§ Mr. George Cunninghamasked the Lord Privy Seal whether he proposes to continue the practice of requiring counter-signatures of passport applications by a British subject; and, if so, which of the two meanings of "British subject" created by the British Nationality Act 1981 will apply for this purpose.
§ Mr. LuceThe definition of a Commonwealth citizen contained in part V of the British Nationality Act 1981 includes all the categories of British subjects who are currently qualified, on nationality grounds, to countersign passport applications made in the United Kingdom. When the 1981 Act comes into force, the counter-signature section of the passport application form will refer to "a Commonwealth citizen" rather than "a British subject".