That—not mainstreaming—is the underlying principle of Scotland's education system and of the policies that are being pursued by the Liberal Democrat-Labour Executive.However, I support the presumption in favour of mainstreaming, because it means that people should be treated as equals and that they should, wherever possible, play a full part in the society in which they live. It also puts a requirement on education authorities to do everything that they can to try to meet the needs of individual children within a mainstream setting.