Appendix 2
S.I. 2012/3171: memorandum from the Department
of Health
General Pharmaceutical Council (Amendment of
Miscellaneous Provisions) Rules Order of Council 2012 (S.I. 2012/3171)
1. In its letter to the Department of 30th
January 2013, the Committee requested a memorandum on the following
point:
"In relation to new rule 10(3A) inserted
into the Schedule to S.I. 2010/1617 by rule 25(6) of the Schedule
to this Order, explain why a certified copy of a passport including
its front cover (as opposed to one without its front cover) is
not treated as acceptable supporting evidence."
2. The Department's response to the Committee's
point is outlined below.
3. Prior to the amendments made by rule 25(2),
(3) and (6) of the General Pharmaceutical Council (Amendment of
Miscellaneous Provisions) Rules 2012, rule 10(3)(a)(i) of the
General Pharmaceutical Council (Registration) Rules 2010[1]
required an applicant for registration as a pharmacist or pharmacy
technician to provide evidence of identity in the form of the
applicant's passport, a true copy of it certified by a notary
or solicitor, or another document considered acceptable by the
Registrar. Rule 10(3)(c)(i) provided that evidence of the applicant's
date of birth was to satisfy the same requirements. Rule 10(3)(d)
provided for the same requirements to be met in order to demonstrate
the applicant's nationality. Under rule 10(3)(f)(ii), if an applicant
sought registration in reliance on rights acquired by virtue of
marriage or civil partnership to a national of a relevant European
State, the passport (or a true copy of it certified by a notary
or solicitor) of a spouse or partner who is a national of a relevant
European State was required.
4. The amendments made by rule 25(2), (3) and
(6) have the effect that a certified copy of a passport used for
any of the purposes outlined above must not include the front
cover.
5. The rules excepted the front cover of the
passport, which includes the Royal Arms, in order to avoid placing
a burden on applicants which could potentially lead to difficulties
for them in relation to Crown copyright. Further, it was considered
preferable to be prescriptive and make it a condition that the
front cover should not be included in order to avoid anyone who
was unaware that there could be an issue of that nature from copying
and supplying it in any event. Further background is as follows.
6. The General Pharmaceutical Council have become
aware that applicants for registration have had difficulty obtaining
a 'true copy', certified by a notary or solicitor, of a passport.
This is because solicitors have declined to certify photocopies
of such documents on the grounds that they are Crown copyright
and protected under section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
7. There are two relevant pieces of guidance
on the website of the National Archives concerning the extent
to which Crown copyright applies in the case of the reproduction
of a passport: "Guidance - Reproduction of the Front Cover
of the British Passport"[2],
and "Guidance: Reproduction of the Royal Arms"[3]
(copies of both of which are attached).
8. Paragraph 3 of "Guidance - Reproduction
of the Front Cover of the British Passport" confirms that
copyright applies. Paragraph 4 allows for the copying of the front
cover including the Royal Arms where limited provisos apply.
Paragraph 8 acknowledges that the personal details part of the
passport may be reproduced with the consent of the individual.
While this guidance can still be found on the National Archives
website and is still referred to by commentators and advisers
as if it were still in force, it has now been withdrawn and is
in the archived section of their website. However the Identity
and Passport Service have confirmed to the General Pharmaceutical
Council that they still have no objection to the reproduction
of the personal details part. They have also confirmed that they
themselves would no longer have any objection to the copying of
the front cover.
9. "Guidance: Reproduction of the Royal
Arms" sets out limited circumstances in which the use or
re-use of the Royal Arms is authorised. For instance, paragraph
4 authorises that it may be used by:-
"Re-users only in the context of copying a government
report or legislation. For instance:
— in a press report where the front page of
a government report is used to support an accompanying article
— in a photocopied version of a report made,
for example, by a library"
10. There is nothing in the Guidance that would
appear to authorise photocopying the Royal Arms on the front cover
of a passport in order to produce a certified copy.
11. Following conversations with officers at
the Lord Chamberlain's office and the National Archives, the General
Pharmaceutical Council understand that this Guidance may not be
enforced in practice, but while it remains live the General Pharmaceutical
Council does not consider that that can be safely assumed and
is of the view that the correct approach is to take it into account.
Department of Health
5 February 2013
1 Scheduled
to S.I. 2010/1617. Back
2 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20101217161214/nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/reproduction-british-passport.pdf Back
3
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/use-of-the-royal-arms.pdf
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