§ 4. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will initiate new discussions in the United Nations to change the terms of the agreement which prevents wives from using joint passports when travelling alone, in view of the recent trend towards greater independence of married women.
§ Mr. Anthony RoyleNo, Sir. Such a passport is issued to the husband, and, although the wife's particulars are included as a matter of convenience for family travel, she is not the joint holder. A married woman has always been able to have her own passport to which her children under 16 can be added.
§ Mrs. ButlerDoes the Minister understand how much resentment is caused by this fuddy-duddy discrimination in these liberated days? Could not he look at this matter again to see whether more equal rights can be granted to holders of joint passports? What is the position of a married woman travelling on a joint passport if her husband dies while both are abroad together? What protection does she have?
Mr. BoyleI should like notice of the second part of the hon. Lady's question. I will let her know the answer. On the first part of the question, we are tied by our international agreements on this matter. What we do is entirely in accordance with the agreement reached at the 1926 passport conference, and that agreement was reviewed at the 1963 United Nations conference and was not altered.
§ Dame Irene WardAll these soft-soapy answers are no good to the women of this country, who feel very strongly on the matter. If the international agreements tie us to all sorts of things that we do not want to be tied to, could we not take a different line and get them altered?
§ Mr. RoyleI always love giving my hon. Friend soft answers; I hope that I am not giving her soapy answers. My hon. Friend must realise that we are tied by international agreements. But no doubt her words will have been read, and I am grateful to her for letting her views be known to the House.