§ Mr. Edelmanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by what authority the Passport Office in London insists on handwritten rather than typewritten application forms for a passport for a child; and why instructions to that effect are not given on the application form.
§ Mr. MayhewIt is generally desirable, for the purpose of establishing the identity of the applicant and of discouraging attempts at impersonation, that passport application forms of all kinds should, if 51W possible, be completed by the applicants in their own handwriting. This is the normal requirement for all forms of application for passport facilities, and is included as a direction at the top of the ordinary application form "A" which has recently been revised. My right hon. Friend has now given instructions for a similar direction to be included in other passport application forms, including the form "B" for children under 16 years of age. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to this point.