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I am sure that that will come out in the budget. I think that you know my own views and I have said in response to recent budgets that there are things that we would not do quite so much of, because of other priorities.

Teachers really matter. They can inspire our young people and they work alongside parents. Preventative spending to give young people better opportunities is a no-brainer.

You are quite right, Mr Greer; I have heard comments to that effect, but I also heard Nick March’s response to that suggestion. I think that the word “profiteering” was used, but he said that that is not happening and that providers are very keen to ensure that it never will, because their work is not about making vast profits out of young people’s lives.

One thing that struck me in last week’s evidence to the Education, Children and Young People Committee was that providers have taken great trouble to ensure that outdoor experience is articulated with the curriculum for excellence. Pupils are not just out in canoes or climbing Munros—there is far more flexibility. I am particularly struck by something that I hope will strike members of that committee when they go on their visit, which is that centres are far more diverse than they used to be. None of them is into making big sums of money—nor could they be, in the current fiscal climate—so I do not think that there will be profiteering or vast increases in the amounts charged. I do not see that happening.

No, but I would have thought—this is certainly my experience of young teachers—that if they see existing staff participating and having a really beneficial time, and youngsters under their care having a beneficial time, too, they will want to participate as well.

The issue of teacher contracts is important, and we have to accept that what the unions are saying to us in that respect is very important. However, I do not want to feel that this kind of educational experience will put off teachers and that they will just walk away. I would have to explore further with the unions their comments about why that might be happen.

Yes, I think that there is a discussion to be had about that. Indeed, it will not just be the centres themselves that will have to plan ahead; schools, too, will need time. The guidance will need to ensure that there is time to plan ahead, and it might well be that we will have to move to the next academic session to do that. That is a discussion that I have been having with the Scottish Government.

We have already been told that the transport costs are prohibitive for some schools—that is very clear—and, indeed, some local authorities are having great difficulty in providing the necessary transport. However, that is the case for all pupils, not just those from more income-disadvantaged backgrounds. We have to be clear that transportation is a cost issue and ensure that it is covered by the various means that I have set out in the financial memorandum.

That is good to hear, because, obviously, the better the data, the better it is for policy makers.

I understand that. However, I come back to the point that the ballpark figures in the financial memorandum and the Scottish Government costings are not that far apart. That is an important point.

As the centres will tell you, when it comes to bed-space availability and demand, some of them are booked up quite some time in advance. That is important. That demand will provide them with greater income. It is true that some centres have issues, but they are adamant that the bill could help them. As I said, the arithmetic that we have done is, I think, quite accurate.

Cancellation happens fairly regularly, not least because of the Scottish weather. Usually, if there is a cancellation, the trip is held over to a more appropriate time at which the school can go.

Often, though, a trip is held over, because the booking can be remade. On the whole, outdoor education centres are pretty generous in allowing that to happen, provided that the extra booking is made. If it is not made, the money has to be repaid. However, my understanding and experience of that are relatively limited.

We did a lot of work—my staff did a phenomenal amount of work, not least because they have considerable experience in the sector, having worked in it. We spoke to a lot of schools and to authorities that make that provision now, which sometimes have to hire buses and so on. We have gone into quite a lot of detail in the potential costings for that. I therefore think that our sums are fairly accurate in that respect. I have not had any feedback from the Scottish Government to suggest otherwise.

However, it is possible that, for some, transportation costs are prohibitive, because of the pressures on local authorities of other financial obligations. We know for a fact that some schools have not been able to take part in outdoor education because transport has been too expensive. However, we have put into our sums the basis for our costings.