It is unfortunate that the £400,000 cut in the European subsidy to provide Bradford schoolchildren with cheap milk has come at a time when the city's budget for education is stretched to the limit. As the Council's director of education points out, for the authority to make up the shortfall would mean that money would have to be diverted from its core task - providing the Bradfordians of tomorrow with the education they and the city need.

The danger is that the increase in costs to the families of £1.50 a term could deter some of them from buying the milk to provide the calcium their children so badly need to strengthen their bones and teeth. There is also some concern that as the responsibility for administering the school-milk scheme has now devolved to individual schools, some of them may consider that it is not worth the extra work involved in shopping around to find cheaper supplies. It's to be hoped that does not happen.

The good news is that the most vulnerable youngsters - those who are currently eligible for free school meals - will continue to receive free milk, as will all nursery and reception-age children. The children most at risk of losing out are the older ones whose parents are considered able to pay the increase but resent doing so.

For their sake, the Council needs to look again and see if there is a pocket of non-education cash that could be diverted to underwrite the milk bill. Failing that, it is perhaps up to parents to reassess their own spending priorities.