A Gwent council worker was told he faces the possibility of a prison sentence after being convicted of carrying out sex attacks on two women employees.

An 85-year-old widow has been awarded £42,000 compensation after a battle over free nursing care. The family of Morfydd Jones, from Ystalyfera in the Swansea Valley, began a legal fight two years ago.

New targets on tackling child poverty in Wales have been set by the assembly government which, it says, demand a “radical rethink of policy”.

More than 3.3 million sick days in Wales are caused by mental health problems and £292m is being lost to the economy of the country every year, says employment charity the Shaw Trust.

A couple wrongly accused of child abuse are planning to sue Newport City Council after their three children were put into care for two years. A court judgement on Tuesday cleared Gina and Tim Williams of failing to protect their children from sex abuse.

Wrexham Council has taken another step towards closing its last two remaining residential care homes for the elderly. The council has voted not to take any more residents at the Llys Madoc or Nant Silyn homes, but will continue to provide care for existing residents. Protesters have described the move as “cruel and brutal”.

“The most significant improvements are in day care services for Under 8s.  Childminders now largely meet the requirements of the regulations, which is a significant achievement.  Improvements were also achieved in full day care, sessional care, open access play provision, and crèches and there was significant progress in out of school care,” said Mr. Pickford. “For Under 8’s services this progress is being reflected in the new proportionate approach to regulation which has already resulted in approximately 1,000 fewer inspections this year.” said Mr Pickford.

Swansea City Council has implemented a system that enables its social workers to see whether other parts of the public sector have assessed their clients’ needs. Social workers and healthcare practitioners will be able to see whether someone has already been assessed, but the assessments will not be shared unless the people who create them give their permission. The Paris system from software supplier in4tek was chosen to comply with the Welsh Assembly Government’s demand for a Unified Assessment Process (UAP) in social care.

Plans to close three special schools in Flintshire and replace them with two new education centres are likely to be given the go ahead. Councillors said only four objections to the proposals were received during a public consultation on the issue. Eleven of the 22 responses received by the public expressed positive support. The Welsh education minister will now be asked to approve the closure of Ysgol Belmont in Buckley, Ysgol Delyn in Mold and Ysgol y Bryn in Shotton.

Council leaders have expressed “amazement” that not-for-profit organisations have reacted angrily to plans for people with learning disabilities in Cardiff. Support groups, carers and organisations providing learning disabilities services, recently expressed grave concerns about Cardiff’s plans to cut £3m from the budget. There are fears that people with learning difficulties could become prisoners in their own homes as a result of the cuts.