incidents like this.

Fires started in a busy Newport street.

Antisocial behaviour.

The police watchdog says there was more antisocial behaviour

per person in Gwent in the twelve months to March last year

than anywhere else in Wales.

I meet residents groups and we encourage them

to report areas of crime.

I am not too worried about the figures.

We want to reduce them of course and we will accept ways of doing it

but it is a partnership matter.

With this report we're able to produce a simple

policing map of Wales.

Dyfed Powys has the most to do.

Its officers sometimes don't have the skills to deal

with the cases their working on.

And crucially the force needs to improve its investigations.

I accept the report and understand we do have areas for improvement

but I am motivated to try and respond to the report and look

for areas we can improve and hopefully get to a position

where Dyfed Powys Police has more positive reports in the future.

North Wales Police needs to get better at protecting

vulnerable people.

There are also more organised crime groups per person in its area

than anywhere else in Wales, influenced by the Midlands

and Liverpool.

Gwent Police is said to have a limited understanding

of the organised crime in its area.

And South Wales Police did well in all of four key categories.

Although, it could improve the way cases are handed over.

This policing expert says forces are trying to adapt

to changes in crime.

What they have flagged up is a need for an increase in the number

of detectives rather than uniformed police officers.

When you're talking about child protection, these are complex

and difficult cases to tackle.

We have seen a decline in the number of detectives in the police service

over the last 15 years.

The North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner says he's

encouraged by this report, but says there's always

more that can be done.

Three of the forces were found to be good overall at keeping people safe.

South Wales being the best, Dyfed Powys requiring

the most improvement.

Overall it paints a good picture of policing in Wales,

but with room for improvement.

Five fire engines are at the scene of a fire at a recycling plant

at Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service says around 2,000 tonnes

of rubbish are alight.

The fire is the fourth at the site in the last few years.

A tribunal has heard allegations that Cardiff councillor

and Assembly Member Neil McEvoy made "a threat"

against a council official.

The Adjudication Panel for Wales is considering whether the Plaid Cymru

AM for South Wales Central has breached

the council's code of conduct.

Mr McEvoy denies the allegations.

New standards for teachers in Wales have been unveiled

by the Education Secretary.

Kirsty Williams says the current standards are outdated and no

longer fit for purpose.

They set out who can be a teacher or headteacher and what is expected

of them as they develop.

The consultation runs until May.

I want to raise the status of the teaching profession in Wales.

I want all of our best and brightest students to go into the profession

and once they become teachers I want them to continue to be the biggest

learners in the classroom.

The standards that we have at the moment are outdated and no

longer fit for purpose and they don't marry with my vision

for our school workforce.

?50 million has been committed by the Welsh Government

for the development of a Metro transport network

in North East Wales.

They say it is vital to grow the economy and sustain links

into the north west of England.

Earlier our reporter Roger Pinney met the Economy Secretary Ken Skates

in Rhyl and decided to test the existing system by travelling

there from his home by public transport.

Waiting for the 9.05 and at the bus stop some more regular

users of the service.

Is the bus normally on time?

Quite good sometimes.

Midday is not a good one.

Yes, not bad.

They are awkward times though, aren't they?

This is the first one at 9:05am.

Yes, the times don't suit employment.

Starting or ending it.

And there already one of the problems of using

buses in rural areas.

They are not frequent, they don't always get

you where you want when you need to be there.

And so to the second leg of my journey by rail

from Colwyn Bay along the coast to Rhyl.

This is the mainline linking with regular stops

in North Wales to the north-west of England and London.

And in Rhyl you step off the train straight into a newly

revamped bus station.

There's integration for you.

So what do users make of it?

The location of the bus station just outside the train

station is very convenient.

What would encourage you to use the trains?

If you went to Chester for example, would you drive?

Drive.

Why would you not go by train?

It's easier to drive.

Arriva, which operates the rail station, has just

spent ?2.5 million on it.

The idea is to make links between rail and bus

as seamless as possible.

There is even a touch-screen journey planner.

They say it's the first in Wales.

They call this rather grandly the Rhyl Interchange.

It will be a key hub in the even more grandly named

North East Wales Metro.

And that conjours up all sorts of images doesn't it.

But can it ever be more than a name?

Think Metro and you probably think of the tube or at

the very least a tram.

But that isn't what's planned for north-east Wales.

Rather, better integration between existing trains

and buses through ticketing.

The two systems operating as one.

Long-term, an electrified railway with improved cross-border links

into Liverpool and Manchester.

But isn't calling it a Metro simply windowdressing?

That's not true.

This will receive a considerable amount of investment.

I have already stated that ?50 billion is going to be used

for the first phase of development of the North East Wales Metro.

It is a major long-term scheme which will unlock the potential

of the economy and meet the expectations of people who wish

to use public transport but at the moment find there are too

many barriers to doing so.

If the problem is to be solved both in terms of collectivity

into the Northern Powerhouse, as it's called, and also HS2

when it comes to Crewe, that's the kind of benefit

we are looking for.

The expenditure is therefore very likely to be worth it.

In both directions the best part of 50,000 people make

the cross-border journey everyday, mostly by car.

Whatever you call it, the challenge for public transport

will be to unlock the cash.

Delivering change will cost more than the

?50 million committed today.

Time now for a look at the weather. Here's Sue Charles.

Good evening.

Today has been a blustery but bright one for most of Wales.

All change tomorrow.

Overcast with outbreaks of rain at times.

These fronts arrive overnight into tomorrow, bringing further

wet and windy weather.

Overnight, cloud thickens, some showers then heavier rain

pushing in from the south and west overnight.

Southerly winds, not quite as cold as last night.

3C to 7C.

Tomorrow, driest in the north-east but then outbreaks of rain.

Some heavy bursts at times as these fronts spread up

from the South and West.

Across the UK some brightness across Scotland and the North

of England but that band of rain pushing up from the south-west and

moving northwards through the day.

Fairly patchy but cloudy for most.

Highs of 6C in north-east Scotland, 12C in south-east England.

In Wales the rain moving north-eastwards so dry spells

in between, but remaining murky and overcast for most.

Brisk winds.

Highs of 7C in Wrexham, 9C in Pembrokeshire.

We keep this mobile westerly into the weekend with fronts coming

in off the Atlantic bringing unsettled weather at times and this

frontal wave developing on Sunday could bring heavy rain.

So a few bright spells early on Saturday.

The odd shower, heaviest in the south-west.

Moving northwards.

But dry weather in between.

Brisk westerly winds.

Highs of 8C to 10C.

Sunday might start drt but we are likely to see some heavy

rain pushing in from the south-west during the day.

So after a bright and breezy day today, looking more unsettled

for the next few days.

Heavier rain tomorrow, some dry spells over the weekend,

but with rain at times too, especially on Sunday.

We'll have updates from around 6.25am in the morning in Breakfast.

But that is Wales Today.

From all of us on the programme, good night.