HC Deb 14 June 1984 vol 61 cc1166-72

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Neubert.]

10.10 pm
Mr. David Maclean (Penrith and The Border)

I thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for selecting this subject for debate on the Adjournment of the House. I do not intend to show the discourtesy that has been shown to the House in today's debate, with its lengthy speeches. I intend to keep my speech reasonably brief.

It is appropriate, on a day when Members are being elected to the European Parliament, that I should raise in the House of Commons the issue of a common format passport. The proposal surfaced first in 1974 that member States of the European Community should issue passports to their nationals in an identical format, demonstrating their connection with the Community as well as showing the national status of the holder.

What has happened since 1974 when the then Prime Minister, now Lord Wilson of Rievault, reported that the United Kingdom was party to a communique to set up a working party on a common format passport? Progress seems to have been painfully slow. The House of Lords Select Committee reported in 1979 on the Commission's consultative document of 1975 and the subject was debated in the other place in 1979.

The Select Committee supported the proposal as a modest symbol of the Community's identity, provided that passports retained their national character, and strongly urged Her Majesty's Government to take a constructive part in any discussions. On 23 January 1981 the Foreign Affairs council meeting in Paris agreed to the following resolution: Recalling that the Heads of Government meeting in Paris in December 1974 requested that the possibility of creating a Passport Union and, in advance, the introduction of a uniform passport, be examined, agreed to introduce a passport of uniform design. Anxious, to promote any measures which might strengthen the feeling among nationals of the Member States that they belong to the same Community; Considering that the establishment of such a passport is likely to facilitate the movement of nationals of the Member States, Have drawn up a passport of uniform format and scope, Have resolved that the Member States will endeavour to issue the passport by 1 January 1985 at the latest. In a written answer of 8 April 1981 the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I. Gilmour), who was the Lord Privy Seal at that time, told the House that it was the Government's intention to implement the common format passport by 1 January 1985. So far we have heard a lot of good intentions, but there has been no reasoned statement by the Government about whether they are on target for translating all those good intentions into action, or even if they still have the same intentions as they had formerly.

As one who believes that, within Europe, we should do all that we possibly can to develop a sense of community, I believe that a common format passport will help to give citizens a clear sense of identity within the Community. Furthermore, I think that it can provide positive and practical benefits. What is most important of all, it can do both of these things without at any point diminishing our status as Britons.

I understand that there are proposals afoot to ease frontier formalities for citizens of member states and that presentation of the common format passport, when it is available, could help our citizens travel through Europe with the absolute minimum of fuss and delay. I am not thinking solely of people on holiday. Last year, United Kingdom business men made about 3 million business trips abroad, and nearly 2 million of them were to EEC countries. Surely to goodness, anything that will help their enterprise helps us all.

There will be those who wish to cling to the present passport as part of our national identity. I suggest, however, that the change of format is not an issue that should cause us any affront. The sooner the House and the public can see examples of the new documents proposed, the better. The present-day passport does not have a very long history at all. Before 1914 passports were not obligatory except for about half a dozen countries. It is only since the first world war that the passport has become a general requirement for travel.

As to form and content, in 1920 the Provisional Committee on Communications and Transport of the League of Nations convened a conference in Paris to study ways of facilitating international passenger traffic by rail, which was being hindered by passport and Customs formalities. The conference recommended an international format for passports which was generally accepted, and the present British passport that we hold so dear has its roots in that agreed common format.

I think that we were one of the first countries to introduce a passport that conformed to the League of Nations specifications. We should not fall behind other nations now in introducing a new European Community common format passport with a machine-readable capability. I perfectly well understand the view of the traditionalists, who want to preserve the present passport's appearance, but I venture to suggest that the present version needs to be brought up to date.

I would not attempt to argue that the present substantial document is not in itself dignified. It is, however, very bulky and does not fit easily into the pockets of modern dress. Moreover, the information that it contains about the holder is spread over four or five pages. If I were to make a cynical point—which I shall not do—I would finally say to those who have a mystical belief in the protection afforded by one of Her Majesty's passports wherever they may be in the world, that the value of a passport depends not on its colour, size and country of origin, but on the extent to which our beloved Foreign Office is prepared to stand up for British interests in the world. I quite understand that my hon. and learned Friend the Minister will probably not respond to that point.

The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. David Waddington)

My hon. Friend never knows.

Mr. Maclean

What about the design of the proposed common format passport? Is it profoundly un-British? The answer is a resounding No. To quote again my right hon. Friend the former Lord Privy Seal: Passports in a common format will not be Community passports and their issue will remain a national prerogative. Their introduction will involve no change in the nationality or other entitlements of the holder. That point cannot be stressed strongly enough. It should still be a British passport not an EEC one. It is merely that all national passports in the EEC will look the same and have more relevant information, in standard form, in the same place.

