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Dear Mr Moss,
Thank you for you letter of 17 August to Danny Alexander MP regarding
passport fees. This has been passed to me for reply.
The current adult passport fee is £77.50. Price increases over
the past ten years have been driven mainly by a number of service changes
and other factors including: an increase in consular premiums; the introduction
of ePassports; authentication by interview for first time passport applicants;
secure delivery; a number of anti-fraud initiatives and forecast demand.
The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is required to generate enough
income from passport fees to cover no more than the cost of issuing
passports and providing support services such as our Adviceline, plus
a contribution towards the cost of emergency consular assistance to
British passport holders when travelling overseas.
Below is a breakdown of the elements that make up the adult passport
fee for the past ten years:
|
|
May
1990
|
May
1995
|
May
2000
|
May
2005
|
June
2010
|
|
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
| Application
processing |
10.95
|
13.05
|
21.27
|
24.35
|
31.60
|
| FCO
Consular Premium |
-
|
-
|
-
|
9.65
|
15.62
|
| Production
& Personalisation of Book |
-
|
-
|
-
|
5.00
|
10.79
|
| Delivery |
-
|
-
|
-
|
3.00
|
3.30
|
| Overhead
/ Administration |
4.05
|
4.95
|
6.73
|
-
|
16.19
|
| Total |
£15.00
|
£18.00
|
£28.00
|
£42.00
|
£77.50
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Prior to November 2002, costs were only split between direct passport
production (application processing) and indirect overhead (administrative)
costs. The proportion of the fee which is passed to the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) to fund the provision of consular services
for British travellers overseas was formalised in 2002-03. Prior to
this a surplus agreed with the Treasury was made and credited to the
FCO. Prior to 2002-03 the cost of passport book production was included
in application processing costs. Secure Delivery was introduced in 2003-04
and earlier distribution costs are included in application processing.
Whilst there are no current plans to make any changes to passport fees,
we will review fees for different types of application when the fees
for passports are next revised to ensure value for money.
The article that you refer to in your letter from the Number 10 website
(http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.number10.gov.uk/page10364)
relates to early plans to issue a package of an identity card and a
passport together: "Our current estimate is that a combined passport
and ID card package will cost you together a unit cost of £93
per person. To put this in context the standard fee for the new ePassport
is £66 today." The price estimate given was for the two documents,
not solely a passport.
The integration of fingerprint data into the passport has been halted.
At the same time we are determined that the passport, through its combination
of physical and electronic security features, remains a highly secure
and trusted document meeting rigorous international standards. That's
why, from October this year, we are introducing a new internal design
for the passport. The new design has improved physical security features
which will help keep the passport secure. By ensuring that the passport
remains a highly secure and trusted document it gives people the freedom
to move around the world, often without the need for visas, together
with speedier passage through border controls.
I hope you find this information useful.
Yours sincerely,
Al[a]stair Bridges
Executive Director
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