§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
In what proportion of applications for United Kingdom passports a check is made on the credentials of referees for the applicants. [HL1435]
§ Lord RookerThe requirement for a referee or countersignatory for passport applications applies to first time applications for adults and children, to applications to replace lost, stolen or damaged passports, and for renewal applicants whose appearance has significantly changed. These 39WA applications represent around 50 per cent of the business of the UK Passport Service.
Various checks on the acceptability of a countersignatory are undertaken on all such applications through the passport issuing process. Some checks are automatic; others are undertaken at the discretion of passport examiners. These checks include formal checks on the countersignatory's credentials. Because they are part of the wider examination process these particular checks are not separately recorded.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many applications were made in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available for United Kingdom passports, showing separately (a) the number of first time applications and (b) applications for passport renewal, and giving the number refused in each instance.[HL14361
§ Lord RookerThe total number of passport applications made in the 12 month period November 2000 to October 2001 was 5,581,132, of which 2,653,544 were first time applications and 2,488,318 were renewals. The number of refusals was 2,371. A breakdown between first time and renewal applications cannot be provided but most refusals would be on first time applications.