§ Mr. HawksleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that there should be an office for the issue of passports in Birmingham. [15425]
§ Mr. KirkhopeThe UK Passport Agency undertook a review of the location of its offices in 1995 and concluded that the six regional passport offices in the United Kingdom were able to meet current and expected levels of demand and that there was no case for additional offices.
The UK Passport Agency has recently introduced a partnership arrangement under which passport applications can be handed in at high street post offices and branches of ARTAC World Choice travel agents who will check the application form for accuracy and deliver it to the agency for processing. There are more than 40 post office outlets and five ARTAC World Choice travel agents in the Birmingham area.