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Guidance on health and safety on school trips is currently being reviewed. This review will include consideration of the question of the appointment of outdoor education advisers in local authorities.

Guidance on health and safety on school trips is currently being reviewed. This review will include consideration of the question of the appointment of educational visit co-ordinators in schools.

Teacher training is funded through annual grant in aid to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC). This is included within our expenditure plans. End-year flexibility was used recently to increase the number of postgraduate students entering teacher training courses in primary education in 2003-04 in order to help meet our commitment to reduce class sizes in primary one to 25. These funds were additional to the annual grant in aid given to SHEFC.

We have no plans to facilitate the establishment of such a unit. The review of guidance which is currently under way will consider how best practice can be shared, not just in respect of school trips abroad.

Part IV of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 places duties on education authorities not to discriminate against a disabled pupil in the education or associated services provided for, or offered to, pupils at the school by that body. Furthermore, education authorities must take reasonable steps to avoid disadvantage to disabled pupils. However, it does not require education authorities to remove or alter a physical feature, or to provide auxiliary aids or services. These duties not to discriminate came into force on 1 September 2002.Ensuring accessibility in respect of access to school buildings is one aspect of the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002. Initial accessibility strategies, prepared under the act by 1 April 2003, are now being implemented by all providers of school education. These strategies plan improvements to be made, over time, to the physical environment of the school and other places where school education is provided. Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, relating to Rights of Access, Facilities, Services and Premises, will commence from 1 October 2004. This will apply to any service providers using a school for purposes other than education or associated services.

The Scottish Executive is currently working with partners in local authorities and the voluntary sector to take forward policies to improve procedures, services and support for adoptive and foster parents.The report of the first phase of our adoption policy review was published last year and made a number of recommendations to improve support to adoptive parents, in particular the establishment of an Adoption Support Network for Scotland. Following consultation on these recommendations, the Executive is considering how best to take forward these recommendations. The second phase of the adoption review, which was launched in March, will consider the legal framework for adoption and fostering, including the support for adoptive parents.The Executive has invited the Fostering Network to develop their proposals for improving support for foster carers and I will be meeting with them in the near future to discuss this work.

Officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to keep them advised of future requirements for teachers and further discussions with all relevant interests will take place in the course of the summer and autumn.

Work is under way to improve reporting to parents as part of the Assessment Development Programme. The form of annual progress plans is currently under consideration and will draw on a series of consultations with groups of parents planned for autumn 2003. Annual progress plans will be closely linked to Personal Learning Plans to provide parents with a broader range of quality information on their children's learning.

We are committed to the full implementation of the agreement A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century. The training of any additional teachers arising from A Partnership for a Better Scotland will not affect the funding of that agreement.

The increase in teacher numbers to 53,000 by 2007 is being discussed with education authorities, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and universities. Any new initiatives will be announced as and when appropriate.