§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Filkin on 4 April (WA 155–56), in what circumstances a United Kingdom passport is reported as "unavailable"; whether they have now instructed the appropriate Government authorities to distinguish in their records between passports reported lost, stolen and unavailable; and when they 71WA expect to be able to provide a numerical breakdown between these three categories. [HL2477]
§ Lord FilkinA United Kingdom passport is recorded as unavailable when it is not in the possession of the rightful bearer but has been neither lost nor stolen. One example of this would be when the passport has been submitted to a third party to assist in confirming identity and the bearer has an urgent travel requirement.
Through developments in the passport issuing system it will shortly be possible to provide figures which distinguish between passports recorded as having been stolen and those recorded as lost or unavailable. These figures will go back to November 2001 when the implementation of the current passport issuing system was completed.
As part of its fraud action plan the UK Passport Service is developing a comprehensive system for reporting, recording and disseminating information relating to passports which have been lost, stolen or recovered. This system will be operational by the end of this year and will be extended to UK passport issuing posts abroad and to the United Kingdom Immigration Service. This system will enable a number of reports to be produced including those that distinguish between passports recorded as having been lost and stolen. The new system will not include the category "unavailable".
§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What charges are levied on those who report their passports lost, stolen or unavailable; and what proportion of the cost to public funds of such missing passports is recovered from such charges. [HL2478]
§ Lord FilkinThere is no charge levied by the United Kingdom Passport Service on people who report their passports lost, stolen or unavailable other than the fee required to replace the passport. The Passport Service operates on a net running cost regime and all its costs are recovered through passport fees.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the records they keep of United Kingdom passports reported lost, stolen or unavailable enable them to identify passport holders who make such reports more than once. [HL2479]
§ Lord FilkinYes, the records held by the United Kingdom Passport Service make it possible to establish when an individual has reported their passport as being lost, stolen or unavailable on more than one occasion.
§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of the United Kingdom passports reported lost, stolen or unavailable in each of the past five years have subsequently been recovered. [HL2480]
§ Lord FilkinThe United Kingdom Passport Service does not routinely collate figures for passports which72WA are reported lost, stolen or unavailable on more than one occasion and such figures for each of the last five years are not therefore available.