§ Mr. Trippierasked the Lord Privy Seal if, subsequent to his replies to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam (Mr. Osborn) on 11 June, Official Report column 191, and the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Mrs. Knight) on 1 June, Official Report, column 230, he is now in a position to make a statement on the reimbursement of persons who have to purchase a temporary passport because of the failure to issue permanent passports as a result of the Civil Service dispute.
§ Mr. LuceWe have considered this question very carefully and have concluded that we cannot refund the cost of British visitors passports obtained in these circumstances. The need for people to obtain visitors passports because their applications for full passports had been delayed is entirely due to the industrial action by the Council of Civil Service Unions. The Government cannot accept that it is as a result of any fault on the part of the passport offices. Indeed, the staff remaining at the passport offices are doing everything they can to provide a service.
We appreciate that many people feel strongly about this but those who have been able to travel abroad as planned by obtaining British visitors passports are in a better position than those who hoped to visit countries which do not accept these documents and who consequently could not travel at all. The advice to obtain British visitors Passports where possible, was given in order to reduce the workload on the staff at the passport offices to enable them to devote more time to processing applications for those who could not obtain visitors passports.
Full passports for which applications have been lodged but which are held up in the mail would of course be valid from the date of issue, not of application. In these cases there is therefore no question of someone having to pay £5.50 for a British visitors passport while their new 10-year passport is valid.