HC Deb 08 June 1999 vol 332 cc255-7W
Mr. Olner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been implemented at airports to check children's passports. [85327]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

All arriving passengers, including children, are liable to be examined by an immigration officer in order to determine identity and nationality. No particular distinction is made between the examination of adults' and children's passports.

The previous Administration had already removed, in 1994, embarkation controls for passengers travelling from ferry ports and small airports to destinations within the European Union/European Economic Area, with the consequence that some 40 per cent. of all departing passengers were not seen by an immigration officer. There has never been an embarkation control for channel tunnel services. What was left of the control was, therefore, ineffective in providing a reliable record of a person's departure, and we have since introduced new arrangements following my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Wythenshawe and Sale, East (Mr. Goggins), Official Report, columns 506–07 on 16 March 1998.

The new system involves a close partnership between the control authorities and port operators based on intelligence and target led embarkation checks, including the increased use of closed circuit television. There are no plans to reinstate routine embarkation controls, although immigration officers will continue to retain their powers to examine the passports of departing passengers if circumstances require.

Mr. Olner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children's passports have been issued within the last 12 months. [85326]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

In the period 1 May 1998 to 30 April 1999, 889,180 passports were issued to applicants who were children under the age of 16.

Mr. Olner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken in respect of the endorsement of children's passports with relevant court orders. [85328]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

No steps have yet been taken in respect of the endorsement of children's passports. This important issue will be looked at by the Parent/Carer Child Abduction Co-ordinating Group of officials in the light of the arrangements for embarkation controls introduced in March 1998.

However, there are a number of measures in place to ensure compliance with court orders in relation to the issuing of children's passports. Where it is known that a child is a ward of court, or subject to a prohibited steps order requiring the leave of the court before removal from the United Kingdom, passport facilities are not granted unless the court's permission is obtained.

The Passport Agency also operates a scheme whereby a parent or other objector, where there is a court order in their favour, can ask the Agency not to issue a passport for a child. The Passport Agency ensures that the terms of the court order, about removal of the child from the jurisdiction, are met before issuing a passport. Where a child is already in possession of a valid passport, the court is able to order its surrender where there is in force an order prohibiting or otherwise restricting the removal of the child from the United Kingdom.

A requirement for children to hold separate passports was introduced in October 1998, one of the main aims of this policy being to make child abduction more difficult.