§ Mr. Lidington,To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the criteria which he is currently applying to decisions to extend expired passports for two years; and what plans he has to review these criteria. [89866]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe criteria are as follows:
Where children are included on passports, they can be:
extended until the date of the eldest child's sixteenth birthday so long as there is a minimum of six months, orextended for two years so long as all the included children are 14 years or younger.Children included on a passport require their own passport when they reach the age of 16.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates since 2 May 1997 on which the Chief Executive of the Passport Agency submitted his quarterly reports to ministers. [89865]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienSince 2 May 1997, the Chief Executive has submitted his quarterly reports to Ministers on the following dates:
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Period Date Submitted April to June 1997 11 August 1997 July to September 1997 18 November 1997 October to December 1997 12 February 1998 January to March 1998 12 May 1998 April to June 1998 6 August 1998 October to December 1998 February 1999 January to March 1999 19 May 1999
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the present members of the Passport Agency's Advisory Board. [89863]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe present members of the Passport Agency's Advisory Board are:
Mike Elland
Deputy Director General, Immigration and Nationality Directorate, Home Office (Chairman)Keith Ackroyd
Former Managing Director, Boots Retail DivisionMalcolm Davidson
Former Managing Director, Littlewoods PoolsRobert Fulton
Principal Finance Officer, Home OfficeLinda Lockyer
Director Corporate Resources, Home Office.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the dates on which(a) the Passport Agency's Management Board and (b) the Passport Agency's Advisory Board have met since 2 May 1997. [89864]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information requested on meetings of the Passport Agency's Management Board, and its Advisory Board since 2 May 1997 are as follows:
Advisory Board Year Dates 1997 30 July, 30 October 1998 28 January, 29 April, 29 October 1999 28 January, 28 April
Management Board Year Date 1997 19 May, 23 June, 2 July, 21 July, 18 August, 28 August, 15 September, 20 October, 17 November, 15 December 1998 19 January, 16 February, 16 March, 20 April, 18 May, 22 June, 20 July, 17 August, 16 September, 19 October, 9 November, 21 December 1999 18 January, 22 February, 22 March, 20 April, 17 May, 21 June
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy during the present delays at the Passport Agency to waive or reimburse the £10 additional fee due from applicants in person; and if he will make a statement. [89843]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienMy right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 30 June that for any applicant calling personally at a passport office who applied more than two weeks ago, and had not yet received their passport, the £10 additional fee for personal applications would be waived.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to allow in urgent circumstances the two year extension of passports which include the names of children aged under 16 years; and if he will make a statement. [89844]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe arrangements to extend passports by two years includes passports where children are included.
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone calls were made to the UK Passport Agency in June; and how many of those received the Agency's courtesy message. [89846]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe Passport Agency has information only up to 25 June. Up to that date, the Agency had received 914,580 telephone calls, of which 621,915 received a courtesy message.