§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what parties have been organised to coincide with the new agency status for the Passport Office: what is the cost to the Exchequer; how many people have been invited; and where these entertainments are being held.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIt is proposed to mark the launch of the United Kingdom Passport Agency as an executive agency of the Home Office on 2 April 1991 with events at the six regional passport offices in Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport and Peterborough, at the passport records unit at Hayes, Middlesex, and at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in London.
The events will be attended by the staff of the agency, and invitations will also be extended to representations of foreign governments, the travel trade, Government Departments and others with whom the agency will have a business relationship.
These gatherings will provide an opportunity to outline the agency's plans for obtaining the maximum benefit from the change to executive agency status under the Government's "next steps" initiative in terms of value for money and a continuing emphasis on high levels of service to the public. They will also be used to publicise ways of making the best use of the passport service, for example by sending non-urgent applications by post rather than applying in person at a passport office. About 1,900 staff and business contacts of the Passport Agency are expected to attend the eight events at an overall average cost in the region of £10 per person.