Mr Richard Allan (Shadow Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)

It would be helpful to have a brief moment of clarification. Clause 39 potentially heralds a comprehensive change in the way that information provided for the purpose of applying for passports can be checked and cross-referenced with other Government Departments and agencies. I want it to be made clear that that is the purpose of the clause. The explanatory notes say that it echoes provisions under clause 11 under which such information is available for ID cards and the national identity card register. I want to be absolutely clear and make sure that we have on the record the fact that, when a person applies for a passport and regulations are brought in under the clause, there will be significant additional cross-checking with other Departments than that which currently takes place.

It is important as we consider the clauses that we can explore fully and precisely what they mean, so that citizens are aware of what they will do and, when we reach our final judgment on the Bill, we will know about all the changes that will take place. The clause is significant in that the passport procedure is one in which 80 per cent. of the population currently go through. People will want to know if, under the Bill, when they apply for a passport, cross checks will be made with other Departments about the information that they have supplied to the Passport Service.

Mr Des Browne (Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism), Home Office; Kilmarnock & Loudoun, Labour)

The hon. Gentleman is right in that the clause mirrors for passport applications the identity checking provisions for national identity register enrolment under clause 11. The provisions for passport applications will be brought into effect by clause 45(5) two months after Royal Assent by the same method as the previous clause that we considered. The genesis of the amendment lies in the Cabinet Office study on identity fraud that reported about 30 months ago. It recommended greater use of biographical checks on passport applications. Indeed, that recommendation has led to that method of checking being incorporated into the identity card scheme, rather than the ID system being devised for passports.

Concerns were expressed about passports and it was recommended that greater use of biographical checks be carried out. The UK Passport Service developed and introduced a large-scale pilot scheme for checking information provided by passport applications against public and private sector databases. The pilot has been running for a year in the Glasgow passport office and the next step will be to roll it out nationally for all adult first-time passport applications. It will then be used in conjunction with the interviews that I announced on 20 December to introduce the highest possible standard of identity authentication for adult first-time passport applications.  

The powers exercised by the Home Secretary under which the Crown issues passports already enable the collection of information from passport applicants to check their identity. The clause will put beyond doubt the ability of the UK Passport Service to approach other Government organisations to require them to check against their records and confirm to the UKPS whether or not the details in a given passport application match a genuine identity.

Mr Richard Allan (Shadow Spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, Cabinet Office; Sheffield, Hallam, Liberal Democrat)

Will the Minister say whether the results of the Glasgow large-scale pilot scheme have been published or will be published, so that we can understand the extent to which it has revealed problems that the biographical checks have enabled to be resolved?

Mr Des Browne (Minister of State (Citizenship, Immigration and Counter-Terrorism), Home Office; Kilmarnock & Loudoun, Labour)

I regret that I am unable to give the hon. Gentleman a specific answer to his question. I will provide him and other members of the Committee with a response within days.

The clause also has the effect that requirements to provide information could be imposed on other persons specified in an order, which will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. Private organisations or credit reference agencies, for example, could be specified in such an order. The provisions of the clause are needed to enable the UKPS to protect the integrity and international acceptability of the British passport and to protect individuals from misuse of their identity.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 39 ordered to stand part of the Bill.