Skip to main content

Passports

Volume 458: debated on Tuesday 13 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely lifespan of the information chip in the new passport. (126305)

The Identity and Passport Service believe that the lifespan of the chip in the e-passport will match the full 10-year validity period of the e-passport, assuming the passport is subject to normal usage and levels of “wear and tear”.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether first-time passport applicants will be reimbursed for the cost of travelling to and from an Authentication by Interview centre. (126605)

The Government do not propose to offer financial help to those customers attending a passport interview. Interview arrangements and office locations have been designed to keep the cost of attending as low as possible.