My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Joan Ryan) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Privy Council has made an Order in Council—the Consular Fees (Amendment) Order 2006—which gives authority for a revision in passport fees. The revision will take effect on 5 October 2006. The fee for a standard 32-page passport will increase from £51 to £66, while the fee for a 48-page passport will increase from £62.50 to £77. The fee for a passport for a child will increase from £34 to £45. The fee for an adult using the guaranteed one-week counter service for a standard 32-page passport will increase from £77.50 to £91, for a child from £70 to £80, and for a 48-page jumbo from £87 to £97. The fee for an adult using the guaranteed same-day service for a standard 32-page passport will increase from £96.50 to £108, for a child from £83 to £93, and for a 48-page passport from £104.50 to £114.50. The fee for a collective passport, for organised trips for schools and youth groups, will remain unchanged at £39.

This increase represents the second stage of the two-year fee agreement reached with HM Treasury last year. This followed a stringent review of costs to ensure that the fee for each type of passport service closely reflects the production costs accrued by that service and bears its share of the cost of consular protection services. This increase will deliver extensive improvements required in the ongoing efforts to combat passport and identity fraud.