THE chief executive of the Worcestershire Racial Equality Council is receiving a full wage packet despite not returning to work after being cleared of inflating case figures.

Dr Mohammed Aslam - who earns £27,000 annual salary and £26,000 in bonuses -- was due back behind his desk last Monday but has so far refused to appear.

Dan Wicksteed, the WREC's chairman, confirmed that Dr Aslam is being paid, along with an interim manager who is receiving a "consultancy fee".

He said it had been a difficult time for Dr Aslam after he was suspended in August over claims that he inflated details of the number of cases the WREC dealt with in 2003-04.

Satisfied

"We want to get him back and he wants to be satisfied it is right for him to come back," said Mr Wicksteed.

"Clearly I'm hoping that he will return but I can't say what will happen. Maybe we'll have to talk a little bit and talk a bit more."

He added that he met Dr Aslam yesterday but declined to say whether he will meet him again. He added that he did not know whether copies of the investigator's report into the case-fixing allegations will be made available to the public.

Meanwhile, the Big Lottery Fund has announced it is happy with the £10,063 it paid to Dr Aslam as a "project management fee".

Investigating

In August, the fund announced it was investigating how the money went directly to the chief executive - normally, the fund said, such fees were used to cover costs from hiring extra staff.

But the body, the biggest distributor of National Lottery cash, said an enquiry into the fund's award found nothing untoward.

"Having reviewed the situation, we can now confirm that grant use has entirely complied with the terms and conditions," said Lisa Horton, regional manager for the fund.

"Our policy at the time of assessment of the WREC's application allowed for a contribution towards the salary of an existing member of staff, in this case the chief executive, in recognition of the time to be spent line managing the project staff. Therefore, no breach of contract has taken place."

Dr Aslam declined to comment.