§ Mr. J. Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proportion of the passports issued in 1951 were issued through Ministry of Labour offices; and what economy in staff has thus been achieved by the passport offices.
§ Mr. NuttingMinistry of Labour Offices do not issue passports. Their function is to receive passport applications lodged with them and to forward the applications daily to the Passport Office with a note of the evidence produced and of fees paid. The number of applications for new passports received through Ministry of Labour Offices during 1951 was 262,709, or approximately 56 per cent. of the total number of new passports issued by the Passport Office in that year, excluding applications refused and withdrawn.
Without actually reducing the load on the Passport Office, the work of the Ministry of Labour Offices has contributed
Year Percentage of New Passports Percentage of Renewals Percentage of Total Staff London Liverpool Glasgow London Liverpool Glasgow London Liverpool Glasgow 1946 79 15 6 83 12 5 74 15 11 1947 72 19 9 82 12 6 72 18 11 1948 70 20 10 82 12 6 72 18 10 1949 70 22 8 83 9 8 72 18 10 1950 67 24 9 85 10 5 72 18 10 1951 66 22 12 81 14 5 72 18 10