In that written answer, my right hon. Friend the former Lord Privy Seal continued: It would be misleading to describe the appearance of the new British passport too precisely at this stage, since some of the details have yet to be worked out. It has, however, been agreed that it will retain the main characteristics of our present passport, such as the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Royal coat of arms and the rubric 'Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State requests and requires' and so on. It has also been agreed that the passport will have a burgandy-coloured cover, bearing the additional words 'European Community'. The first inside page of the passport will contain the words 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. the word 'passport' and a reference to the European Community in all the official languages of the European Community."—[Official Report, 8 April 1981; Vol. 2, c. 285–6.] To us, the Britishness of the passport will remain intact. Therefore, I believe that we can confidently adapt to a new arrangement. It will make us no less British but yet it will help us to identify with our Community partners and bring with it the prospect of easier travel across Europe.

Of course, we could have easier travel across Europe if we adopted the International Civil Aviation Organisation's recommendations for machine-readable passports. This development offers even greater benefit for travellers and for those whose job it is to promote travel or to cope with the large numbers flowing in and out through the ports. I should like to know more about the details of machine-readable passports, what information is to be recorded and in what form. The principle of a speedy and simplified checking of passports at the frontiers of countries around the world, without tiresome landing and embarkation cards is attractive.

I hope that my hon. and learned Friend the Minister can indicate the opportunities that this important initiative offers to our businessmen in developing the hardware and software that will be required. This country played a prominent part in the work which led to the ICAO recommendations on machine readibility. I think that we were the first nation to read machine-readable passports when a prototype passport reader was installed at Heathrow and was used to read United States passports. If this places Britain ahead in the game, let us make sure that we take full advantage by promoting machine readability and the use of our technology in the process although we must reassure people that the information on the passport will not be used for any improper purpose.

I understand that the proposal is to incorporate a laminated page into passports with a machine-readable zone at the edge. All the information contained on that card would be visible to the naked eye and it would not contain any information that does not appear in the existing United Kingdom passport. The machine-readable passport also offers greater security since it is much more difficult to counterfeit or tamper with.

I hope my hon. and learned Friend will tell us what we are about to do, not what we may intend once the problems are solved. In that same written answer of 1981 the House was told that the precise appearance of the new British passport would depend on the outcome of the work then in hand to facilitate the machine-readable capability. Surely to goodness we have solved the technical problems by now, three years and a million queues at passport controls later.

If my hon. and learned Friend cannot be specific tonight, perhaps he can indicate when we may expect a definitive Government announcement which will proclaim that we are still committed to a common form of passport and that we will introduce machine readability as soon as possible.

On this important day for democracy in Europe, my hon. and learned Friend can do much to unite the free nations of Europe in a way in which no other regulation or harmonisation plan can. We owe it to future generations to adopt a common format passport which to us at the moment may be merely a symbol of unity but to them would be reality. I sincerely hope that the Minister will not disappoint us.

10.24 pm
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. David Waddington)

Except for the fact that I was hoping to go home for supper, my hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (Mr. Maclean) has chosen the most appropriate day on which to raise this matter of the common format passport. He has said something about the background to the proposal and I shall not go over the history again. Suffice it to say that as long ago as 1974 the Labour Government of that day approved the setting up of a working party to study the possibility of introducing a passport in common form, in a common style, which it was felt would not only be a visible demonstration of the close links between the countries of the European Community, of the existence of Community, but be a real convenience to travellers. A conveniently sized, easily recognisable, easily checked passport would speed up frontier checks and be good for tourists and good for business.

In 1979 the House of Lords Select Committee expressed its support for the common format passport as a modest gesture to our Community identity and at the same time expected that practical benefits would follow. The Committee was aware of arrangements which the United Kingdom had already made to ease the movement through special EEC channels of EC nationals arriving at our ports. The expectation was that the common format passport would be the key to easier travel for our own citizens in Europe and a general easing of frontier formalities for all EC nationals in the Community. Recently I drew the attention of the House of Commons and House of Lords Select Committees to a draft Council resolution which, with the aim of reducing the time EC nationals have to wait at ports of entry says that member states may: 1. Set up special checkpoints for EC nationals; 2. Reduce the checking of documentation where possible; 3. Introduce local agreements for people living close to internal frontiers. The resolution was unanimously approved by the Council of Ministers on 7 June.

