Labour kill the cheap channel crossing: Passport costs to rise again

The government has announced today that adult passport fees will rise for the 6th time in eight years to £51, with the passport cost almost trebling since 1997. With a flexible return to France from the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal costing around £44, the total cost of a cheap day return to France for a family of 4 now tops £200 including the required passports.

Commenting on the increase in passport fees, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Mark Oaten MP said:

"The Government's record on passport security is appalling and new measures are clearly needed. However, the public are being asked to pay three times what they paid for a passport in 1997, and they are entitled to know what their money is being spent on.

"The extra funds will allow the Government to begin work on a network of 70 new offices for anti-fraud interviews. These are the same offices that will later be used to interview and fingerprint every single British citizen under the flawed ID cards scheme.

"There are good arguments for interviewing first-time passport applicants, but it must be made crystal clear that none of this money should be used to subsidise the ID cards project."

Local anti-ID campaigner Darren Briddock has also criticised the increase as a step towards ID card introduction by stealth:

"The cost of introducing ID Cards has been estimated as possibly costing up to £18 billion - and it looks like the Government has decided to start the meter running now.

"With some estimates putting the combined cost of a ID Card and passport at £300, we should stop this now and abandon the crazy ID card scheme."

Today's announcement means the cost of an adult passport has almost trebled since Labour came to power, from £18 in 1997 to £51 next month. The total cost for a family with 2 children has risen from £72 to £170.

A further increase in fees is expected next year. In answer to a parliamentary question from Mark Oaten, the Home Secretary recently confirmed that the unit cost of producing a passport will rise to £57.93 in 2006/07. See Hansard, 10 Oct 2005 : Column 177W.

The Home Office has confirmed to the Liberal Democrats in correspondence that the construction of the network of new passport offices will follow two phases.

Stage 1 will involve face-to-face interviews for all first-time passport applicants. This will begin in autumn 2006 and will require the acquisition of 70 new premises.

Stage 2 will extend interviews to all passport applications, including renewals, for the purpose of fingerprinting applicants (fingerprints are expected to be introduced as a second biometric on the passport from 2008/09). This will require the new offices to be extended. Depending on the outcome of the Identity Cards Bill, applicants will also be required to provide an iris scan and enrol on the National Identity Register when they renew their passport.

Today's increase is the 6th in passport fees since Labour came to power.

• Fee increase March 1998: The adult fee increased by £3 from £18 to £21. The child fee became £11 for a five year issue, replacing the £18 fee for a 10 year issue which was then renewed free of charge after five years.
• Fee increase December 1999: The adult fee increased by £7 to £28. The child fee increased by £3.80 to £14.80 and became compulsory.
• Fee increase January 2002: The adult fee increased by £2 to £30. The child fee increased by £1.20 to £16.
• Fee increase November 2002: The adult fee increased by £3 to £33. The child fee increased by £3 to £19.
• Fee increase October 2003: The adult fee increased by £9 to £42. The child fee increased by £6 to £25.
• Today's fee increase (effective December 2005): The adult fee increased by £9 to £51. The child fee increased by £9 to £34