Handover of Hong Kong to China 1997 - https://www.parliament.uk/edm/2017-19/537 refers

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Dear Home Office,

In 1997 the UK Government handed the Hong Kong Territory over to China as part of a formal agreement made by the Conservative Government in 1994.     I would like to know the following:

a. Confirm that 50,000 new British passports were allocated to the BNSS process for heads of family living in Hong Kong by the UK Government as a figure to Lord Patten (the then Governor of Hong Kong) for his Administration to process.
b. Confirm the exact total number of heads of family who were actually given a new British passport from the allocated 50.000 passports available. Were all 50.000 passports allocated?

Further, I hold a letter from Lord Bates, former Lords Minister Home Office dated December 2015 stating that 654 heads of family of the British-Hong Kong Soldiers of the HKMSC (Hong Kong Military Service Corps) applied for a UK passport before handover and that 159 were successful. I would like to know the following:

a. Why were not ALL HKMSC soldiers given automatically a new British passport for Her Majesty's Crown Armed Forces Service prior to handover ?

b. Why were only 159 HKMSC allocated a new British passport prior to handover?

c. Was the Armed Forces Military Covenant ever considered for those HKMSC soldiers refused a new British passport prior to handover?

d. How many of the Royal Naval Hong Kong contingent were issued a new British passport prior to handover?

Yours faithfully,
Russell R. Banks
5 Twickenham Place Chorley Lancashire PR7 2AF

FOI Requests, Home Office

Mr. Banks,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 46259). We will aim to send you a full response by 19/12/2017 which is twenty working days from the date we received your request.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you,

P. Zebedee
FOI Requests
Home Office

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Dear Mr Banks

Thank you for your email below. Your request is being handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We will aim to send you a full response by 19 December 2017, which is twenty working days from the date when we received your request.

Yours sincerely

Her Majesty’s Passport Office

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1 Attachment

Dear Mr Banks

Please see the attached response.

Yours sincerely

Her Majesty's Passport Office

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