HC Deb 21 July 1959 vol 609 c110W
Mr. Mathew

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what undertaking as to the simplification of passport and other frontier formalities has been given by Her Majesty's Government to those European Governments who have recently drawn up the draft agreement for dispensing with passport facilities for their own nationals.

Mr. R. Allan

Her Majesty's Government have informed the Tourism Committee of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation and the Council of Europe's Special Committee for Simplification of Frontier Formalities that, as stated in the reply given to the hon. and learned Member for Antrim, South (Mr. Knox Cunningham) by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 26th March last, they are willing to negotiate bilateral agreements with other member countries of O.E.E.C. Under these, nationals of those countries coming to the United Kingdom for short visits might, subject to certain safeguards, produce, instead of a passport, the standard model identity card recommended by the Tourism Committee of the Organisation. No such agreements have, however, as yet been concluded.