Controversy concerning passport colour

The request was successful.

Dear HM Passport Office,

I'd like to have official data on the passport colour preceding the 'burgundy' passports. My expired passports appear to be black, not blue.

So please give me:

1. The Pantone colour name and the RGB value of the older 'black' one.
2. The Pantone colour name and the RGB value of the current proposal 'post Brexit'.

If you hold it:
3. The Pantone colour name and the RGB value of the US passport

Item 3. serves to highlight any new 'direction of proposed standardisation'.

Thanks in advance
Yours faithfully,

Hugh Barnard

If your enquiry falls within the remit of a Freedom of Information request
Her Majesty’s Passport Office will send you an acknowledgement within the
next 2 working days.

 

If your enquiry does not fall within the Freedom of Information remit this
will not be forwarded or responded to. Therefore please contact the
appropriate department listed below:

 

• For a passport enquiry or complaint, please complete an online enquiry
form

 

• If your enquiry or complaint relates to a certificate which you have
ordered from the General Registrar’s Office, please complete the
certificate service order enquiries form.

 

• If your request is for information relating to your data held by Her
Majesty’s Passport Office or an individual it falls under the terms of the
Data Protection Act 1998 and may qualify as a Subject Access Request,
please email [email address]

 

• If your enquiry relates to nationality you should forward your enquiry
to the UK Visas and Immigration enquiry team who are better placed to
respond, please email    [email address

 

 

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Dear Mr Barnard

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 31 January 2018, 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 Barnard

Please find attached our response to your information request.

Yours sincerely

Her Majesty’s Passport Office

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Dear FOI,

See this tweet for my reaction to this: https://twitter.com/hughbarnard/status/9...
Meanwhile I am requesting an internal review:
1. As above the nature of the reply is obstructive, an apology is needed.

As to the matter, itself:

2. Since (see 1.) you have contractual arrangements with your third part supplier
3. Given 2. there is a contract between your supplier and the passport office
4. (Presumably, but who knows given the chaos in other areas, universal credit, NHS IT etc.) you do not wish passports to be in random colours, there will be a contractual arrangement concerning colour
5. Given 4. the 'commercially sensitive' excuse (and it is so, for public interest matters) will not be valid, since I am not asking about 'price' etc.
6. Given 2-5, I'd like an actual answer to my question.

I don't wish to waste the Information Commissioner's time on a complaint for something that is relatively trivial but will do so, if it becomes necessary.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Barnard

If your enquiry falls within the remit of a Freedom of Information request
Her Majesty’s Passport Office will send you an acknowledgement within the
next 2 working days.

 

If your enquiry does not fall within the Freedom of Information remit this
will not be forwarded or responded to. Therefore please contact the
appropriate department listed below:

 

• For a passport enquiry or complaint, please complete an online enquiry
form

 

• If your enquiry or complaint relates to a certificate which you have
ordered from the General Registrar’s Office, please complete the
certificate service order enquiries form.

 

• If your request is for information relating to your data held by Her
Majesty’s Passport Office or an individual it falls under the terms of the
Data Protection Act 1998 and may qualify as a Subject Access Request,
please email [email address]

 

• If your enquiry relates to nationality you should forward your enquiry
to the UK Visas and Immigration enquiry team who are better placed to
respond, please email    [email address

 

 

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FOI Requests, HM Passport Office

Mr. Barnard,

Thank you for contacting the Home Office with your request.

This Internal Review has been assigned to a caseworker (case ref 46719). We will aim to send you a full response by 23/02/2018 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 FOI Requests,

This is long overdue, I need a reply now otherwise I'll involve some of the yellow press.
Alternatively you can explain to me how you verify the colour of the passport, since you don't hold any details about it.

Yours sincerely,

Hugh Barnard

FOI Responses, HM Passport Office

Dear Mr Barnard

 

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your
correspondence of 7 April 2018. 

 

I write to update you on the status of your internal review.  I can
confirm that the internal review is under active consideration and I
apologise for the length of time it is taking.  I am unable to confirm
when a response to your internal review will issued at this time, but it
is being treated as a priority.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

M Riddle

Knowledge and Information Management Unit

Performance and Risk Directorate

4th Floor Peel

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

T: +44 (0)20 7035 4848

 

 

 

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FOI Responses, HM Passport Office

1 Attachment

 

 

Dear Mr Barnard

 

Please find attached the Home Office response to your request for an
internal review of FOI case 46719

 

Yours Sincerely

 

M Riddle

Knowledge and Information Management Unit

Performance, Assurance and Governance Directorate

Lower Ground Floor Seacole

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

T: +44 (0)20 7035 4848

 

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