There was widespread disappointment among adoption professionals yesterday as a long-expected Adoption Bill was missed off the list of legislation to be put through Parliament.

Many in the adoption field had been expecting much-needed new laws to replace the out-of-date 1976 Adoption Bill.

Adoption campaigner Liv O'Hanlon said: "It would seem that the case for banning hunting is more important than children and that is very disppointing."

The Queen's Speech, delivered to the House of Lords, contained details of only 15 Bills, plus four draft measures.

That compares to 22 Bills in 1997, 26 in 1998 and 28 in 1999, leading to speculation the the Government was preparing for a spring general election.

The lack of an adoption bill was quickly picked up on by the Opposition.

Tory leader William Hague blamed the "thin" legislative programme on an "arrogant" Government, that was "all spin and no delivery".

He quipped that there was "so little in it" that it was good of Her Majesty to have delivered it at all.

Opening Commons debate on the programme, he attacked ministers for failing to deliver on manifesto pledges on adoption which, he said, would have had cross party support.

Among the new legislation included in the speech are five Bills that deal with the the fight against crime including child curfew schemes for those aged nine to 15.

And a long-awaited Hunting Bill will also be brought forward.

There was also a Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill which the Government argues will strengthen the rights of children with special educational needs to be educated in mainstream schools but which critics say could weaken the rights to specified levels of support for disabled youngsters.

The Bill makes changes to the existing Education Act (1996) and places new duties on local education authorities and schools in England and Wales to meet necessary standards for disabled people.

The Government says it will strengthen the rights of special needs students to be educated in mainstream schools where it is what the parents want and where it is appropriate for the child.

The Bill will also require schools to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled pupils are not put at a substantial disadvantage compared with pupils who are not disabled.

But SEN pressure group the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice said the Bill "could have helped but it will not".

"It also robs parents and carers of the potential support of the Disability Rights Commission as an enforcement agent, leaving them alone to fight for their children's rights," says IPSEA.

There was also a Children's Commissioner for Wales Bill which extending the powers of the Commissioner to review and monitor complaints.

Ms O'Hanlon, director of the pressure group, The Adoption Forum and closely involved in the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adoption, said she hoped the absence of the Bill "was for good reasons because it will give everyone time to consider the right route for children".

In the past The Adoption Forum has criticised the Government's review on adoption as not going far enough.

"Hopefully it will mean a more radical approach," she added.

A similar approach was taken by the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering.

Chief Executive Felicity Collier (pictured) said: "We are very disappointed that the Government has not taken the opportunity to introduce new adoption legislation in today's Queen's Speech.

"We must remmeber, however, that the Prime Minister has promised us that there will be new legislation in 2001 and we believe that he will abide by this promise.

"We must also recognise that a new Adoption Bill will be extremely demanding of parliamentary time because it will have to deal with so many complex issues that are of such importnace to so many people.

"It is absolutely vital for children that we get the next Adoption Act right.

And looking forward to a now expected general election next year, she said: "We are looking to all parties to make manifesto commitments in the run up to the next election, putting adoption at the top of their programme for the next parliament."

She said BAAf expected a White Paper on adoption before Christmas and that it would include draft standards for adoption services. "We look forward to commenting on this paper," she added.