Our report today on how the rise in the number of academies could see more county children turned away from popular primary schools makes worrying reading.

Under Government reforms, academy schools would no longer be obliged to provide extra places if their heads and governors did not want to help the wider community.

It points to a dilemma at the heart of public services – if power is devolved to a very local level, such as a school, the risk of “not in my back yard” decision-making increases.

Of course, governors may be all for expanding their school, so local children have the best chance of a good education or to be with their siblings in a setting that reflects their family’s faith.

But others may not be so keen and could use their veto to effectively push the problem somewhere else.

This risks making Oxford’s primary school places shortages even worse in years to come.

We urge heads and governors to consider the wider implications when making such decisions – to do so with tunnel vision risks affecting thousands of families.