§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if court orders can be endorsed in children's passports; and if he will make a statement. [93165]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienWhere children hold passports, a court can require the surrender of a passport to prevent a child being removed from the jurisdiction, and so the endorsement of a court order may not be necessary. However, the endorsement of passports with summaries of court orders has been considered by the Parent/Carer Child Abduction Co-ordinating Group, which is an interdepartmental group of officials, together with Re-unite. The Group will be looking at the effectiveness of introducing endorsements of the passports of children at risk of abduction.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the contract for the supply of blank passports to the Passport Agency which expires in October 1999 has been renewed. [93088]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienDiscussions are in progress with the contractor to ensure a continuing supply of blank passport books.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place for the updating of photographs on children's passports before a formal renewal of the passport is required; and if he will make a statement. [93166]
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§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThere is no legal requirement for the photograph on a child's passport to be updated before the formal renewal of the passport after five years. While the appearance of young children can change rapidly, a photograph provides evidence to an immigration officer of basic characteristics, and only in a minority of cases would a child not be able to be identified. The United Kingdom Passport Agency has issued passports to young children for many years without difficulty prior to the policy change in October 1998 requiring separate passports. An application can be made for an amended passport with a new photograph in at a cost of £11.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals have been made to his Department for private sector involvement in the issuing of passports; if he will list the proposals received; and if he will make a statement. [93168]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIt would not be appropriate to disclose details of the proposals submitted for Private Sector Involvement in the Issue of the British Passport. This information is commercially confidential. The high level criteria applied in awarding the United Kingdom Passport Agency's contract for the passport issuing arrangements were security, continuity of service, compatibility, management information systems, archive system, commercial and technical criteria, examining support/speed/method/customer service, evergreening and cultural compatibility. On the basis of these criteria, contracts were awarded to the supplier who put forward the best solution.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors led to the timing of the introduction of new computer systems at the Passport Agency; and if he will make a statement. [93169]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe factors that led to the timing of the introduction of the new computer systems in the United Kingdom Passport Agency were the need to modernise existing systems, to enhance the Agency's capacity to prevent passport fraud and improve the security of the British passport, to replace obsolete printing equipment, to provide better customer information and to continue to improve the Agency's efficiency and effectiveness and the need for the introduction of the new system to coincide with its quiet season between October and the end of the year. The new computer systems were introduced at the Agency's request.
§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date work on the procurement of private sector involvement in the issuing of passports began; and if he will make a statement. [93170]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe procurement exercise to involve the private sector in the issuing of passports began with the placing of a notice in The Official Journal of the European Communities and Government Opportunities on 25 October 1996. A description of the procurement methodology is given in Annexe B of the summary of the business case for private sector involvement which has been placed in the Library.
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§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports have been issued by the Passport Agency in each year since 1995–96 and in 1999–2000 to date. [93167]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe information requested is given in the table.
1 April to 31 March Number 1995–96 4,686,524 1996–97 5,076,035 1997–98 4,872,233 1998–99 4,737,057 1999/20001 1,988,562 1 The final figure includes up to 18 July 1999 and shows record levels of production