§ Mr. HainTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many United Kingdom passports have been(a) issued and (b) revoked since 1979.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerFigures for passport services are kept for financial years April to March. The numbers of each of the years since 1978–79 are:
Year Numbers 1978–79 1,614,382 1979–80 1,995,401 1980–81 2,168,344 1981–82 1,748,241 1982–83 2,014,687 1983–84 1,966,019 1984–85 1,800,440 1985–86 2,193,489 1986–87 2,588,426 1987–88 2,485,312 1988–89 2,841,888 1989–90 3,194,418 1990–91 3,116,939 1991–92 3,227,522 1992–93 3,368,060 1993–94 3,699,526 Withdrawal of a passport would be considered:
- a. if it came to the Passport Agency's attention on replacement that it had been issued incorrectly; and
- b. on the same basis as the refusal of an application. That is in the case of
- (i) a minor whose journey was known to be contrary to a court order, to the wishes of a parent or other person or authority to whom a court had awarded custody, care and control or to the provisions of section 25(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, as amended by the Children Act, 1989, or section 56 of the Adoption Act 1976;
- (ii) a person for whose arrest a warrant had been issued in the United Kingdom or who was wanted by the police on suspicion of a serious crime;
- (iii) in very rare cases, a person whose past or proposed activities were so demonstrably undesirable that the grant or continued enjoyment of passport facilities would be contrary to the public interest;
- (iv) a person repatriated at public expense until the debt has been repaid.
No records are kept of the numbers, but it is very rare for a passport to be withdrawn.