Some of you might have read about certain Cambridgeshire schools still having budget deficits. The problem is not restricted to Cambridgeshire. It has arisen all over the country. The schools are, of course, independent, but the county council has a lega

Some of you might have read about certain Cambridgeshire schools still having budget deficits.

The problem is not restricted to Cambridgeshire. It has arisen all over the country. The schools are, of course, independent, but the county council has a legal duty to help them manage their finances properly.

And, in such cases, we work with the schools to come up with a recovery plan to put their books back into the black over a reasonable period of time.

I am pleased to record that none of the schools with a significant budget deficit is in the Huntingdonshire area. Somehow, all of the Hunts schools have managed to balance the books.

It is all rather reminiscent of the Hunts Primary Care Trust, isn't it? What is it about this area that makes people better able to add up and balance books?