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Call for ELWa inquiry 11/2/2003
Helen Mary Jones AM, Shadow Education Minister, today called for an open and comprehensive inquiry into the affairs of ELWa, the body responsible for post-16 education and training in Wales.
This follows revelations in the BBC’s Week in Week Out programme that there are a number of unresolved issues concerning the financial management of ELWa, and on the way the body was set up.
Speaking on the programme, Ms Jones expresses her concerns about the numerous examples of financial mismanagement and lack of accountability.
“I am very concerned to hear about the problems at ELWa and hope that an inquiry will help explain the worrying incidents of financial and managerial breakdown”, said Ms Jones. “The Minister should have overseen the first year’s transition from the old body to the new one and it strikes me that many of the failures could have been averted if this had been the case.
“A shadow authority is crucial for the transfer of functions to be passed on successfully. The integration of post-16 education provision into one body is crucial in helping to build a learning nation. Plaid Cymru supported the evolution of the new body and it is a major concern to us that so many mistakes and blunders were made in an organisation which is about promoting quality learning and quality skills.”
Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Plaid Cymru Leader added: “We have been asking questions about ELWa for quite some time and this latest news is very disturbing. As Helen Mary Jones has stated, the only way to resolve this issue is to have an independent inquiry. The people of Wales deserve answers, and need to be given a full account of how taxpayers' money is being spent.”
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