asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what parental qualifications of nationality are required by applicants for jobs in the Passport Office.

The normal nationality requirements of the Civil Service Commission General Regulations 1978 stipulate that to be eligible for appointment to a situation under the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, other than in the Diplomatic Service, both a candidate's parents must have been British subjects—citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies—Commonwealth citizens or citizens of the Irish Republic from birth.