Finance Minister Sue Essex suggested the Assembly Government was flexible on the role of private finance initiatives today. She faced questions in the chamber about why there had been fewer PFI projects in Wales than in England under Labour.

A teenage girl told a court yesterday how she was raped by a pub regular, after they swapped mobile phone numbers. Craig Davies, 26, and the school girl exchanged text messages when he invited her to a party.

Faith schools in Wales will close as society becomes increasingly secular, a leading Catholic cleric warned yesterday. Canon Bob Reardon, Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff, said falling birth rates and numbers of people leaving Christian churches of all denominations meant some closures were inevitable.

All Mobile Creche Company franchises in Wales will be required to provide Welsh-speaking staff, even in the most anglicised areas. And in cities with large ethnic-minority populations, franchisees will need staff fluent in the relevant languages.

Nurses have called on Health Minister Brian Gibbons to increase pressure on Westminster over their annual pay review. It comes as Scottish Health Minister Andy Kerr has implemented the recommended pay increase of 2.5%.

Fears have been expressed that the creation of a new “super agency” covering all equality issues could result in Welsh input being downgraded.
In October, the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be launched, taking over from three existing bodies – the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission.

One in five smokers say they will try to stop smoking when Wales’ smoking ban is introduced, a survey has shown. The research was conducted for No Smoking Day, which comes weeks before smoking inside public places and workplaces is banned in Wales.

Ambulances have been freed up to answer 999 calls after GPs were drafted into control rooms. The Welsh Ambulance Service yesterday revealed it had exceeded its response times target in Carmarthen, just two weeks after the GP triage system was introduced in three control rooms.

More patients should be having day surgery if Wales is to meet challenging waiting time targets, an influential report will say today. The National Assembly’s audit committee believes that unless day surgery rates improve, the NHS will not achieve significant government milestones.

Wales’ chief medical officer will tour the country this week to discuss public health matters. Dr Tony Jewell will take part in a series of public meetings as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s response to Health Challenge Wales – the national focus for action to build a healthier nation.