:00:00. > :00:18.Dafydd Elis-Thomas has told BBC Wales he hopes Plaid Cymru
:00:19. > :00:20.will consider its future as a political party,
:00:21. > :00:23.after he decided to sit as an independent AM.
:00:24. > :00:26.Lord Elis-Thomas accused the party of not reacting
:00:27. > :00:28.well enough to changes in Wales since devolution.
:00:29. > :00:30.It comes as former First Minister Rhodri Morgan says the party's power
:00:31. > :00:32.will be much weaker now in the Assembly.
:00:33. > :00:38.Here's our political correspondent, Arwyn Jones.
:00:39. > :00:40.For over 40 years, he's represented Plaid Cymru
:00:41. > :00:45.But he now finds himself as an independent AM.
:00:46. > :00:48.And he has insisted he will not serve in Carwyn Jones' cabinet.
:00:49. > :00:52.And won't be triggering a by-election.
:00:53. > :00:55.I am stating, quite clearly, that I want to be able to serve
:00:56. > :01:01.my constituency and serve the interests of Wales.
:01:02. > :01:04.Do you carry out that role best then as an independent AM?
:01:05. > :01:07.I carry out the role of representing my constituents
:01:08. > :01:13.The question of membership of the Welsh government does not arise.
:01:14. > :01:16.Lord Elis-Thomas had a few parting shots at his old party.
:01:17. > :01:18.He said Plaid hadn't responded to the challenges of devolution
:01:19. > :01:22.And it needed to think again about its future.
:01:23. > :01:25.The party chose not to comment.
:01:26. > :01:28.But his departure will also cause a headache
:01:29. > :01:30.for Plaid in the Assembly. Why?
:01:31. > :01:32.Well, with only 29 AMs, Labour depends on Kirsty Williams
:01:33. > :01:40.It also needed help from Plaid to pass next week's Budget.
:01:41. > :01:43.The two parties have been in talks for months over the content.
:01:44. > :01:47.But today, a former First Minister told BBC Wales'
:01:48. > :01:51.Sunday Politics Wales programme that Labour is
:01:52. > :01:55.because Plaid have lost their leverage.
:01:56. > :01:59.It is amazing how - in a small body like the Assembly,
:02:00. > :02:01.with just 60 seats, and Labour having 30 of them -
:02:02. > :02:07.just how much difference that one person can make.
:02:08. > :02:10.Because Labour are one vote short of being to get a budget through.
:02:11. > :02:13.Because, if the other 30... You know, they can block things.
:02:14. > :02:19.Because level pegging, 30/30, is not enough.
:02:20. > :02:21.Over the next two days, it'll become clear whether or not
:02:22. > :02:23.Lord Elis-Thomas will lend his support to the government.
:02:24. > :02:27.But, after such a long and high-profile career
:02:28. > :02:29.in the party, Lord Elis-Thomas' departure was always
:02:30. > :02:37.The author of a report for the Welsh Government
:02:38. > :02:39.on free childcare says the policy could cost
:02:40. > :02:40.considerably more than Labour has estimated.
:02:41. > :02:42.During the election campaign, the party said 30 hours of
:02:43. > :02:46.free childcare for working parents - for 48 weeks of the year -
:02:47. > :02:50.would cost an extra ?84 million a year.
:02:51. > :02:52.Gillian Paull told Sunday Politics Wales
:02:53. > :02:54.it could actually cost as much as ?200 million.
:02:55. > :03:00.And there are broader concerns about the viability of the plan.
:03:01. > :03:03.There are several parameters that feed into that estimate.
:03:04. > :03:05.All of which have large degrees of uncertainty around them.
:03:06. > :03:09.First of all, we do need to know the hourly cost of delivery,
:03:10. > :03:10.which can vary enormously across regions
:03:11. > :03:13.We also need to know, most importantly, how parents
:03:14. > :03:19.In particular, whether they will change their work behaviour
:03:20. > :03:22.in response to the policy, which is hard to estimate.
:03:23. > :03:24.We are starting from a very low base of childcare provision.
:03:25. > :03:28.So, one of the big problems we have, in delivering this extra childcare,
:03:29. > :03:31.is that there isn't much childcare to offer in the first place.
:03:32. > :03:33.Well, the Welsh government acknowledges there are
:03:34. > :03:36.And they say it's working with the sector.
:03:37. > :03:40.It's also undertaking "complex modelling" of costs.
:03:41. > :03:42.The oil company responsible for a pipeline which ruptured,
:03:43. > :03:51.leaking 140,000 litres of Kerosene near Carmarthen,
:03:52. > :03:53.has completed the work ahead of time.
:03:54. > :03:55.Over the weekend, traffic along the A48 has been
:03:56. > :03:58.Valero had expected the work to be completed tomorrow morning.
:03:59. > :04:00.But police were able to reopen the route
:04:01. > :04:04.Welsh councils who invested money in Icelandic banks before
:04:05. > :04:06.they collapsed eight years ago, have now recovered
:04:07. > :04:10.Powys Council says it's recouped all of the ?4 million it deposited.
:04:11. > :04:11.It's one of eight councils, three universities,
:04:12. > :04:13.and three former police authorities that had
:04:14. > :04:24.It'll be windy tonight, with more showers.
:04:25. > :04:26.And some heavy downpours in the north and west.
:04:27. > :04:28.Tomorrow will be breezy, with plenty of sunshine.
:04:29. > :04:30.There will be one or two heavy showers.
:04:31. > :04:33.Even feeling quite warm in sheltered spots.
:04:34. > :04:40.A reminder that, all week on Wales Today,
:04:41. > :04:42.we'll be marking events, as Wales remembers Aberfan.
:04:43. > :04:45.It's 50 years since a coal tip collapsed, submerging a school,
:04:46. > :04:52.We'll have a number of special reports.
:04:53. > :05:10.From all of us on the weekend team, goodnight.
:05:11. > :05:17.Hello, I hope you have had a nice weekend, you probably saw some
:05:18. > :05:18.sunshine and rain. This evening you probably saw a