§ Mr. OlnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on passports for children. [38434]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienFollowing a policy review, I have accepted the Passport Agency's recommendation that, on the grounds of improved security, of making child abduction more difficult, of facilitating travel and of maintaining the Agency's efficiency and effectiveness, all children should be required to hold their own passport. This change in policy will take effect from 5 October 1998, when the Agency plan to begin introducing a new, more secure British passport. Children already included on their parents' passports will not be affected by this change until the passport is changed.