Academies in Debt

Debts run up by 113 academy trusts in England amount to almost £25m according to figures obtained by 5 live Investigates. Labour MP Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee says the numbers raise "serious concerns about the accountability" of the system. More than half of England's secondary schools are run by self-governing academy trusts. The government says financial oversight of academies is "more robust than in council-run schools".