Academies paying millions to businesses linked to their directors More than £173,000 was handed over to Grace Foundation and Christian Vision, charities founded by Lord Edmiston, and more than £100,000 was paid to a company controlled by a trustee's son-in-law. Gary Spencer, Lady Edmiston's brother, is said to be employed by the trust as its executive director on a salary of £30,000 plus pension, and his company has been paid £367,732 for consultancy work. Payments to companies linked to academy's trustees are permitted so long as the trust has complied with the procedures and conditions set out in their articles of association. Leigh Academies Trust, run by Frank Green, the schools commissioner, paid £111,469 consultancy work since 2010 to Shoreline, a company he founded. Aurora Academies Trust has paid £213,015 to Mosaica Education, in which three of its directors have a personal interest, for educational services, reimbursement of travel expenses and for use of the Paragon curriculum resource. Other trust found to have paid money to businesses linked to its directors and trustees were the School Partnership Trust Academies (SPTA), The Elliot Foundation (TEF), the Academy Transformation Trust, The Active Learning Trust, the Cabot Learning Federation and Navigate Academies Trust. All have insisted the payments were above board. However, Kevin Brennan, the shadow schools minister, said that the figures were "deeply concerning," adding: "David Cameron has failed to put in place the appropriate checks over academy chain funding decisions, prioritising pace of expansion over the protection of public money and school standards." The news comes after the country's largest taxpayer funded chain, the Academy Enterprise Trust, was criticised last year for paying almost £500,000 to private businesses owned by its trustees and executives A Department for Education spokesman said: "The rules are clear. No individual or organisation with a governing relationship to an academy can make a profit. Any goods or services delivered by these parties to these academies must be done so transparently and at no more than cost. And proportionate and fair procurement processes must always be followed. As charities, academies are required to adhere to accounting standards. These require the full disclosure of related party transactions and auditors check those disclosures. This government has ensured that academies and trusts are subject to tighter financial controls than ever before and to much more scrutiny than local authority schools. Changes this government has made have ensured that academy governors, directors and trustees now cannot hold profitable contracts with their own academies - something that does not automatically apply to governors in local authority schools.