The important word is "may", not "must". It does nothing to compel us to dismantle our present system of controls at the ports, but it does highlight the desire of Community members to make travel between the various countries in as trouble-free a way as possible. Member states implementing the resolution will to some extent be catching up with us, because as I have said, we already provide special facilities for EC nationals by our separate channels for them at major ports. The common format passport will be a further step forward and I have no doubt whatsoever that it will bring benefits to those 2 million or so people who make business trips to the EC each year.

So we are not talking about uniformity for uniformity's sake but for valid reasons of convenience to travellers. It is inaccurate to talk of uniformity. The common format passport is not a Community passport. Its issue will remain a national prerogative. It will be burgundy not dark blue, it will be a bit smaller, fitting easily into a hip pocket, and the cover will be durable but also somewhat flexible. But it will still be a British passport bearing the royal coat of arms, and inside will be those traditional words requiring passage and protection to the holder.

People obviously want to know when the common format passport will be introduced. In 1981 member states undertook to endeavour to implement the original agreement by January 1985. But it was always understood that implementation was bound to depend on a number of very practical considerations. On 23 March 1981 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister said that we would not introduce the new passport until we are ready to implement the International Civil Aviation Organisation's recommendations for a passport … with machine-readable capability."…[Official Report, 23 March 1981; Vol. 1, c. 219.] That obviously makes sense and, I am sure, will receive overwhelming support. The House of Lords Select Committee, to which I have already referred, supported not only the idea of the common format but also the principle of machine readability, identifying the use of the computer as the most obvious aid to speeding the traveller's passage through passport control. It recognised, however, that a great deal of detailed study would be required before machine readability could be introduced.

Later, in 1980, a panel of experts established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation published a standard specification for a machine-readable element in the passport. Very importantly, the panel—and its views accorded entirely with those of the Government — rejected any system that would mean that the passport holder himself could not read the information presented to the computer. That is one of the matters that my hon. Friend has raised, and I am sure that he will be content with the answer that I have given. There will be no information on the machine-readable passport which does not appear on our passports now, and it will all be visible to the holder.

Since then research, development, and operational use of machine-readable passports, and the equipment for reading them, show that they can be produced and that considerable benefits should ensue for passengers, carrying companies, and the authorities at the ports.

Figures produced by the International Civil Aviation Organisation suggest that there could be 650 million individual movements a year through passport controls at airports alone at the present time. Road, rail and sea transport might at least double the number. By introducing the machine-readable passport we could hope to reduce considerably the time taken on those checks. A lot of work could be cut out, because the provision and completion of landing cards could progressively be dispensed with.

Just as the common format passport will bring benefits to the British traveller, so will machine-readability, speeding up his passage through controls overseas. For passengers entering this country who are subject to immigration control, machine-readability will speed up any check that has to be made and also simplify the recording of passenger movement. I can assure my hon. Friend and the House that we have no plans to connect the immigration and nationality department computers, reading and recording information from passports, with any other computers not directly related to the control of immigration. Fears about that possibility have been expressed in the House from time to time.

My hon. Friend is right to point out that we have been influential in determining within the International Civil Aviation Organisation the specification for the machine-readable passport and that we have been early, indeed first, to test prototype reading equipment at our ports. And we expect our business men to take advantage of the opportunities that these developments present. My hon. Friend mentioned their part in providing necessary hardware and software.

So we have two important developments — the obligation to introduce the common format passport and the ability before so long to introduce machine-readability—and it seems only sensible that the two should be linked. It really would not make much sense to introduce the common format passport and then later perhaps have to make alterations in its lay-out to make it machine-readable. This must, of course, affect a decision as to timing. I am not in a position to announce our conclusions today, but my right hon. Friend expects to be able to make a statement about the Government's intentions before the House rises for the summer recess. I know that that will disappoint my hon. Friend.

I have said that considerable benefits can flow from the common format and from machine-readability, but there is a third important development on the way which, perhaps, I can be excused for mentioning. At present, some 2.2 million passports are issued each year, entirely on a manual system that employs more than 1,000 staff in six regional offices. The average time taken to deal with postal applications at peak issuing periods can be up to four weeks. Following examination of the passport department by the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and a Rayner scrutiny, in 1982, a full study to identify how best to computerise the issue of passports is under way. We expect that, with computerisation, we shall be able in future to improve even further a service to the public. I hope that that is recognised as good news.

I thank my hon. Friend for taking an interest in this matter and for having raised the issue tonight. It is only recently that responsibility for the Passport Office has fallen to me, and it is a somewhat awesome responsibility. However, it is pleasant to stand at the Dispatch Box to explain some of the important developments that are taking place.

Question put and agreed to.

Adjourned accordingly at twenty-four minutes to Eleven o'clock.