The decision by the Council's executive committee last night to pay an extra £1.5 million to Education Bradford will certainly be seen by some as controversial. The company which was given the contract to run the district's educational services won what on the face of it looked a lucrative contract bringing in £360 million over the next ten years.

However, what isn't widely realised is that the margins on which the company operates are very tight indeed and this is not a big profit-making contract. The company set itself very ambitious incentive targets which with hindsight were not realistic at such an early stage in the process of change.

It is fair to say, however, that there has been a very considerable improvement in the performance of the district's schools, the latest example of which was the enhanced A-level results reported in the Telegraph & Argus last week. Education Bradford appears to be on the right track and should be given every opportunity and encouragement to continue in that vein.

In this context the £1.5 million of extra funding, which includes £660,000 for unanticipated additional work carried out by the company, seems far from unreasonable and should send the message loud and clear to Education Bradford - and to the world in general - that this district is determined to improve educational performance as its top priority.

We cannot believe that Education Bradford, given the massive challenge it still faces, will believe this makes the Council a "soft touch".