Charity probe into £1.3m exam grant

The WJEC has been forced to repay a £1.3m grant

The Welsh exams board is under investigation again over a £1.3m grant it was forced to repay.

In the latest twist in a long-running saga, BBC Wales has learned that the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) is being investigated by the Charity Commission.

The management of the WJEC's European unit in the mid-1990s has been the subject of a series of reports and the board agreed last year to repay £1.3m it received from Brussels.

The WJEC said it had already given the Charity Commission a summary of the facts and was offering more detailed material if it was needed.

The WJEC is a registered charity and it has now emerged that the commission has begun its own inquiry.

It aims to find out why the repayment was necessary and whether trustees at the time did all they were supposed to do.

The commission has the power to freeze bank accounts, remove trustees or appoint receivers to take temporary control, but any decision on liability would be up to the new trustees.

It is expected to report back by the end of the year.

Investigation call

Last year, Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan rejected calls for the WJEC to face greater public accountability after it was ordered to pay back the European grants.

The WJEC said it would return the money following mismanagement of its European unit before its new board of directors was appointed in July 1999.

Plaid Cymru wanted to know whether pupils had suffered as a result, and the Conservatives called for an official investigation by assembly members into the WJEC.

Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid in the assembly, told fellow AMs last year that the constitution of the WJEC should be re-examined.

At present, the WJEC stands as an independent company with charitable status, and does not come under the control of the Welsh Assembly Government.