§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many United Kingdom passports are at present valid; and what arrangements exist to ensure that passports are returned for cancellation on the death of the holder. [HL955]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker)It is estimated that there are 43,855,981 valid British passports, equivalent to 73.4 per cent of the population. Every passport contains a reminder that it should be returned for cancellation on the death of the holder. The Passport Service is seeking to establish arrangements to receive routine notifications of death as part of its work on improving fraud countermeasures.