WE appreciate the challenges facing councils as they grapple with budget cuts. Tough decisions have to be made and the consequent controversies are coming thick and fast.

And it is already clear from the reaction of parents and headteachers that the issue of whether councils should continue to subsidise free transport to faith schools will be particularly controversial.

We have reservations about the fairness of moving the goal-posts midway through a child’s education. And we share the concerns of those who fear that it will lead to the poorest being most affected because they will not be able to pay for transport.

However, we can also see the argument that sending a child to a faith school, rather than the school nearest to home, is a matter of parental choice and, in these tough economic times, there may have to be a cost associated with that choice.

The deeper question – which falls well outside the parameters of council cash savings – is whether it is a good idea for society to divide children and education along religious lines in the first place.

First-class

SIR Bobby Robson’s memory is undiminished in these parts and his legacy continues to grow through his cancer charity which has raised more than £2.5m.

Yesterday, East Coast trains named a new locomotive in his honour.

If the loco is anything like Sir Bobby, it will be thoroughly dependable and first-class throughout.