§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were lost by the Passport Office in each of the last five years. [7314]
§ Angela EagleThe United Kingdom Passport Service issues more than 5 million passports each year, the majority of which are issued via first class post.
The only records the UK Passport Service holds relating to lost passports are those for passports reported to be lost, stolen or unavailable and for those which have been recorded as missing in the post. These figures are given: 91W
Year Lost, stolen or unavailable1 Lost in post1 1997 31,550 2— 1998 31,497 2— 1999 62,775 2,359 2000 114,624 3,851 20013 436,328 51,474 1 All figures are for calendar year except where otherwise stated 2 Not available 3 Figures are from April to September 2001 4 To May 2001 5 To September 2001