§ Mr. Geoffrey Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will open a passport office in Birmingham.
§ Mr. George ThomsonNo, Sir. The London Passport Office is to be partially dispersed during the next 2–3 years, as part of the Government's policy of dispersal of Government offices from London. New Branch Offices will be established at Newport (Mon.) in 1967 and Peterborough in 1968. As a result the country will, for passport purposes, be divided into five areas. The choice of sites for the two new offices was determined in part by the need to cover respectively the South West and the Midlands and East, and in part by planning considerations and the desirability of the Government setting an example in the spreading of office employment.