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Senator Pinochet

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who in his Department had access to the Foreign Office report written in Madrid on 16 October 1998 pertaining to Senator Pinochet and passed to his Department; at what time of day; and what action was taken as a result. [82408]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: I refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) on 10 February 1999, Official Report, columns 293-94, and 16 March 1999, Official Report, column 620.

Victims' Remains (Independent Commission)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the agreement with the Irish Government establishing an independent commission for the location of victims' remains to be signed. [82713]

Ms Quin: The Agreement was signed on 27 April. Copies of the Agreement are available from the Vote Office, have been placed in the Libraries of the Houses of Parliament, and will be published later in the usual way.

Treaty of Amsterdam

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the Treaty of Amsterdam to come into force. [82714]

Ms Quin: The process of ratification of the Treaty of Amsterdam was completed on 30 March, when France deposited its instrument of ratification with the Italian Government.

In accordance with Article 248 of the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty of Amsterdam will come into force on Saturday 1 May 1999.

Falkland Islands

Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what exchanges he has had with the Government of Chile over the cancellation of Lan Chile flights to the Falkland Islands. [82659]

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he plans to make to the Government of Chile regarding their decree which prohibits Chilean carriers flying to the Falklands. [82055]

Mr. Robin Cook: Lan Chile have not flown to the Falklands since 31 March, when their contract with the Falkland Islands Development Corporation expired. As the Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), made clear in his answer to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan) on 25 February 1999, Official Report, columns 451-53, the continuation of that contract after that date was a commercial matter for discussion between

28 Apr 1999 : Column: 183

Lan Chile and the Falkland Islands Development Corporation. On 19 April my hon. Friend reported that the Government of Chile had issued a Decree prohibiting Chilean carriers from flying to the Falklands with effect from 10 April.

I have now spoken to the Chilean Foreign Minister. I told him that we strongly disagree with his Government's Decree. I underlined that there was no justification for the Chilean Government taking such a measure and have urged Senor Insulza to reconsider it. I reminded him of the commercial and social benefits for remote communities, both in the Falklands and in southern Chile, of Lan Chile being allowed to continue flights to the Falklands.

We are in close touch with the Falkland Islands Government on alternative air links.

East Timor

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement concerning the recent violence in East Timor. [82465]

Mr. Fatchett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Lichfield (Mr. Fabricant) on 26 April 1999, Official Report, column 31.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the killing of refugees at a church in Liquica, East Timor, on 6 April. [82500]

Mr. Fatchett: We have received reports that on 6 April a number of civilians, who had sought refuge in a church in Liquica, East Timor, were killed during a violent clash with a pro-Indonesia militia group. The number of casualties remains unclear, as does the role of the Indonesian security forces in the incident.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT

Education Expenditure

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list by local education authority the expenditure per pupil at 1998-99 prices from aggregate schools budgets in (a) maintained primary schools and (b) maintained secondary schools in (i) 1996-97, (ii) 1997-98 and (iii) 1998-99, giving the average percentage change from (1) 1996-97 to 1997-98 and (2) from 1997-98 to 1998-99. [81648]

Ms Estelle Morris: I have placed a table in the Library showing, for each local education authority in England for the financial years 1996-97 to 1998-99, the aggregated schools budget for primary and secondary schools giving (a) the aggregated schools budget per pupil, (b) the real terms figure per pupil adjusted for 1998 real terms figures and (c) the percentage change on the previous year.

School Budgets

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what proportion of each shire county's education department budget was allocated to school budgets in 1998-99. [82187]

28 Apr 1999 : Column: 184

Ms Estelle Morris: The following table shows the proportion of each shire county's education General Schools Budget which was allocated to schools through the Aggregated Schools Budget in 1998-99. Information on local authority education department budgets is not allocated centrally.

1998-99	ASB as percentage of GSB
Bedfordshire	75.6
Buckinghamshire	69.8
Cambridgeshire	64.9
Cheshire	75.6
Cornwall	70.2
Cumbria	73.6
Derbyshire	69.6
Devon	72.2
Dorset	74.4
Durham	71.9
East Sussex	75.0
Essex	72.1
Gloucestershire	74.6
Hampshire	78.7
Hertfordshire	76.9
Kent	76.7
Lancashire	73.1
Leicestershire	76.0
Lincolnshire	78.3
Norfolk	74.2
North Yorkshire	77.2
Northamptonshire	74.4
Northumberland	75.8
Nottinghamshire	79.3
Oxfordshire	75.0
Shropshire	73.3
Somerset	75.0
Staffordshire	74.3
Suffolk	79.4
Surrey	74.3
Warwickshire	74.1
West Sussex	77.3
Wiltshire	69.6
Worcestershire	76.4

School Attendance

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has for changing the age at which it is compulsory for children to attend school. [81990]

Ms Estelle Morris: None.

SSAs

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list the local education authorities, which at the latest date for which information is available, were not fully passing on to schools any increases in their standard spending assessment in respect of education. [82335]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 27 April 1999]: Budget information for 1999-2000 is currently being collected and checked by the Department. We will publish authoritative data showing the plans of the authorities, including the amounts to be held back centrally, in June.

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Physical Education

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is his estimate of the (a) number and (b) percentage of total school hours that is spent on physical education in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in the last year for which figures are available. [81806]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The number of school hours spent on physical education varies from school to school. Evidence from Ofsted inspections during 1998 of the average number of hours per week primary and secondary schools currently spend teaching National Curriculum PE is given.

	Average hours of PE per week (approximately)
Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7)	1 hour 20 minutes
Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11)	1 hour 35 minutes
Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14)	2 hours
Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16)	1 hour 15 minutes

As a percentage of teaching time, these times are approximately: Key Stage 1--6.3 per cent.; Key Stage 2--6.8 per cent.; Key Stage 3--8.3 per cent. and Key Stage 4--5.2 per cent. These figures do not account for travelling and changing time incurred in the provision of swimming tuition. At Key Stage 4, the figure relates to the time allowed for the National Curriculum compulsory component of PE. Pupils studying for GCSE normally have between 8 per cent. and 12 per cent. extra time for the examination course.

Laboratories (Schools)

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what plans he has to improve the standards of science laboratory furbishment in schools. [82491]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Decisions on how best to refurbish science laboratories in schools rest with individual local education authorities and governing bodies. Since the Election, we have provided an additional £680 million for specific improvements to school buildings through the New Deal for Schools programme. £9.5 million of the £340 million allocated through the New Deal for Schools in March 1999 was for improvements to science laboratories. The Department provides guidance in its 1995 publication, 'Science Accommodation in Secondary Schools: A Design Guide'. This is currently being updated.

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