Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department made of the number of application rejections made by the New Zealand government's digital passport application system before deciding to undertake a trial of a similar system; and what information her Department holds on the number of such rejections.
Answered by James Brokenshire
HM Passport Office (HMPO) has a long-standing and productive relationship with the New Zealand Passport Office and meets on a regular basis. HMPO recognise the challenges with getting photos to meet the required international Civil Aviation Organisation security standards and, in addition to working with the New Zealand Passport Office, we have been running user testing sessions to improve the quality of the service. HMPO will ensure any new service is tested extensively before any public launch.
HMPO has regular meetings with representatives from the Photo Marketing Association (PMA); the last meeting was on 23 October 2014. The meetings focus on sharing our plans and to discuss options for providing customers with an appropriate service in the digital age. HMPO will continue to engage with the PMA and through them with the photographic industry to share information about current plans for digital services.
The integrity and security of our passport issuance process is at the heart of HMPO's business model. We are fully committed to our public protection agenda and this extends to all aspects of the application process, across all channels.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to improve security measures for ID photographs for passport applications.
Answered by James Brokenshire
HM Passport Office (HMPO) has a long-standing and productive relationship with the New Zealand Passport Office and meets on a regular basis. HMPO recognise the challenges with getting photos to meet the required international Civil Aviation Organisation security standards and, in addition to working with the New Zealand Passport Office, we have been running user testing sessions to improve the quality of the service. HMPO will ensure any new service is tested extensively before any public launch.
HMPO has regular meetings with representatives from the Photo Marketing Association (PMA); the last meeting was on 23 October 2014. The meetings focus on sharing our plans and to discuss options for providing customers with an appropriate service in the digital age. HMPO will continue to engage with the PMA and through them with the photographic industry to share information about current plans for digital services.
The integrity and security of our passport issuance process is at the heart of HMPO's business model. We are fully committed to our public protection agenda and this extends to all aspects of the application process, across all channels.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she intends to secure professional photo industry accreditation, sanction and support for plans to allow digital images to be used in future passport applications, and if she will make a statement.
Answered by James Brokenshire
Her Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO) currently has no plans regarding the accreditation of digital photograph providers. However, HMPO is engaged in dialogue with the Photo Marketing Association. The needs of our customers are continually reviewed and we continue to adjust our service to ensure their experience is as well supported as is reasonable and practical.